Mechanical properties of structural concrete with fine recycled ceramic aggregates

• Recycled aggregates obtained from crushed bricks and crushed sanitary ware.
• Influence of aggregates incorporation in mechanical properties of concrete.
• Concrete with recycled crushed bricks presents adequate structural performance.
• Concrete with recycled sanitary ware performs poorly.

The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of the incorporation of recycled ceramic fine aggregates, obtained from crushed bricks and crushed sanitary ware, on the mechanical properties of concrete. The effects of such incorporation on properties such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance were investigated and are discussed. Seven different concrete mixes were cast to test these hardened properties: a conventional reference concrete and six concrete mixes with replacement ratios of 20%, 50% and 100% of natural fine aggregates by either fine recycled brick aggregates or fine recycled sanitary ware aggregates. All mixes were prepared with the same workability and the same aggregates’ size gradation to allow for a valid comparison of results. Results obtained show that concrete with recycled crushed bricks exhibits adequate structural performance. Conversely, concrete with recycled sanitary ware performed poorly compared to the reference concrete, even though this limitation may be offset by the use of superplasticizers.