Concrete with recycled concrete aggregate and crushed clay bricks

In the last two decades, a variety of recycling methods for construction and demolition wastes (CDW) have been developed. For instance, as one of the major components in CDW, concrete rubble has been used to replace natural aggregate after being treated. This is known as recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). The property and use of RCA for structural or non-structural concrete have been extensively studied and numerous findings have been adopted in engineering practice to produce sustainable concrete. Concrete rubble, however, is inevitably mixed with other wastes such as crushed clay bricks (CCB). The level of inclusion varies depending on the original construction materials of demolished buildings. The differing properties of CCB from RCA will affect the mix design as well as the physical and mechanical properties of the resulting new concrete when the inclusion level exceeds a certain limit. Separating CCB from RCA presents an operational difficulty in practice and also has huge cost implications. Therefore, it is important to study the effect of CCB with various inclusion levels on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. This paper reports on a study conducted to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of recycled concrete with high inclusion levels of RCA and CCB and to explore the potential or the limitation of this type of mixed recycled aggregate in primary concrete structures.

Research highlights► We examined the effect of high inclusion levels of RCA and CCB on the properties of recycled concrete. ► The inclusion of CCB by up to 50% has crucial effect on compressive and cylinder splitting strengths. ► The effect of CCB is relatively limited on the flexural strength. ► The content of crushed clay bricks will markedly increase the permeability.