Development and the performance evaluation of concretes by using recycled aggregate

Abstract

The prodigious demand for aggregates in the construction industry leads paucity of natural aggregates, which commands to look after some alternatives. Also aiming to solve the problems caused by the construction and demolition waste, this paper presents the development of sustainable concrete by replacing 100% of natural coarse aggregate (NA) with recycled concrete coarse aggregate (RA). The performance and suitability of recycled aggregate concrete were studied. Both RA concrete and NA concrete were prepared for various W/C ratios of 0.75, 0.65, 0.55, 0.45. Experimental tests were conducted to find out mechanical properties by means of compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength,and elastic modulus,whereas durability performance was checked using RCP test (Rapid Chloride penetration test), sorptivity test, water permeability test and surface resistivity test. Finally, a comparison was made between the recycled aggregate concrete and conventional concrete. In this study, it was observed that although there was a reduction in the performance of RAC compared to NAC, the RAC can be useful in producing low to medium strength concretes if designed appropriately. � 2020, Associated Cement Companies Ltd.. All rights reserved.