Influence of field recycled coarse aggregate on properties of concrete

This paper investigates the influence of different amounts of recycled coarse aggregates obtained from a demolished RCC culvert 15 years old on the properties of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). A new term called “coarse aggregate replacement ratio (CRR)” is introduced and is defined as the ratio of weight of recycled coarse aggregate to the total weight of coarse aggregate in a concrete mix. To analyze the behaviour of concrete in both the fresh and hardened state, a coarse aggregate replacement ratio of 0, 0.25, 0.50 and 1.0 are adopted in the concrete mixes. The properties namely compressive and indirect tensile strengths, modulus of elasticity, water absorption, volume of voids, density of hardened concrete and depth of chloride penetration are studied. From the experimental results it is observed that the concrete cured in air after 7 days of wet curing shows better strength than concrete cured completely under water for 28 days for all coarse aggregate replacement ratios. The volume of voids and water absorption of recycled aggregate concrete are 2.61 and 1.82% higher than those of normal concrete due to the high absorption capacity of old mortar adhered to recycled aggregates. The relationships among compressive strength, tensile strengths and modulus of elasticity are developed and verified with the models reported in the literature for both normal and recycled aggregate concrete. In addition, the non-destructive testing parameters such as rebound number and UPV (Ultrasonic pulse velocity) are reported. The study demonstrates the potential use of field recycled coarse aggregates (RCA) in concrete.     

Influence of steam curing on the pore structures and mechanical properties of fly-ash high performance concrete prepared with recycled aggregates

In this research work, High Performance Concrete (HPC) was produced employing 30% of fly ash and 70% of Portland cement as binder materials. Three types of coarse recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) sourced from medium to high strength concretes were employed as 100% replacement of natural aggregates for recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) production. The specimens of four types of concretes (natural aggregate concrete (NAC) and three RACs) were subjected to initial steam curing besides the conventional curing process. The use of high quality RCA (>100 MPa) in HPC produced RAC with similar or improved pore structures, compressive and splitting tensile strengths, and modulus of elasticity to those of NAC. It was determined that the mechanical and physical behaviour of HPC decreased with the reduction of RCA quality. Nonetheless steam-cured RACs had greater reductions of porosity up to 90 days than NAC, which led to lower capillary pore volume.     

Utilisation of steel slag as an aggregate in concrete

This paper aims to investigate the possibility of utilizing steel slags produced in Croatian plants as a concrete aggregate. Aggregate properties were determined on coarse slag fractions (4–8, 8–16 mm) according to the relevant European Standards. Considering the obtained results, slags were specified in accordance with the classes as given in the main European standard for aggregates, whereupon these classes were compared to the Croatian regulation requirements. The obtained results proved that coarse slag fractions can be suitable for concrete application. Therefore, concrete mixtures were prepared with coarse slag fractions whose hardened state properties (compressive and flexural strength, static modulus of elasticity, volume changes and corrosion susceptibility) were then compared with the properties of reference concrete made of commonly used natural aggregate materials, namely dolomite. According to the obtained test results it can be concluded that the observed slags can be a good substitute for natural aggregate materials.     

Some characteristics of high strength fiber reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete

The effect of polypropylene and steel fibers on high strength lightweight aggregate concrete is investigated. Sintered fly ash aggregates were used in the lightweight concrete; the fines were partially replaced by fly ash. The effects on compressive strength, indirect tensile strength, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, stress–strain relationship and compression toughness are reported. Compared to plain sintered fly ash lightweight aggregate concrete, polypropylene fiber addition at 0.56% by volume of the concrete, caused a 90% increase in the indirect tensile strength and a 20% increase in the modulus of rupture. Polypropylene fiber addition did not significantly affect the other mechanical properties that were investigated. Steel fibers at 1.7% by volume of the concrete caused an increase in the indirect tensile strength by about 118% and an increase in the modulus of rupture by about 80%. Steel fiber reinforcement also caused a small decrease in the modulus of elasticity and changed the shape of the stress–strain relationship to become more curvilinear. A large increase in the compression toughness was recorded. This indicated a significant gain in ductility when steel fiber reinforcement is used.     

An application of blended fly ash and residual rice husk ash for producing green building bricks

The present study investigates the possibility of using a blended class-F fly ash (FA) and residual rice husk ash (RHA) in the production of green building bricks through the application of densified mixture design algorithm (DMDA) in order to provide a new use for solid waste materials. This study uses unground rice husk ash (URHA) as a partial fine aggregate substitution (10–40%) in the studied cementitious mixtures. Solid bricks of 220 × 105 × 60 mm in size were prepared under forming pressure of 25–35 MPa, a curing temperature of 90 °C, and a relative humidity of 50%, for tests that assessed: compressive strength, flexural strength, bulk density, void volume, and water absorption. The test results showed that all brick samples demonstrated excellent properties. Compressive strength and flexural strength ranged, respectively, between 20.2–33 MPa and 5.4–6.9 MPa. Additionally, up to 30% of URHA content, the values of water absorption and void volume ranged, respectively, between 8.8–15.7% and 1.5–2.1%. All of these values not only conformed well to the requirements of the Vietnamese codes but also demonstrated great potential for using a blended FA–RHA in producing green building bricks.     

The effect of realistic curing temperature on the strength and E-modulus of concrete

The strength and E-modulus of concrete are decisive parameters when it comes to ultimate limit state design, serviceability limit state design, and early age crack assessment. The properties of concrete are generally determined in the laboratory under 20 °C isothermal conditions and then used as the basis for calculations under realistic temperature conditions. It is well-known, however, that the curing temperature affects both the rate of property development in concrete and the “final value” of a given property. The current study investigated the effect of a realistic temperature history on the compressive cube strength, the tensile strength, and the tensile E-modulus for two concretes, a reference concrete and a fly ash concrete. Concrete specimens were subjected to either (1) 20 °C isothermal curing conditions, or (2) realistic temperature curing conditions for 14 days and then 20 °C isothermal conditions, until they were tested after 28 and 91 days. Parallel tests performed in a Temperature-Stress Testing Machine were also used to evaluate the results. The reference concrete showed a general reduction in strength and E-modulus when subjected to a realistic curing temperature, whereas the fly ash concrete showed an 11% increase in the 28-day E-modulus when cured under realistic temperature conditions. Furthermore, in both isothermal and realistic curing temperature conditions, the fly ash concrete showed a pronounced property development beyond 28 days, which could not be described by the material model currently used.     

Lightweight geopolymer concrete containing aggregate from recycle lightweight block

In this research, the properties of lightweight geopolymer concrete containing aggregate from recycle lightweight block were studied. The recycle block was crushed and classified as fine, medium and coarse aggregates. The compressive strength and density with various liquid alkaline/ash ratios, sodium silicate/NaOH ratios, NaOH concentrations, aggregate/ash ratios and curing temperatures were tested. In addition, porosity, water absorption, and modulus of elasticity were determined. Results showed that the lightweight geopolymer blocks with satisfactory strength and density could be made. The 28-day compressive strength of 1.0–16.0 MPa, density of 860–1400 kg/m³, water absorption of 10–31% and porosity of 12–34%, and modulus of elasticity of 2.9–9.9 GPa were obtained. It can be used as lightweight geopolymer concrete for wall and partition.     

Fracture process and reliability of concrete made from high grade recycled aggregate using acoustic emission technique under compression

The increasing amount of waste concrete makes desirable collection of high quality of recycled aggregate from waste concrete to be reused for construction. This research used high grade recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) created using pulsed power technology to make concrete specimens. Concrete created from natural aggregate was also prepared to compare the properties of concrete made using pulsed power recycled aggregate. Established acoustic emission (AE) parameter analyses which are AE hit, relationship between RA value and average frequency, and b-value of AE amplitude distribution were applied to analyze the concrete fracture behavior. In addition, AE Weibull analysis was also proposed to evaluate the reliability of the concrete. A set of AE measurement testing was applied to the concrete specimens during compression loading. At the age of 28 days, compressive strength reaches 35.4 MPa and Young’s modulus is 23.6 GPa. The results indicate that the fracture process and reliability of concrete made using pulsed power RCA is similar to that of natural coarse aggregate concrete suggesting that both concrete have equivalent characteristic under compression. Furthermore, the good agreement results shared by AE Weibull analysis with those of other analyses suggesting this method can also be employed as one parameter to determine the condition of concrete.     

Concrete with ceramic waste aggregate

Use of hazardous industrial wastes in concrete-making will lead to greener environment. In ceramic industry about 30% production goes as waste, which is not recycled at present. In this study an attempt has been made to find the suitability of the ceramic industrial wastes as a possible substitute for conventional crushed stone coarse aggregate. Experiments were carried out to determine the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths and the modulus of elasticity of concrete with ceramic waste coarse aggregate and to compare them with those of conventional concrete made with crushed stone coarse aggregate. The properties of the aggregates were also compared. Test results indicate that the workability of ceramic waste coarse aggregate concrete is good and the strength characteristics are comparable to those of the conventional concrete.     

Investigation on the scattering-filling coarse aggregate self-consolidating concrete

To secure good flowability and workability of SCC, the volume fraction of coarse aggregate keep at an extremely low level. A new kind of SCC pouring method named scattering-filling coarse aggregate process was invented: it was method to scatter 20% (volume fraction to the finished concrete) of extra coarse aggregate into the fresh SCC mixture to replace the fresh concrete mixture while the concrete was pouring. A high strength (82 MPa) SCC just composing 360 kg/m³ cement and 120 kg/m³ class F fly ash was prepared with this process. With an increase of the extra coarse aggregate replacing ratio from 0 to 30%, the compressive strength of SCC increased steadily and reached a peak value when this ratio is 20%, then the strength dropped sharply. The drying shrinkage ratio and the chloride ion permeability decreased with the increase of that ratio. The scattering-filling coarse aggregate process can cast high strength SCC with lower cementitious materials content and produce concrete with better performance than the ordinary process.     

Influence of recycled aggregate on slump and bleeding of fresh concrete

The recycling of construction and demolition (C&;D) waste as a source of aggregates for the production of new concrete has attracted increasing interests from the construction industry. While the environmental benefits of using recycled aggregates are well accepted, some unsolved problems prevent this type of material from wide application in structural concrete. One of the major problems with the use of recycled aggregates in structural concrete is their high water absorption capacity which leads to difficulties in controlling the properties of fresh concrete and consequently influences the strength and durability of hardened concrete. This paper presents an experimental study on the properties of fresh concrete prepared with recycled aggregates. Concrete mixes with a target compressive strength of 35 MPa are prepared with the use of recycled aggregates at the levels from 0 to 100% of the total coarse aggregate. The influence of recycled aggregate on the slump and bleeding are investigated. The effect of delaying the starting time of bleeding tests and the effect of using fly ash on the bleeding of concrete are explored.     

Abrasion resistance and mechanical properties of high-volume fly ash concrete

The abrasion resistance and mechanical properties of concrete containing high-volume fly ash (HVFA) were investigated. Sand (fine aggregate) was replaced with 35, 45, and 55% of Class F fly ash by mass. The water to cement ratio and the workability of mixtures were maintained constant at 0.46 and 55 ± 5 mm respectively. Properties examined were compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance expressed as depth of wear. Test results indicated that replacement of sand with fly ash enhanced the 28-day compressive strength by 25–41%, splitting tensile strength by 12–21%, flexural strength by 14–17%, and modulus of elasticity by 18–23% depending upon the fly ash content, and showed continuous improvement in mechanical properties up to the ages of 365 days. Replacing fly ash with sand significantly improved the abrasion resistance of concrete at all ages. Strong correlation exists between the abrasion resistance and each of the mechanical properties investigated.     

Effect of coarse aggregate blending on short-term mechanical properties of self compacting concrete

This investigation is mainly focused on finding the unit weight, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity (MOE) and splitting tensile strength (STS) of SCC mixes with different coarse aggregate blending (60:40 and 40:60) (20 mm and 10 mm) and coarse aggregate content (28% and 32%) and these properties were compared to a conventional concrete (CC). All SCC mixes had 35% replacement of cement with class F fly ash. The coarse aggregate blending did not affect the compressive strength of SCC mixes, but it affected the unit weight, MOE and STS of SCC mixes. A new parameter called coarse aggregate points (CAPs) has been introduced to study the effect of coarse aggregate blending in a particular coarse aggregate content on mechanical properties of SCC mixes. It is observed that for the given strength, SCC mixes with the same CAP value have shown similar mechanical properties. The measured MOE of all mixes were compared with ACI 363R and AASHTO LRFD/ACI 318 predicted equations. The measured STS of all mixes were compared with ACI 363R and CEB-FIP predicted equations.     

Utilization of ceramic waste as fine aggregate within Portland cement and fly ash concretes

The aim of this research work was to investigate the feasibility of using ceramic waste and fly ash to produce mortar and concrete. Ceramic waste fragments obtained from local industry were crushed and sieved to produce fine aggregates. The measured concrete properties demonstrate that while workability was reduced with increasing ceramic waste content for Portland cement concrete and fly ash concrete, the workability of the fly ash concrete with 100% ceramic waste as fine aggregate remained sufficient, in contrast to the Portland cement control concrete with 100% ceramic waste where close to zero slump was measured. The compressive strength of ceramic waste concrete was found to increase with ceramic waste content and was optimum at 50% for the control concrete, dropping when the ceramic waste content was increased beyond 50%. This was a direct consequence of having a less workable concrete. However, the compressive strength in the fly ash concrete increased with increasing ceramic waste content up to 100%. The benefits of using ceramic waste as fine aggregate in concrete containing fly ash were therefore verified.     

Effect of steel fiber on the mechanical properties of oil palm shell lightweight concrete

This paper reports the results of a study conducted to investigate the effect of low volume content of steel fiber on the slump, density, compressive strength under different curing conditions, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity of a grade 35 oil palm shell (OPS) lightweight concrete mixture. The results indicate that an increase in steel fiber decreased the workability and increased the density. All the mechanical properties except the modulus of elasticity (E) improved significantly. The 28 day compressive strength of steel fiber OPS lightweight concrete in continuously moist curing was in the range of 41–45 MPa. The splitting tensile/compressive and the flexural/compressive strength ratio for plain OPS concrete are comparable with artificial lightweight aggregate. The (E) value measured in this study was about 15.5 GPa on average for all mixes, which is higher than previous studies and is in the range of normal weight concrete. Steel fiber can be used as an alternative material to reduce the sensitivity of OPS concrete in poor curing environments.     

Structural behavior of alkali activated fly ash concrete. Part 1: mixture design, material properties and sample fabrication

Alkali Activated Fly Ash Concrete (AAFAC) is an alternative form of concrete that uses fly ash as a 100 % replacement for ordinary portland cement. In producing AAFAC, fly ash is combined with alkali activators that chemically react to form a binder. When combined further with fine and coarse aggregates and often cured at elevated temperature, a concrete material is produced with strength and stiffness properties similar to ordinary portland cement concrete (OPCC). In this paper fabrication of full scale steel reinforced AAFAC beams is presented. The research scope includes: development of an AAFAC mixture design, fabrication of nine AAFAC beam samples, development of an elevated temperature curing system, temperature measurement during curing, and investigation of hardened AAFAC material properties. Results show AAFAC can be manufactured in the same way as OPCC, and that it has a self consolidating consistency in the fresh state. Curing at 60 °C for 24 h produced very rapid strength gain. Compression strengths at 1 day ranged between 47 and 53 MPa, with 28 days compression strengths ranging from 48 to 55 MPa. Material test results show AAFAC is a brittle material with an approximately linear stress–strain response, and an elastic modulus slightly less than that predicted by ACI 318.     

Bond behavior between steel reinforcement and recycled concrete

In this paper the bond behavior of recycled aggregate concrete was characterized by replacing different percentages of natural coarse aggregate with recycled coarse aggregate (20, 50 and 100 %). The results made it possible to establish the differences between the conventional concrete bond strength and the recycled concrete bond strength depending on the replacement percentage. It was thus found that bond stress decreases with the increase of the percentage of recycled coarse aggregate used. In order to define the influence of recycled aggregate content on bond behavior, normalized bond strength was calculated taking into account the reduced compressive strength of the recycled concretes. Finally, using the experimental results, a modified expression for maximum bond stress (bond strength) prediction was developed, taking into account replacement percentage and compressive strength. The obtained results show that the equation proposed provides an experimental value to theoretical prediction ratio similar to that of conventional concrete.     

Effect of moist curing and use of lightweight sand on characteristics of high-performance concrete

Factorial design approach was undertaken to determine the effect of initial moist-curing duration (0 and 6 days) on properties of high-performance concrete (HPC) made with different water-to-cementitious materials ratios (w/cm) of 0.30 and 0.40 and sand substitution rates with lightweight sand (LWS) of 0 and 30 %, by volume. Mechanical properties of HPC are shown to be mainly affected by w/cm and total shrinkage of concrete by the LWS replacement rate and initial moist-curing period. It should be noted that concrete made with 30 % LWS replacement that did not receive any moist-curing exhibited lower shrinkage than moist-cured concrete prepared without any LWS, regardless of the w/cm. Combined use of 30 % LWS and 7 days of moist curing can lead to greater increase in compressive strength and larger decrease in total shrinkage compared to the use of 30 % LWS without moist curing or 7 days of moist curing without LWS. The use of LWS, however, is more practical and efficient to reduce shrinkage of HPC for deep concrete elements.     

Restrained shrinkage cracking of recycled aggregate concrete

The increase in drying shrinkage and decrease in tensile properties of concrete proportioned with recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) can result in a high risk of cracking under restrained conditions. However, the reduction of the modulus of elasticity of such concrete, can lead to greater stress relaxation and reduction in cracking potential. An experimental program was undertaken to evaluate the effect of using RCA at high substitution rates of 50 and 100% (by vol.) on the cracking potential under restrained conditions. Four different types of coarse RCA, two binder types, and water-to-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm) of 0.37 and 0.40 were considered in the study. Mechanical properties, drying shrinkage, and cracking potential using the ring test were investigated. Test results indicated no cracking up to 35 days in the case of the reference mixture and the concrete prepared with 50% RCA replacement. The 28-day stress rate of such mixtures were limited to 0.12 MPa/day. Depending on the RCA type, the incorporation of 100% coarse RCA in a binary system made with 0.40 w/cm increased the 35-day cracking potential to up to 74%, with values of stress rate ranging from 0.25 to 0.34 MPa/day. The mixtures proportioned with 100% RCA developed tensile creep coefficient of 0.34–0.78 at the time of cracking compared to 0.34–0.36 for the reference concrete at the same age. However, greater elastic concrete strain and lower tensile strength resulted in reduced time to cracking at 100% RCA replacement, which was 9.0–11.0 days.     

Fibre-reinforced geopolymer concrete with ambient curing for in situ applications

Geopolymer concrete is proven to have excellent engineering properties with a reduced carbon footprint. It not only reduces the greenhouse gas emissions (compared to Portland cement-based concrete) but also utilises a large amount of industrial waste materials such as fly ash and slag. Due to these positive attributes, it is becoming an increasingly popular construction material. Previous studies on geopolymer concrete report that heat curing plays an important role in gaining higher compressive strength values (as opposed to ambient curing), and hence the application of this material could be limited to precast members. Therefore, this research was aimed at investigating the effect of heat curing by comparing the mechanical properties such as compressive strength and ductility of ambient cured and heat cured geopolymer concrete samples. It is worth noting that there was marginal strength change due to heat curing. In Australia, fibre-reinforced geopolymer concrete is being used in precast panels in underground constructions. Commercially available geopolymer cement and synthetic fibres are effectively being used to produce elements that are more durable than what is currently used in industry. As a result, this research investigated the effects of polypropylene fibres in geopolymer concrete using 0.05 and 0.15 % fibres (by weight). The addition of polypropylene fibres enhances the compressive strength and the ductility of geopolymer concrete.