Effect of E-waste on concrete during combined chlorination and compression loading using electro-mechanical impedance technique

This study investigates the effect of electronic waste (E-waste) on durability properties, resonance frequency, amplitude, statistical parameters and equivalent stiffness of concretes during combined chlorination action and compression loading using surface bonded piezo sensor (SBPS) based electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique. The experiment was conducted on prism specimens which are made up of conventional concrete and E-waste concrete (15 % replacement of natural aggregate by weight with E-waste). Several parameters including chloride penetration, chloride profiles, diffusion coefficient, and surface concentration are determined to understand the effect on chloride profiles. The EMI signatures and statistical parameters such as Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) are determined for qualitative and quantitative analysis of signatures. Further, the equivalent structural parameters such as mass and stiffness were identified to assess the deterioration of concrete in terms of mechanical parameters. Based on the results, it is found that the RMSD value of conventional concrete shows a steady increase in deterioration up to 13 % by day 19 before stabilizing, E-waste concrete experiences a more significant peak deviation of 32.83 % by day 23. E-waste concrete exhibits a more significant initial stiffness loss, dropping from 93.7 kNs/m to 57.48 kNs/m in just 9 days, whereas conventional concrete declines gradually from 21.84 kNs/m to 20.20 kNs/m. Thus, it is concluded that E-waste concrete exhibits higher initial deterioration, with significant stiffness and mass loss, as well as greater RMSD deviations.