EIERA - Final Report COMPOSITE STRUCTURES USING ASPHALT BASED ROOFING SCRAP MATERIALS By:

The uses of recycled materials in composites provide the potential for large cost savings and a solution to the ever-growing disposal problem. Shingles contain petroleum based binders and fillers, which used as a valuable resource in composite production. Composites offer inherent advantages over traditional materials in regard to corrosion resistance, design flexibility and extended service life. Use of scrap-roofing shingles as a core material in glass fiber reinforced composite materials offer potential low cost composite products such as sound barrier system, railroad ties and other building materials including blocks. In the present work, processes have been developed for shredding scrap roof shingles, for making shingle blocks, and for filling hollow composite tubes. Mechanical testing was performed to compare the performance of filled composite tubes to hollow tubes and oak wood beams. Filled tubes show improvement in ultimate flexural strength by preventing buckling and crushing. Tests were also conducted to evaluate the sound attenuation capability of recycled shingle walls. It was observed that the mean sound level at the backside of the wall, measured in decibels, was greatly reduced and shows potential use for recycled shingles in a sound barrier system. University of Missouri-Rolla has collaborated with Future Tek Inc. and Lemay Center for Composites Technology for successful completion of this project. The economic benefits are truly immense. This project will impact the community by diverting thousands of tons of shingles into usable products with a real economic impact.