Compressive strength and resistance to chloride ion penetration and carbonation of recycled aggregate concrete with varying amount of fly ash and fine recycled aggregate

Construction and demolition waste has been dramatically increased in the last decade, and social and environmental concerns on the recycling have consequently been increased. Recent technology has greatly improved the recycling process for waste concrete. This study investigates the fundamental characteristics of concrete using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) for its application to structural concrete members. The specimens used 100% coarse RCA, various replacement levels of natural aggregate with fine RCA, and several levels of fly ash addition. Compressive strength of mortar and concrete which used RCA gradually decreased as the amount of the recycled materials increased. Regardless of curing conditions and fly ash addition, the 28 days strength of the recycled aggregate concrete was greater than the design strength, 40 MPa, with a complete replacement of coarse aggregate and a replacement level of natural fine aggregate by fine RCA up to 60%. The recycled aggregate concrete achieved sufficient resistance to the chloride ion penetration. The measured carbonation depth did not indicate a clear relationship to the fine RCA replacement ratio but the recycled aggregate concrete could also attain adequate carbonation resistance. Based on the results from the experimental investigations, it is believed that the recycled aggregate concrete can be successfully applied to structural concrete members.     

Properties of lightweight aggregate concrete prepared with PVC granules derived from scraped PVC pipes

This paper aims to investigate the fresh and hardened properties of lightweight aggregate concretes that are prepared with the use of recycled plastic waste sourced from scraped PVC pipes to replace river sand as fine aggregates. A number of laboratory prepared concrete mixes were tested, in which river sand was partially replaced by PVC plastic waste granules in percentages of 0%, 5%, 15%, 30% and 45% by volume. Two major findings are identified. The positive side shows that the concrete prepared with a partial replacement by PVC was lighter (lower density), was more ductile (greater Poisson's ratios and reduced modulus of elasticity), and had lower drying shrinkage and higher resistance to chloride ion penetration. The negative side reveals that the workability, compressive strength and tensile splitting strength of the concretes were reduced. The results gathered would form a part of useful information for recycling PVC plastic waste in lightweight concrete mixes.     

Influence of recycled aggregate quality and proportioning criteria on recycled concrete properties

This paper presents the results of experimental research using concrete produced by substituting part of the natural coarse aggregates with recycled aggregates from concrete demolition. The influence of the quality of the recycled aggregate (amount of declassified and source of aggregate), the percentage of replacement on the targeted quality of the concrete to be produced (strength and workability) has been evaluated. The granular structure of concrete and replacement criteria were analyzed in this study, factors which have not been analyzed in other studies. The following properties of recycled concretes were analyzed: density, absorption, compressive strength, elastic modulus, amount of occluded air, penetration of water under pressure and splitting tensile strength.A simplified test program was designed to control the costs of the testing while still producing sufficient data to develop reliable conclusions in order to make the number of tests viable whilst guaranteeing the reliability of the conclusions.Several factors were analyzed including the type of aggregate, the percentage of replacement, the type of sieve curve, the declassified content, the strength of concrete and workability of concrete and the replacement criteria. The type of aggregate and the percentage of replacement were the only factors that showed a clear influence on most of the properties.Compressive strength is clearly affected by the quality of recycled aggregates. If the water–cement ratio is kept constant and the loss of workability due to the effect of using recycled aggregate is compensated for with additives, the percentage of replacement of the recycled aggregate will not affect the compressive strength.The elastic modulus is affected by the percentage of replacement. If the percentage of replacement does not exceed 50%, the elastic modulus will only change slightly.     

双掺粉煤灰再生骨料对混凝土强度影响研究

通过试验研究再生骨料混凝土中粉煤灰和再生骨料对混凝土强度的影响。采用粉煤灰替代部分水泥、再生骨料替代部分天然粗骨料的方法,通过正交试验测定混凝土立方体抗压强度的方法,来研究粉煤灰对再生骨料混凝土强度的影响。试验得出:当再生骨料掺量为20%~30%时,粉煤灰的最佳掺量为20%左右;当再生骨料掺量高于40%、粉煤灰掺量高于20%时,其混凝土拌合物搅拌时间不小于240 s,且当粉煤灰在20%~30%时,可获得较理想的混凝土抗压强度;当粉煤灰的掺入量分布在20%~30%、再生骨料的最佳掺量为50%时,可获得较理想的混凝土抗压强度。由此得出,合理的再生骨料、粉煤灰掺量对混凝土的抗压强度影响并不明显且有提高的趋势,对降低混凝土成本,提高建筑垃圾的再生利用,有一定的经济效益和社会效益。     

Influence of recycled fine aggregates on the resistance of mortars to magnesium sulfate attack

The influence of recycled fine aggregates, which had been reclaimed from field-demolished concretes, on the resistance of mortar specimens to magnesium sulfate attack was investigated. Mortar specimens were prepared with recycled fine aggregates at different replacement levels (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of natural fine aggregate by mass). The mortar specimens were exposed to 4.24% magnesium sulfate solution for about 1 year at ambient temperature, and regularly monitored for visual appearance, compressive strength loss and expansion. Additionally, in order to identify products of magnesium sulfate attack, mortar samples incorporating 0%, 25% and 100% replacement levels of the recycled fine aggregates were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique.Experimental results confirmed that the use of recycled fine aggregates up to a maximum 50% replacement level is effective under severe magnesium sulfate environment, irrespective of type of recycled fine aggregates. However, the worse performance was observed in mortar specimens incorporating 100% replacement level. It was found that the water absorption of recycled fine aggregates affected deterioration of mortar specimens, especially at a higher replacement level. XRD results indicated that the main cause of deterioration of the mortar specimens was primarily due to the formation of gypsum and thaumasite by magnesium sulfate attack. In addition, it appeared that the conversion of C–S–H into M–S–H by the attack probably influenced mechanical deterioration of mortar specimens with recycled fine aggregates.     

Use of recycled fine aggregate in concretes with durable requirements

The use of construction waste materials as aggregates for concrete production is highly attractive compared to the use of non-renewable natural resources, promoting environmental protection and allowing the development of a new raw material. Several countries have recommendations for the use of recycled coarse aggregate in structural concrete, whereas the use of the fine fraction is limited because it may produce significant changes in some properties of concrete. However, during the last decade the use of recycled fine aggregates (RFA) has achieved a great international interest, mainly because of economic implications related to the shortage of natural sands suitable for the production of concrete, besides to allow an integral use of this type of waste. In this study, the durable behaviour of structural concretes made with different percentage of RFA (0%, 20%, and 30%) is evaluated. Different properties related to the durability of concretes such as absorption, sorptivity, water penetration under pressure, and carbonation are determined. In addition, the results of compressive strength, static modulus of elasticity and drying shrinkage are presented. The obtained results indicate that the recycled concretes have a suitable resistant and durable behaviour, according to the limits indicated by different international codes for structural concrete.     

全废砖再生轻骨料混凝土试验研究

将废粘土砖加工成粗细骨料,用于配制全废砖再生轻骨料混凝土.检测结果表明：所用废砖粗细骨料属轻骨料范畴,但其吸水率较大,且细骨料级配不良.试验表明：本试验配合比体系中,净水灰比为0.42,体积砂率为50％时最佳;以全废砖配制的再生砖轻骨料混凝土的强度发展规律与普通轻骨料混凝土类似,均有随水泥用量提高而强度提高的趋势,但随着所配制的混凝土强度等级的提高,再生轻骨料混凝土的强度提高趋势下降.以全废砖为骨料适合配制强度等级LC30及以下的再生轻骨料混凝土.     

Recycling of PET bottles as fine aggregate in concrete

An attempt to substitute in concrete the 5% by weight of fine aggregate (natural sand) with an equal weight of PET aggregates manufactured from the waste un-washed PET bottles (WPET), is presented. The WPET particles possessed a granulometry similar to that of the substituted sand. Specimens with different cement content and water/cement ratio were manufactured. Rheological characterization on fresh concrete and mechanical tests at the ages of 28 and 365 days were performed on the WPET/concretes as well as on reference concretes containing only natural fine aggregate in order to investigate the influence of the substitution of WPET to the fine aggregate in concrete. It was found that the WPET concretes display similar workability characteristics, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength slightly lower that the reference concrete and a moderately higher ductility.     

Effect of microsilica addition on compressive strength of rubberized concrete at elevated temperatures

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the effects of various percentages of fine/coarse tire waste and microsilica at various temperatures on the compressive strength of concrete. The compressive strength of concrete mixtures made with tire rubber was assessed statistically with those of concrete containing microsilica and conventional concretes in order to evaluate the usefulness of recycling rubber waste as a component of concrete. Results confirmed that the recipe and processing temperature of concrete cubes influence the compressive strength values. Generally, the use of microsilica or fine rubber mixed with microsilica as aggregate replacement of 5% by volume improved the compressive strength of concrete processed at a temperature of 150°C. The addition of coarse rubber did not achieve any increase in strength when used as an aggregate replacement at any percentage. Moreover, the reductions in the compressive strength of concrete mixes at higher temperatures were much smaller for the fine rubber with 5 vol% microsilica than those for control and coarse rubber mixes. The specimens made with fine rubber and 5 vol% microsilica at elevated temperatures above 400°C appeared to show very similar compressive strength values. The use of fine rubber in building construction could help save energy and reduce costs and solve the solid waste disposal problem posed by this type of waste.     

Recycling of waste glass as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in concrete

Waste glass creates serious environmental problems, mainly due to the inconsistency of waste glass streams. With increasing environmental pressure to reduce solid waste and to recycle as much as possible, the concrete industry has adopted a number of methods to achieve this goal. The properties of concretes containing waste glass as fine aggregate were investigated in this study. The strength properties and ASR expansion were analyzed in terms of waste glass content. An overall quantity of 80 kg of crushed waste glass was used as a partial replacement for sand at 10%, 15%, and 20% with 900 kg of concrete mixes. The results proved 80% pozzolanic strength activity given by waste glass after 28 days. The flexural strength and compressive strength of specimens with 20% waste glass content were 10.99% and 4.23%, respectively, higher than those of the control specimen at 28 days. The mortar bar tests demonstrated that the finely crushed waste glass helped reduce expansion by 66% as compared with the control mix.     

Utilization (recycling) of iron and steel industry by-product (GGBS) in concrete: strength and durability properties

Due to exponential growing in urbanization and industrialization, byproducts from industries are becoming an increasing concern for recycling and waste management. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is by-product from the blast-furnaces of iron and steel industries. GGBS is very useful in the design and development of high-quality cement paste/mortar and concrete. This paper covers the properties of GGBS, reaction mechanism, and its effect on strength and durability properties of concrete. Properties covered are sorptivity, microstructure, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, permeability, sulfate resistance, freezing and thawing resistance, corrosion of concrete.     

Mechanical properties of concrete containing a high volume of tire-rubber particles

Due to the increasingly serious environmental problems presented by waste tires, the feasibility of using elastic and flexible tire-rubber particles as aggregate in concrete is investigated in this study. Tire-rubber particles composed of tire chips, crumb rubber, and a combination of tire chips and crumb rubber, were used to replace mineral aggregates in concrete. These particles were used to replace 12.5%, 25%, 37.5%, and 50% of the total mineral aggregate's volume in concrete. Cylindrical shape concrete specimens 15 cm in diameter and 30 cm in height were fabricated and cured. The fresh rubberized concrete exhibited lower unit weight and acceptable workability compared to plain concrete. The results of a uniaxial compressive strain control test conducted on hardened concrete specimens indicate large reductions in the strength and tangential modulus of elasticity. A significant decrease in the brittle behavior of concrete with increasing rubber content is also demonstrated using nonlinearity indices. The maximum toughness index, indicating the post failure strength of concrete, occurs in concretes with 25% rubber content. Unlike plain concrete, the failure state in rubberized concrete occurs gently and uniformly, and does not cause any separation in the specimen. Crack width and its propagation velocity in rubberized concrete are lower than those of plain concrete. Ultrasonic analysis reveals large reductions in the ultrasonic modulus and high sound absorption for tire-rubber concrete.     

再生混凝土骨料对钢渣骨料透水混凝土性能影响试验研究

将再生混凝土骨料以不同比例取代钢渣骨料配制透水混凝土,采用沸煮试验法考察废混凝土骨料对钢渣透水混凝土强度和体积稳定性的影响,结果表明:再生混凝土骨料可改善钢渣透水混凝土强度,减轻钢渣骨料膨胀对透水混凝土体积稳定性的影响,用再生混凝土骨料在改善钢渣骨料透水混凝土性能同时可消纳两种固体废弃物,具有环境效益和社会效益。     

Recycled lightweight concrete made from footwear industry waste and CDW

In this paper two types of recycled aggregate, originated from construction and demolition waste (CDW) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) waste, were used in the production of concrete. The EVA waste results from cutting off the EVA expanded sheets used to produce insoles and innersoles of shoes in the footwear industry. The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of the use of these recycled aggregates as replacements of the natural coarse aggregate, upon density, compressive strength, tensile splitting strength and flexural behavior of recycled concrete. The experimental program was developed with three w/c ratios: 0.49, 0.63 and 0.82. Fifteen mixtures were produced with different aggregate substitution rates (0%, 50% EVA, 50% CDW, 25% CDW–25% EVA and 50% CDW–50% EVA), by volume. The results showed that it is possible to use the EVA waste and CDW to produce lightweight concrete having semi-structural properties.     

A study of the effects of LCD glass sand on the properties of concrete

In order to study the recycling of discarded liquid crystal display (LCD) glass into concrete (LCDGC), a portion of the usual river sand was replaced by sand prepared from discarded LCD glass. Three different mix designs were regulated by the ACI method (fc(28)=21, 28, and 35MPa) with 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% LCD glass sand replacements investigated; their engineering properties were determined. Test results revealed that, when compared to the design slump of 15cm, the 20% glass sand concrete for the three different mix designs kept good slump and slump flow. Furthermore, a slump loss ranging from 7 to 11cm was observed for specimens with 60% and 80% glass sand replacement for the design strengths of 28 and 35MPa. The compressive strengths of the concrete with glass sand replacement were higher than the design strengths. Moreover, the durability of the concrete with 20% glass sand replacement was better than that of the control group. Surface resistivity for specimens with different amounts of LCD glass sand replacement was also higher than that in the control group for mid to long curing ages. The sulfate attack in concrete with different amounts of glass sand replacement caused less weight loss than in the control group. Moderate chloride ion penetration was observed for glass sand concrete. Furthermore, the measured ultrasonic pulse velocities for LCD glass sand concrete specimens were higher than 4100m/s, which qualified these specimens as good concrete. OM and SEM indicate that the dense C-S-H gel hydrate was produced at the interface between the glass sand and cement paste. The test results indicate that the addition of 20% LCD glass sand to concrete satisfies the slump requirements and improves the strength and durability of concrete. This suggests that LCD glass sand can potentially be used as a recycled material in concrete applications.     

Influence of aggregate pre-wetting and fly ash on mechanical properties of lightweight concrete

This study has examined the mechanical properties of lightweight aggregate concrete with a density of 1800 kg/m3. The effects of the following parameters on the concrete properties have been analyzed: the pre-wetting time of the lightweight aggregate and the percentage of pulverized fly ash used as cementitious replacement material. The strength of the lightweight aggregate was found to be the primary factor controlling the strength of high-strength lightweight concrete. An increase in the cementitious content from 420 to 450 kg/m3 does not significantly increase the strength of lightweight aggregate concrete. The relationship between the flexural and compressive strength at 28 days can be represented by the equation fr=0.69/fck. The elastic modulus was found to be much lower than that of normal weight concrete, ranging from 15.0 to 20.3 GPa. The addition of PFA increases the slump and density of lightweight aggregate concrete.     

A study on engineering characteristics of asphalt concrete using filler with recycled waste lime

This study focuses on determining the engineering characteristics of asphalt concrete using mineral fillers with recycled waste lime, which is a by-product of the production of soda ash (Na(2)CO(3)). The materials tested in this study were made using a 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% mixing ratio based on the conventional mineral filler ratio to analyze the possibility of using recycled waste lime. The asphalt concretes, made of recycled waste lime, hydrated lime, and conventional asphalt concrete, were evaluated through their fundamental engineering properties such as Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength, resilient modulus, permanent deformation characteristics, moisture susceptibility, and fatigue resistance. The results indicate that the application of recycled waste lime as mineral filler improves the permanent deformation characteristics, stiffness and fatigue endurance of asphalt concrete at the wide range of temperatures. It was also determined that the mixtures with recycled waste lime showed higher resistance against stripping than conventional asphalt concrete. It was concluded from various test results that a waste lime can be used as mineral filler and, especially, can greatly improve the resistance of asphalt concrete to permanent deformation at high temperatures.     

Studies on recycled aggregates-based concrete.

Reduced extraction of raw materials, reduced transportation cost, improved profits, reduced environmental impact and fast-depleting reserves of conventional natural aggregates has necessitated the use of recycling, in order to be able to conserve conventional natural aggregate. In this study various physical and mechanical properties of recycled concrete aggregates were examined. Recycled concrete aggregates are different from natural aggregates and concrete made from them has specific properties. The percentages of recycled concrete aggregates were varied and it was observed that properties such as compressive strength showed a decrease of up to 10% as the percentage of recycled concrete aggregates increased. Water absorption of recycled aggregates was found to be greater than natural aggregates, and this needs to be compensated during mix design.     

Use of rubble from building demolition in mortars

Because of increasing waste production and public concerns about the environment, it is desirable to recycle materials from building demolition. If suitably selected, ground, cleaned and sieved in appropriate industrial crushing plants, these materials can be profitably used in concrete. Nevertheless, the presence of masonry instead of concrete rubble is particularly detrimental to the mechanical performance and durability of recycled-aggregate concrete and the same negative effect is detectable when natural sand is replaced by fine recycled aggregate fraction. An alternative use of both masonry rubble and fine recycled material fraction could be in mortars. These could contain either recycled instead of natural sand or powder obtained by bricks crushing as partial cement substitution. In particular, attention is focused on the modification that takes place when either polypropylene or stainless steel fibers are added to these mortars. Polypropylene fibers are added in order to reduce shrinkage of mortars, stainless steel fibers for improving their flexural strength. The combined use of polypropylene fibers and fine recycled material from building demolition could allow the preparation of mortars showing good performance, in particular when coupled with bricks. Furthermore, the combined use of stainless steel fibers and mortars containing brick powder seems to be an effective way to guarantee a high flexural strength.     

Sustainable construction: composite use of tyres and ash in concrete

An investigation was carried out to establish the physical, mechanical and chemical characteristics of a non-standard (unprocessed) pulverised fuel ash (PFA) and waste tyres from a former landfill site at the Power Station Hill near Church Village, South Wales, United Kingdom. Investigations are on-going to establish the suitability of the fly ash and/or tyres in road construction (embankment and pavement) and also in concrete to be used in the construction of the proposed highway. This paper reports on concrete-based construction where concrete blends (using various levels of PFA as partial replacement for Portland cement (PC), and shredded waste tyres (chips 15-20mm) as aggregate replacement) were subjected to unconfined compressive strength tests to establish performance, hence, optimising mix designs. Strength development up to 180 days for the concrete made with PC-PFA blends as binders (PC-PFA concrete), with and without aggregate replacement with tyre chips, is reported. The binary PC-PFA concrete does not have good early strength but tends to improve at longer curing periods. The low early strength observed means that PC-PFA concrete cannot be used for structures, hence, only as low to medium strength applications such as blinding, low-strength foundations, crash barriers, noise reduction barriers, cycle paths, footpaths and material for pipe bedding.