Durable performance of recycled aggregate concrete

Y.A. VILLAGRÁN ZACCARDI; C.J. ZEGA; M.E. SOSA; L.R. SANTILLAN; A. DI MAIO

Cali

Congreso; 6º Amazon & Pacific green materials congress and sustainable construction materials LAT-RILEM conference; 2016

LAT-RILEM

Recycled aggregate concrete is a more eco-friendly material that is being more and more used in new constructions. Nowadays, the main difficulty for its use is regulation, as recycled coarse aggregate usually has higher porosity and water absorption than natural coarse aggregate. Then, there is some hesitation at the moment of assuring a certain strength and durability levels. From the mechanical point of view, several researchers have demonstrated that equivalent strength levels can be achieved even with 100% of recycled aggregate content. More uncertainties regarding durability are still to be discussed. Currently, there is much work being done to determine the extent to which recycled aggregate concrete may affect the performance of a reinforced concrete structure in aggressive environments. This paper presents a review on recent research in this topic, and describes recent investigations from the authors that include chloride penetration, freezing and thawing, high temperature, sulphate attack. The main parameters under investigations are the connection between aggregate porosity and recycled aggregate content with the durable performance of recycled aggregate concrete. But also other parameters with significant influence but which are less mentioned in the literature are analysed, such as the petrography of original natural aggregate and the porosity of the matrix of the source and recycled concretes.