Effect of recycled concrete aggregate quality on properties of concrete

Abstract

The possibility of the use of recycled aggregates from the construction industry in green concrete production is of increasing importance to reduce the negative environmental impact associated with construction and demolition wastes. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) quality on the properties of hardened concrete properties such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, density, water absorption capacity and porosity accessible to water. The RCA used in this study was obtained from the crushing of waste concrete with two different compressive strengths (LRCA obtained from the crushing of waste concrete having compressive strengths below 30 MPa and HRCA obtained from the crushing of waste concrete having compressive strengths above 30 MPa). The natural coarse limestone aggregate was 100% replaced with coarse LRCA and HRCA. As a result of the study, the use of 100% HRCA and %100 LRCA instead of limestone coarse aggregate in the concrete adversely affected its mechanical and physical properties. In addition, HRCA showed better performance in terms of compressive strength, tensile strength, water absorption and porosity compared to the use of LRCA. Furthermore, the percentage of adhered mortar on the surface of LRCA and HRCA was analyzed using a computerized micro tomography device, and it was found that the percentages of attached mortar and aggregates are 61% and 35.5% for LRCA, whilst the attached mortar and aggregate contents for HRCA are 45.9% and 53.7%, respectively.