Recycled Aggregate Concrete as Material for Reinforced Concrete Structures

Abstract

Processing crushing concrete into coarse aggregate for the manufacturing of new concrete is one common means for achieving more environmentally friendly concrete. The use of recycled aggregate from construction and demolition waste as replacement of natural aggregate has increased in recent years in order to reduce the high consumption of natural resources by civil engineering. In the research work an experimental investigation was carried out to analyze the influence of steel fiber reinforcement on the load-strain behavior of beams made of recycled aggregate concrete. In addition, the selected properties of recycled aggregate were assessed and the strength properties of concretes were also determined. The concretes tested contained natural fine aggregate and 100% recycled coarse aggregate. The flexural behavior was tested on model reinforced concrete beams. Apart from reinforcing steel bars, the steel fibers with 6 mm length and aspect ratio of 37,5 were used in a volume fraction of 0,52%. The results showed that the addition of steel fiber and recycled aggregate increased the mechanical strength and modified the flexural behavior and fracture process relative to that of recycled aggregate concrete. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.7.2.7135