Effects of parent concrete and mixing method on the resistance to freezing and thawing of air-entrained recycled aggregate concrete

• We study the frost resistance of air-entrained recycled aggregate concrete (ARAC).
• The effects of four parent concretes and three mixing approaches are investigated.
• The failure mechanism of ARAC after freezing and thawing is established.
• This is done on the basis of a mesostructural analysis of the test samples.

We elucidated the effects of the parent concrete and mixing approach used on the freezing/thawing resistance of air-entrained recycled aggregate concrete (ARAC). Three non-air-entrained concretes and one air-entrained concrete were used to prepare recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) samples. Three mixing approaches were also investigated. The frost resistances of the ARAC samples produced using an RCA obtained from the non-air-entrained concrete with high strength as well as the air-entrained one were close to that of conventional concrete. The mixing approach used had no effect on the frost resistance. A possible mechanism for the failure of ARAC is proposed.