Potential for Use of Recycled Cathode Ray Tube Glass in Making Concrete Blocks and Paving Flags

The potential to use waste glass, including cathode ray tube (CRT) glass, for making new products or as an admixture to existing ones is being intensively investigated. This kind of research intensified particularly in the period after CRT TV sets and computer monitors were replaced in the market by the advanced technology of thin film transistor (TFT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) screens. Cathode ray tube glass represents a considerable part of electronic waste (e-waste). E-waste globally increases at a far higher rate than other solid waste materials. There is a possibility to recycle cathode ray tube glass and use it in the construction industry. This paper shows the test results of physical and mechanical properties of blocks and paving flags. The reference specimen was made with quartz sand, while the other product employed a combination of quartz sand and ground panel cathode ray tube glass. The glass was ground to the fraction 0.25/1.00 mm, which corresponds to quartz sand fineness. The following tests were performed: shape and dimensions, resistance to freeze/thaw and de-icing salts, water absorption, splitting tensile strength and tensile strength by bending. Special attention was paid to the tests of Böhme wear resistance, slip resistance of the top surface of CRT products using a pendulum, radioactivity and leaching. The texture of the experimental concrete products was observed by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and analyzed. The results obtained by experimental testing unequivocally show that CRT glass can successfully be used for making concrete blocks and paving flags.     

Recycled Aggregate: A Viable Solution for Sustainable Concrete Production

Construction and demolition activities consume large amounts of natural resources, generating 4.5 bi tons of solid waste/year, called construction and demolition waste (C&DW) and other wastes, such as ceramic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glass, and slag. Furthermore, around 32 bi tons of natural aggregate (NA) are extracted annually. In this scenario, replacing NA with recycled aggregate (RA) from C&DW and other wastes can mitigate environmental problems. We review the use of RA for concrete production and draw the main challenges and outlook. RA reduces concrete’s fresh and hardened performance compared to NA, but these reductions are often negligible when the replacement levels are kept up to 30%. Furthermore, we point out efficient strategies to mitigate these performance reductions. Efforts must be spent on improving the efficiency of RA processing and the international standardization of RA.     

Recycled Aggregates Produced from Construction and Demolition Waste for Structural Concrete: Constituents,Properties and Production

This paper concerns the recovery of construction and demolition waste as coarse recycled aggregates for concrete. Coarse recycled aggregates may be used as a partial or total replacement of natural aggregates, contributing to the circular economy and minimizing landfill disposals as well as the consumption of natural mineral resources. However, construction and demolition waste is a heterogeneous material with undefined quality and the processing of this waste into recycled aggregates needs to ensure that the recycled aggregates have suitable properties for concrete. This paper summarizes several aspects related to coarse recycled aggregates, specifically addressing: (i) the typical composition of construction and demolition waste; (ii) the influence of different types of constituents on the properties of recycled aggregates and recycled aggregate concrete; (iii) requirements for recycled aggregates to be used in concrete; and (iv) production methods of recycled aggregates. It is argued that coarse recycled aggregates are a suitable construction material with adequate quality, even when common equipment is used in their production and preliminary separation as a key operation for ensuring the quality of the aggregates is recommended.     

Simulation of the Attrition of Recycled Concrete Aggregates during Concrete Mixing

Concrete mixing can lead to mechanical degradation of aggregates, particularly when dealing with recycled concrete aggregates. In this work, the attrition of such materials during mixing is studied by means of experiments and simulations. The effect of the presence of fines, water addition, flow configuration of the mixer (co- or counter-current) and impeller frequency is discussed. Experiments were performed in a laboratory Eirich mixer. Discrete element numerical simulations (DEM) were performed on the same geometry by mimicking the behaviour of the material and, in particular, the cohesion induced by water and the cement paste using either Hertz–Mindlin or Hertz–Mindlin with Johnson–Kendall–Roberts (JKR) contact laws. The combination of the collision energy spectra extracted from the DEM simulations and an attrition model allowed the prediction of the mass loss due to attrition in 1-min experiments. Semi-quantitative agreement was observed between experiments and simulations, with a mean relative error of 26.4%. These showed that higher mass losses resulted from operation at the highest impeller speeds, co-current operation, and also with the wet aggregate. Mixing of the agglomerate in the concrete mix resulted in a significant reduction in attrition when compared to mixing aggregates alone. With further validation, the proposed simulation approach can become a valuable tool in the optimization of mixing by allowing the effects of material, machine and process variables to be studied on the mass loss due to attrition.     

A Mechanical Treatment Method for Recycled Aggregates and Its Effect on Recycled Aggregate-Based Concrete

Recycle concrete aggregates (RCA) consist of natural aggregates and remnant mortar adhered to their surface. The amount, size, and morphology of the adherent remainder paste influences quality aspects of RCA, such as their bonding potential with new cement matrix in an RCA-based concrete, as well as the concrete’s overall rheological and performance characteristics. The objective of this research was to study the effect of reducing the adhered mortar in RCA, by means of a mechanical treatment method, on the performance of concrete containing RCA at different percentages. The treatment process was conducted within a concrete mixer truck drum at specific time intervals, the effect of which was determined by means of image analysis, mass loss recordings, and circularity determinations. The effect of size of treated and field RCA, as well as replacement percentages on mechanical performance and durability of high and normal strength concrete mixes, were also investigated. It was concluded that the optimal treatment duration where no further significant removal of adhered paste occurred thereon was 3 h, and concrete mixes containing 3 h treated RCA exhibited comparable performance characteristics to those of the reference concrete mix.     

Influence of Pozzolan,Slag and Recycled Aggregates on the Mechanical and Durability Properties of Low Cement Concrete

The sustainability of the construction sector demands the reduction of CO₂ emissions. The optimization of the amount of cement in concrete can be achieved either by partially replacing it by additions or by reducing the binder content. The present work aims at optimizing the properties of concrete used in the production of reinforced concrete poles for electrical distribution lines, combining the maximization of compactness with the partial replacement of cement by fly ash, natural pozzolans, and electric furnace slags. Natural aggregates were also partially replaced by recycled ones in mixtures with fly ash. Two types of concrete were studied: a fresh molded one with a dry consistency and a formwork molded one with a plastic consistency. The following properties were characterized: mechanical properties (flexural, tensile splitting, and compressive strengths, as well as Young’s modulus) and durability properties (capillary water absorption, water penetration depth under pressure, resistance to carbonation, chloride migration, and concrete surface resistivity). The service life of structures was estimated, taking the deterioration of reinforcement induced by concrete carbonation or chloride attack into account. Results revealed that mixtures with fly ash exhibit higher mechanical performance and mixtures with fly ash or pozzolans reveal much higher durability results than the full Portland cement-based mixtures.     

Mechanical Properties and Durability Performance of Recycled Aggregate Concrete Containing Crumb Rubber

Despite extensive research studies, recycled aggregates and worn-out tyres of motor vehicles are still not fully reused and are hence disposed of in ways that are damaging to the environment. Several studies have been carried out on recycled aggregate and rubberized concrete, but very limited studies are conducted on rubber recycled aggregate concrete. This study focuses on the workability, mechanical properties and durability performance of concrete made with 100% recycled aggregates and crumb rubber at different replacement level (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%). The first stage of the study covers the effect of incorporating crumb rubber at different concentration on the workability and mechanical properties of recycled aggregate concrete. The results revealed that the workability and mechanical properties of the recycled aggregate concrete can be used for structural applications when 5% of crumb rubber are used to replace recycled aggregates. The 28-days compressive strength of the rubberized recycled aggregate concrete with 5% crumb rubber concentration is reduced by 21.1% and 32.8% when compared to recycled aggregate concrete and control concrete, respectively. The second stage of the study assesses the durability performance of the recycled aggregate concrete with 5% crumb rubber concentration. The 5% crumb rubber content for durability tests was considered because the ultrasonic pulse velocity tests revealed that the quality of the recycled aggregate concrete is questionable if the concentration of crumb rubber particles is beyond 5%. The durability performance using the surface resistivity test also shows that the chloride ion penetration of recycled aggregates concrete with 5% crumb rubber replacement is moderate using air dried curing technique and high using the water bath curing method. Hence the study suggests the use of rubber recycled aggregate concrete for applications were the exposure condition is not extreme.     

Mechanical Performance of Bio-Based FRP-Confined Recycled Aggregate Concrete under Uniaxial Compression

This research investigates the effectiveness of bio-sourced flax fiber-reinforced polymer in comparison with a traditional system based on carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy polymer in order to confine recycled aggregate concretes. The experimental investigation was conducted on two series of concrete including three mixtures with 30%, 50%, and 100% of recycled aggregates and a reference concrete made with natural aggregates. The concrete mixtures were intended for a frost environment where an air-entraining agent was added to the mixture of the second series to achieve 4% air content. The first part of the present work is experimental and aimed to characterize the compressive performance of confined materials. The results indicated that bio-sourced composites are efficient in strengthening recycled aggregates concrete, especially the air-entrained one. It was also found that the compressive strength and the strain enhancement obtained from FRP confinement are little affected by the replacement ratio. The second part was dedicated to the analytical modeling of mechanical properties and stress–strain curves under compression. With the most adequate ultimate strength and strain prediction relationships, the full behavior of FRP-confined concrete can be predicted using the model developed by Ghorbel et al. to account for the presence of recycled aggregates in concrete mixtures.     

Recycled Concrete Aggregate for Medium-Quality Structural Concrete

This paper reports an evaluation of the properties of medium-quality concrete incorporating recycled coarse aggregate (RCA). Concrete specimens were prepared with various percentages of the RCA (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The workability, mechanical properties, and durability in terms of abrasion of cured concrete were examined at different ages. The results reveal insignificant differences between the recycled concrete (RC) and reference concrete in terms of the mechanical and durability-related measurements. Meanwhile, the workability of the RC reduced vastly since the replacement of the RCA reached 75% and 100%. The ultrasound pulse velocity (UPV) results greatly depend on the porosity of concrete and the RC exhibited higher porosity than that of the reference concrete, particularly at the transition zone between the RCA and the new paste. Therefore, the sound transmission in the RC required longer times than that in the reference concrete. Moreover, a predictive equation relating the compressive strength to the UPV was developed.     

Eurocode Shear Design of Coarse Recycled Aggregate Concrete: Reliability Analysis and Partial Factor Calibration

This paper contributes to the definition of design clauses for coarse recycled aggregate concrete. One of the main reasons for scepticism towards recycled aggregate concrete is the perceived notion that the heterogeneity of recycled aggregates may increase the uncertainty of the behaviour of concrete. Therefore, the paper uses structural reliability concepts to propose partial factors for recycled aggregate concrete’s design for shear failure. The paper builds upon a previous publication by the authors, in which the model uncertainty of recycled aggregate concrete elements designed for shear, with and without shear reinforcement, was compared with that of natural aggregate concrete elements. In that paper, the statistics of the model uncertainty for recycled aggregate concrete shear design were indeed found to be less favourable than those of natural aggregate concrete. Therefore, a partial factor for recycled aggregate concrete design is needed to ensure safety. This paper presents partial factors calibrated with explicit reliability analyses for different cases of design concerning beams (in the case of shear design of elements with shear reinforcement) and slabs (for the design of elements without shear reinforcement). For full incorporation of coarse recycled concrete aggregates and the design of elements without shear reinforcement, the calibrated partial factor reduces the design value of shear resistance by 10% (design with EN1992) or 15% (design with prEN1992) in comparison to natural aggregate concrete’s design. For the shear design of elements with shear reinforcement, the partial factor decreases resistance by 5% but a sensitivity analysis showed that the reduction might be, under pessimistic expectations, of up to 20%.     

The Chemical-Mineralogical Characterization of Recycled Concrete Aggregates from Different Sources and Their Potential Reactions in Asphalt Mixtures

The incorporation of a recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as a replacement of natural aggregates (NA) in road construction has been the subject of recent research. This tendency promotes sustainability, but its use depends mainly on the final product’s properties, such as chemical stability. This study evaluates the physical and chemical properties of RCAs from two different sources in comparison with the performance of NA. One RCA was obtained from the demolition of a building (recycled concrete aggregate of a building—RCAB) and another RCA from the rehabilitation of a Portland cement concrete pavement (recycled concrete aggregate from a pavement—RCAP). Characterization techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectrometry were used to evaluate the RCAs’ coarse fractions for chemical potential effects on asphalt mixtures. NA was replaced with RCA at 15%, 30%, and 45% for each size of the coarse fractions (retained 19.0, 12.5, 9.5, and 4.75 sieves in mm). The mineralogical characterization results indicated the presence of quartz (SiO₂) and calcite (CaCO₃) as the most significant constituents of the aggregates. XFR showed that RCAs have lower levels of CaO and Al₂O₃ concerning NA. Potential reactions in asphalt mixtures by nitration, sulfonation, amination of organic compounds, and reactions by alkaline activation in the aggregates were discarded due to the minimum concentration of components such as NO₂, (–SO₃H), (–SO₂Cl), and (Na) in the aggregates. Finally, this research concludes that studied RCAs might be used as replacements of coarse aggregate in asphalt mixtures since chemical properties do not affect the overall chemical stability of the asphalt mixture.     

Freezing and Thawing Resistance of Fine Recycled Concrete Aggregate (FRCA) Mixtures Designed with Distinct Techniques

The pressure to use sustainable materials and adopt practices reducing the carbon footprint of the construction industry has risen. Such materials include recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) made from waste concrete. However, concrete made with RCA often presents poor fresh and hardened properties along with a decrease in its durability performance, especially when using its fine fraction (i.e., FRCA). Most studies involving FRCA use direct replacement methods (DRM) to proportion concrete although other techniques are available such as the Equivalent Volume (EV) and Particle Packing Models (PPMs); yet their impact on the durability performance, especially its performance against freezing and thawing (F/T), remains unknown. This work, therefore, appraises the F/T resistance of FRCA mixtures proportioned through various mix proportioning techniques (i.e., DRM, EV and PPMs), produced with distinct crushing processes (i.e., crusher’s fines vs. finely ground). The results show that the mix design technique has a significant influence on the FRCA mixture’s F/T resistance where PPM-proportioned mixtures demonstrate the best overall performance, exceeding the specified requirements while DRM-proportioned mixtures failed F/T resistance requirements. Moreover, the crushing process plays an important role in the recycled mixtures’ cracking behavior under F/T cycles, where less processing leads to fewer cracks while remaining the most sustainable option overall.     

Influence of Design Parameters on Fresh Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete with Recycled Aggregate—A Review

This article presents an overview of the bibliographic picture of the design parameter’s influence on the mix proportion of self-compacting concrete with recycled aggregate. Design parameters like water-cement ratio, water to paste ratio, and percentage of superplasticizers are considered in this review. Standardization and recent research on the usage of recycled aggregates in self-compacting concrete (SCC) exploit its significance in the construction sector. The usage of recycled aggregate not only resolves the negative impacts on the environment but also prevents the usage of natural resources. Furthermore, it is necessary to understand the recycled aggregate property’s role in a mixed design and SCC properties. Design parameters are not only influenced by a mix design but also play a key role in SCC’s fresh properties. Hence, in this overview, properties of SCC ingredients, calculation of design parameters in mix design, the effect of design parameters on fresh concrete properties, and the evolution of fresh concrete properties are studied.     

Effect of Mechanically Treated Recycled Aggregates on the Long Term Mechanical Properties and Durability of Concrete

The objective of this research was to study the effect of an optimal mechanical treatment method to reduce the mortar adhered on recycled aggregates (RCA) on the long-term mechanical properties and durability of concretes containing RCA at different replacement levels. It was found that concretes incorporating treated RCA exhibited sharper and more significant increase on 90- and 365-day compressive strengths than any other investigated mixture. The same mixtures also benefitted from a ‘shrinkage-controlling’ effect, where strains and mass losses were reduced by almost 15% and 10%, respectively, compared to the reference concrete. While sulfate resistance and carbonation resistance are predominantly defined by the hydration products available within the cement paste and not to a large extent by the aggregate type and quality, the incorporation of either treated or untreated RCA in concrete did not appear to expose RACs to significant durability threats.     

Effect of Waste Basalt Fines and Recycled Concrete Components on Mechanical,Water Absorption,and Microstructure Characteristics of Concrete

In this paper, the recycled fine aggregates and powders produced from crushing old basaltic concrete and natural basalt were used to produce new concrete. The sand was partially replaced by two types of recycled wastes at five percentages: 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%. The cement was partially replaced by recycled powders and silica fume (SF) at four percentages: 0, 5%, 10%, and 20%. The concrete strengths and water absorption were obtained at several curing ages. The obtained results emphasized the positive effects of increasing the curing time on enhancing the concrete properties, regardless of the types or the waste sources. Moreover, the recycled powders retarded the hydration reaction. In addition, the recycled fine aggregates and powders could achieve about 99.5% and 99.3% of the ordinary concrete strength and enhance the tensile strength. Furthermore, the mix containing 40% of recycled fine concrete aggregate diffused the highest contents of both calcium and silicate, which led to enhancing the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) and concrete properties, compared to the other tested mixes. Finally, the water absorption of all tested concrete mixes decreased with an increase in the curing age, while the mixes integrating 10% and 20% of SF experienced the lowest values of water absorption.     

The Design and Development of Recycled Concretes in a Circular Economy Using Mixed Construction and Demolition Waste

This research study analysed the effect of adding fine—fMRA (0.25% and 50%)—and coarse—cMRA (0%, 25% and 50%)—mixed recycled aggregate both individually and simultaneously in the development of sustainable recycled concretes that require a lower consumption of natural resources. For this purpose, we first conducted a physical and mechanical characterisation of the new recycled raw materials and then analysed the effect of its addition on fresh and hardened new concretes. The results highlight that the addition of fMRA and/or cMRA does not cause a loss of workability in the new concrete but does increase the amount of entrained air. Regarding compressive strength, we observed that fMRA and/or cMRA cause a maximum increase of +12.4% compared with conventional concrete. Tensile strength increases with the addition of fMRA (between 8.7% and 5.5%) and decreases with the use of either cMRA or fMRA + cMRA (between 4.6% and 7%). The addition of fMRA mitigates the adverse effect that using cMRA has on tensile strength. Regarding watertightness, all designed concretes have a structure that is impermeable to water. Lastly, the results show the feasibility of using these concretes to design elements with a characteristic strength of 25 MPa and that the optimal percentage of fMRA replacement is 25%.     

Mechanical Properties of Basalt-Based Recycled Aggregate Concrete for Jeju Island

Recycled aggregate is essential to protect Jeju Island’s natural environment, but waste concrete, including porous basalt, is a factor that lowers the quality of recycled aggregate. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to analyze the properties of concrete application of basalt-based recycled aggregate (B-RA) through quality improvement. The absorption of the B-RA ranged from 3–5%; restricting its absorption to less than 3% was challenging owing to its porosity and irregular shape. However, the increase in the solid volume percentage of the concrete when replacing 25 or 50% of fresh basalt aggregate with recycled basalt aggregate improved the mechanical performance of the concrete, especially at 25%, for which a compressive strength of 55.9 MPa and modulus of elasticity of 25.9 GPa exceeded those of concrete with fresh basalt aggregate. Moreover, increasing the replacement ratio of the fresh basalt with recycled aggregate reduced the slump and decreased the air content, consequently increasing the concrete drying shrinkage. However, the replacement of fresh basalt aggregate with recycled basalt aggregate unaltered the mechanical performance of the concrete. The results indicate that efficient use of recycled aggregates can yield superior performance to that of fresh basalt, irrespective of aggregate quality.     

Quantification of the Hardened Cement Paste Content in Fine Recycled Concrete Aggregates by Means of Salicylic Acid Dissolution

Adherent hardened cement paste attached to recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) generally presents a higher porosity than natural aggregates, which induces a lower porosity in the properties of RCA. The characterization of the adherent hardened cement paste content (HCPC) in the fine RCA would promote better applications of RCA in concrete, but the determination of HCPC in fine RCA is not well established. A simple method based on salicylic acid dissolution was specifically developed to quantify the HCPC in RCA, especially for RCA containing limestone aggregates. The results demonstrated that the soluble fraction in salicylic acid (SFSA) was equal to the HCPC for white cement and slightly lower for grey Portland cement, which was also confirmed by a theoretical approach using modelling the hydration of cement paste with the chemical equations and the stoichiometric ratios. The physical and mechanical properties of RCA (e.g., water absorption) were strongly correlated to the SFSA. For industrial RCA, SFSA did not give the exact value of HCPC, but it was sufficient to correlate HCPC with the other properties of RCA. The water absorption could be estimated with good accuracy for very fine RCA (laboratory-manufactured RCA or industrial RCA) by extrapolating the relationship between water absorption and HCPC, which is very important for concrete formulation.     

A Comparison of Machine Learning Tools That Model the Splitting Tensile Strength of Self-Compacting Recycled Aggregate Concrete

Several types of research currently use machine learning (ML) methods to estimate the mechanical characteristics of concrete. This study aimed to compare the capacities of four ML methods: eXtreme gradient boosting (XG Boost), gradient boosting (GB), Cat boosting (CB), and extra trees regressor (ETR), to predict the splitting tensile strength of 28-day-old self-compacting concrete (SCC) made from recycled aggregates (RA), using data obtained from the literature. A database of 381 samples from literature published in scientific journals was used to develop the models. The samples were randomly divided into three sets: training, validation, and test, with each having 267 (70%), 57 (15%), and 57 (15%) samples, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) metrics were used to evaluate the models. For the training data set, the results showed that all four models could predict the splitting tensile strength of SCC made with RA because the R² values for each model had significance higher than 0.75. XG Boost was the model with the best performance, showing the highest R² value of R² = 0.8423, as well as the lowest values of RMSE (=0.0581) and MAE (=0.0443), when compared with the GB, CB, and ETR models. Therefore, XG Boost was considered the best model for predicting the splitting tensile strength of 28-day-old SCC made with RA. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the variable contributing the most to the split tensile strength of this material after 28 days was cement.     

Asphalt Mixes Processed with Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) as Partial Replacement of the Natural Aggregate

Materials play a fundamental role in any branch of civil engineering. From ancient times to the present day, society has required enormous amounts of construction materials, which implies an excessive exploitation of the natural environment. The present research work consisted in the design and development of asphalt mixes with a partial substitution of the natural aggregate (NA) by means of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). The mix was designed with the Marshall methodology, considering the next percentages of substitution and addition by mass: 90% NA and 10% RCA; 80% NA and 20% RCA; 70% NA and 30% RCA. The mixtures were elaborated and analysed under the international standards and the Mexican regulation of the Communications and Transport Ministry, to determine the best option regarding their performance. The materials were characterized according to the current regulations and later employed in the mixes design. A total of 38 specimens were elaborated for each mixture, determining the optimum asphalt content; after that, mechanical tests were performed to analyse and determine the best results. In the aftermath of the examination of all mixtures, we concluded that the 70%AN/30%RCA is the best alternative option according to its performance and numeric results, complying with the cited regulations, and allowing a lower content of asphalt during the process.