The influence of utilizing recycled and reclaimed coarse aggregates in producing concrete for structural applications

Abstract

Utilizing recycled or reclaimed coarse aggregates in producing recycled concrete for structural applications helps in preserving natural resources from depletion and reduces the volume of waste created throughout construction and demolition. Recycling makes the concrete production more sustainable and environment-friendly, by narrowing the traditionally vast area needed to be occupied as landfills. In this research, four types of mixes were prepared using recycled concrete aggregates and reclaimed crushed aggregates as substitution of natural coarse aggregates in different replacement percentages. Series of tests were conducted to investigate the properties of fresh and hardened concrete samples prepared from mixes with various compositions. The effects of adding recycled or reclaimed aggregates are presented in this paper. The results reveal that recycled concrete with 50% replacement of natural coarse aggregates with recycled or reclaimed aggregates can have adequate fresh and hardened properties. However, with full replacement ratio, although the compressive strength of recycled concrete was higher than that of conventional concrete, the workability of the recycled concrete mix significantly decreased.