Effects on Properties of Concrete Due to Recycled Aggregates

Abstract

India is presently generating construction and demolition (C&D) waste close to almost 23.75 million tons annually and these figures are likely to double in the next seven years. Construction and demolition waste has been seen as a resource in developed Countries. The use of recycled aggregates in concrete can be a very useful step in environmental protection. Recycled aggregates are the materials for a sustainable future. This paper reports the basic properties of recycled fine aggregate and recycled coarse aggregate & also compares these properties with natural aggregates. Basic changes in all aggregate properties are determined and their effects on concreting work are discussed at length. Similarly the properties of recycled aggregate concrete are also determined. Basic concrete properties namely compressive strength, flexural strength and tensile strength have been determined by experiments conducted on specimen like cubes, cylinders and beams. Also different combinations of recycled aggregate with natural aggregates have been used for a M20 mix of concrete. It was found through the experiments that the compressive strength of concrete with different amounts of recycled aggregates was comparable to the conventional mix. Also it was found that the tensile and flexural strength of concrete with recycled aggregate was low as compared to conventional mix.