Dataset on impact strength, flammability test and water absorption test for innovative polymer-quarry dust composite

In this article data on impact strength, flammability and water absorption tests for innovative plastic-quarry dust composite is presented. The composites were prepared through moulding with virgin HDPE and PP plastics and quarry dust. The quarry dust was used at 0%, 5%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% weight percentages. The prepared samples were characterised for strength, fire resistance and hydrophobic properties using Charpy impact, flammability and water absorption tests respectively. For impact strength test was conducted according to ISO 179–1:2010 (E). The flammability test was conducted according to ASTMD 2863 while the water absorption test was carried out in accordance to ASTM D 570–98. These data illustrate the potential of the plastic quarry dust composite application in construction industry and model for regeneration of waste plastics for green building technologies.


a b s t r a c t
In this article data on impact strength, flammability and water absorption tests for innovative plastic-quarry dust composite is presented. The composites were prepared through moulding with virgin HDPE and PP plastics and quarry dust. The quarry dust was used at 0%, 5%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% weight percentages. The prepared samples were characterised for strength, fire resistance and hydrophobic properties using Charpy impact, flammability and water absorption tests respectively. For impact strength test was conducted according to ISO 179-1:2010 (E). The flammability test was conducted according to ASTMD 2863 while the water absorption test was carried out in accordance to ASTM D 570-98. These data illustrate the potential of the plastic quarry dust composite application in construction industry and model for regeneration of waste plastics for green building technologies.
© 2020 The Author(s The analysed data is with this article and the raw data is provided as a supplementary file.

Value of the data
• The data shows the mechanical strength, the fire behaviour and the water resistance characteristics of the plastic-quarry dust composites. The data is useful to evaluate the application of the prepared samples in the construction industry and model for plastic waste recycling in the construction industry. • This data can benefit researchers of materials in construction industry, construction engineers and environmentalists in the quarry industries. • The data can further be developed to evaluate specific applications in the building sector such as in roofing tiles, walling materials, etc. • The data shows the influence of the appropriate choice of plastic-quarry dust proportions for optimal performance. It is an indicator of the need for future optimisation studies on the mixture constituents for enhanced performance of plastic-based composites as a construction material. Fig. 1 shows the data for Charpy impact strength for HDPE-quarry dust composite prepared in 0%, 5%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% weight concentrations of quarry dust. Fig. 2 shows the data for Charpy impact strength for PP-quarry dust composite prepared in 0%, 5%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% weight concentrations of quarry dust. Additionally, Fig. 3 shows the limited oxygen indexes data of the HDPE composite samples having 0%, 5%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% weight concentrations of quarry dust. Fig. 4 shows the limited oxygen indexes data of the PP composite Charpy impact test plotted data of HDPE plastic-quarry dust for samples prepared with 0%, 5%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% weight concentrations of quarry dust.

Charpy impact test
Charpy impact test was conducted according to ISO 179-1:2010 (E) using a Charpy impact tester (Zwick PSW 4 J, Germany). The samples were cut according to ISO 2818 into 100 mm × 10 mm × 4 mm sizes (sample shown in Fig. 1 ) [1] . After obtaining the energy reading from the Charpy test scale, the unnotched samples' Charpy impact strength a CU (kJ/m 2 ), were computed for each sample using Eq. (1 ). For each sample, ten (10) tests were conducted for statistical accuracy.
(1)  Where: E c = the corrected stored energy in Joules, h = the thickness of the test specimen (mm) b = the width of the tests specimen (mm)

Flammability test
Flammability test was conducted according to ASTMD 2863 to accurately determine the relative flammability of the composites using the Dynisco Limiting Oxygen Index Chamber (Model LOI 14,273, USA). The samples were burnt inside the chamber (as shown in Fig. 2 ) while precisely regulating the amount of oxygen and nitrogen inside the chamber [1] . The test was conducted at 21 °C with three sets of gases velocity used, Norm Velocity (4.0 cm 3 /s), Low Velocity (3.2 cm 3 /s) and High Velocity (4.8 cm 3 /s). The readings of the flow metre were then recorded and used to calculate the oxygen index according to the following equation.

Water absorption test
Water absorption test was conducted according to ASTM D 570-98 [1] . The composite's water absorption test was used for the determination of the quantity of water absorbed. The sizes of the samples were 60 mm × 60 mm × 1 mm as shown in Fig. 3 . One set of samples were immersed in water under atmospheric pressure and another set of samples immersed in distilled water    . 11. PP-quarry dust and HDPE-quarry dust samples prepared in 0%, 5%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% weight concentrations of quarry dust. under 6 bars. An airtight stainless-steel container was used since it does not easily undergo corrosion. The specimens were immersed in distilled water at 23 °C for 24 h, 1 week, and after every two weeks until saturation was reached. Before weighing was done, the samples were wiped using a tissue to remove water on their surface. The absorption of water is expressed as the percentage increase in weight for each specimen as follows.