A novel eco-friendly thermal-insulating high-performance geopolymer concrete containing calcium oxide-activated materials with waste tire and waste polyethylene terephthalate

This research introduces a novel Eco-friendly thermal-insulating high-performance geopolymer concrete based on calcium oxide-activated materials (TIHPGC-CAM) that uses recycled tire and PET powders as aggregate replacements. This is the first study to use these materials for TIHPGC-CAM production. A new mixing method was developed for better compaction of TIHPGC-CAM with scrap tire and PET powders. The mechanical and thermal properties of the TIHPGC-CAM were evaluated by various tests. The results showed that replacing the aggregates with 10% scrap tire or PET powder increased the energy absorption capacity by 143% and 107%, respectively, while reducing the mechanical properties by about 10% and 7%, respectively. Replacing 50% of the aggregates with scrap tire or PET powder decreased the thermal conductivity coefficient by 70% and 60%, respectively, and reduced the temperature change slope under heat radiation. An equation was proposed to predict the thermal conductivity of TIHPGC-CAM for sustainable construction.