SINHGAD TECHNICAL EDUCATION SOCIETY'S

SINHGAD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE , NARHE

SAVITRIBAI PHULE PUNE UNIVERSITY, PUNE

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the mid semester/end semester report on the topic

“Recycled Aggregate Concrete” submitted by Harsh Upendra Chordiya, Roll No. 3001028 is
record of bonafide work carried out by him under my supervision in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering for the
academic year 2019-20.

Prof. Mr. I. M. Jain. Guide

(H.O.D. CIVIL) Asst. Prof. Miss S. T.

Sanap
 Mid/End Semester Seminar (301012)

Seminar Report

On

Recycled Aggregate Concrete

In the partial fulfilment of the requirement for Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering

Submitted by

Harsh Upendra Chordiya (3001028)

Guided By

Asst. Prof. Miss S. T. Sanap

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

SINHGAD TECHNICAL EDUCATION SOCIETY'S

SINHGAD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE , NARHE

SAVITRIBAI PHULE PUNE UNIVERSITY, PUNE

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to thank my internal guide Asst. Prof.

Miss S. T. Sanap for giving me guidance and support
throughout the Seminar. Her valuable guidelines and
suggestions were very helpful.
I wish to express my thanks to Prof. Mr. I. M. JAIN, Head of
Civil Engineering Department, Sinhgad Institute of
Technology and Science, Narhe for giving me all the help and
important suggestions all over the Seminar Work. I thank all
the teaching and non-teaching staff members, for their
indispensable support and priceless suggestions.
I also thank my friends and family for their help in
collecting data without which this Seminar report not have
been completed. At the end my special thanks to Dr.
RAJENDRA PRASAD, Principal Sinhgad Institute of
Technology and Science, Narhe for providing ambience in the
college, which motivate us to work.

Signature
Harsh U. Chordiya

ABSTRACT:
RECYCLED AGGREGATE CONCRETE

To obtain good quality concrete using recycled aggregate it is necessary to

follow the minimum requirements defined by the respective Building Standards.
Acceptable properties of aggregates are an elemental base for concrete quality;
however adequate mix proportions and concrete production methods are highly
important in concrete quality too. Recycled aggregates composed of original
aggregates and adhered mortar. The physical properties of recycled aggregates
depend on both adhered mortar quality and the amount of adhered mortar. The
adhered mortar is a porous material; its porosity depends upon the w/c ratio of the
recycled concrete employed. When structures made of concrete are demolished or
renovated, concrete recycling is an increasingly common method of utilizing the
rubble. Concrete was once routinely trucked to landfills for disposal, but recycling has
a number of benefits that have made it a more attractive option in this age of greater
environmental awareness and the desire to keep construction costs down.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. General Analysis

The concrete industry makes up approximately 30% of the total market for aggregates and it
is estimated that 165 million tonnes are used annually in concrete. There is, therefore,
considerable incentive to develop alternative aggregate sources based on waste materials. The
aggregate products currently coming from most aggregate recycling plants are unbound fills,
capping, sub-base and pipe bedding as the recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) or RAC is
blended with other materials and is thus unsuitable for ready-mixed concrete. There have
been some site trials with RCA supplied in ready-mixed concrete, but these were not
mainstream options.

Trench arising, containing stone, concrete, brick, asphalt and clay, are produced by utilities
companies, which can then be incorporated into a low strength concrete producing a cost
effective trench fill material. Foamed concrete using the <4mm fines from RCA is also used
in trench reinstatement and there is potential to use incinerator bottom ash aggregate in
foamed concrete as well. The concrete standard BS 8500 has improved the potential for use
of recycled aggregates in concrete as BS EN 12620, Aggregates for concrete. It is expected
that there will be an increase in the use of recycled aggregates for concrete in the next few
years, but currently it is not widely available.

1.2 Characteristics of Recycled Aggregate Concrete

Recycle aggregate concrete has a crushed sound and clean waste concrete of at least 95% by
weight of concrete with typical total contamination lower than 1% of the bulk mass. Class 1A
RCA is a well graded RCA with not more than 0.5% brick content.

The crushing characteristics of hardened concrete are similar to those of natural rock and are
not significantly affected by the grade or quality of the original concrete. Recycled concrete
aggregates produced from all but the poorest quality original concrete can be expected to pass
the same tests which are being required for testing of conventional aggregates.

Recycled concrete aggregates contain not only the original aggregates, but also hydrated
cement paste. This paste reduces the specific gravity and increases the porosity compared to
similar virgin aggregates. Higher porosity of RCA leads to a higher absorption.

1.3 Mix Design Procedure Using RCA

It is generally accepted that when natural sand is used, up to 30 percent of natural crushed
coarse aggregate can be replaced with coarse recycled aggregate without significantly
affecting any of the mechanical properties of the concrete. As replacement amounts increase,
drying shrinkage and creep will increase and tensile strength and modulus of elasticity will
decrease, however compressive strength and freeze-thaw resistance are not significantly
affected.

It is recommended that RCA must be batched close to a saturated surface dry condition, like
lightweight aggregates. To achieve the same workability, slump, and water-cement ratio as in
conventional concrete, the paste content or amount of water reducer generally have to be
increased.

Concrete with RCA can be transported, placed, and compacted in the same manner as
conventional concrete. Special care is necessary when using fine RCA. Only up to 10 to 20
percent fine RCA is beneficial. The aggregate should be tested at several substitution rates.
Often recycled aggregate is combined with virgin aggregate when used in new concrete.

1.4 Sustainability

Recycling concrete provides sustainability in several different ways. The simple act of
recycling the concrete reduces the amount of material that must be land filled. The concrete
itself becomes aggregate and any embedded metals can be removed and recycled as well. As
space for landfills becomes premium, this not only helps reduce the need for landfills, but
also reduces the economic impact of the project. Moreover, using recycled concrete
aggregates reduces the need for virgin aggregates. This in turn reduces the environmental
impact of the aggregate extraction process. By removing both the waste disposal and new
material production needs, transportation requirements for the project are significantly
reduced. In addition to the resource management aspect, recycled concrete aggregates absorb
a large amount of carbon dioxide from the surrounding environment. The natural process of
carbonation occurs in all concrete from the surface inward. In the process of crushing
concrete to create recycled concrete aggregates, areas of the concrete that have not
carbonated are exposed to atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The LEED Green Building Rating System recognizes recycled concrete in its point system.
Credit 4 (Materials and Resources) states, “specify a minimum of 25 percent of building
materials that contain in aggregate a minimum weighted average of 20 percent post-consumer
recycled content material, OR, a minimum weighted average of 40 percent post-industrial
recycled content material.” Using recycled aggregates instead of extracted aggregates would
qualify as post-consumer. Because concrete is an assembly, its recycled content should be
calculated as a percentage of recycled material on a mass basis.

Credit can also be obtained for Construction Waste Management. It is awarded based on
diverting at least 50 percent by mass of construction, demolition, and land clearing waste
from landfill disposal. Concrete is a relatively heavy construction material and is frequently
recycled into aggregate for road bases or construction fill.

1.5 Equipment Used in Recycling Concrete

Figure 1: Asphalt recycle grinding machine Figure 2: Grinding machine for concrete crusher
 Figure 3: Aggregate crusher Figure 4: Concrete recycling robot

2.0 STRENGTH OF REINFORCED CONCRETE WITH RECYCLED COARSE

AGGREGATE

Strength of reinforced concrete is defined as the maximum load or stress it can carry.
Concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension. Because of this, concrete structures
with exception of pavement are designed on the assumption that concrete carries little or no
tension but carries compression, while reinforcements (steel) are designed to withstand
tension.

With the rapid advancement of concrete technology, high strength concrete is being
increasingly widely used in the construction of high-rise buildings and other reinforced
concrete structures. However, the tensile and shear strength of high strength concrete do not
increase in proportion with the compressive strength. And of the two strength properties, the
shear strength is of particular importance because the tensile strength is not normally relied
on for carrying load but shear is unavoidable in beam column framework. Although there has
been a rapid growth of interest in high strength concrete, current specifications for the shear
strength of reinforced concrete beams in the American concrete institute [ACI] Building code
and British standard are based on results of beam tests done using concrete with relatively
low compressive strength.

Compressive Strength of Concrete with RCA

The compressive strength of concrete is evaluated by the concrete’s 28 days cube strength.
BS requires that the specimen load per unit area sustained by a concrete specimen before it
fails in compression. BS stipulates that the usual test is the crushing of a 150mm cube in a
compression machine loaded at the rate of 15Nmm-2 without reinforcement. However, when
the maximum size of aggregate does not exceed 19mm. 100mm cubes can be used for
laboratory work. Most structural concrete are proportioned to have strength of 20-30Nmm -2at
28 days.
Tavakoli M., Soroushian P. studied that concrete made with 100% of recycled coarse
aggregate with lower w/c ratio than the conventional concrete can have larger compression
strength. When the w/c ratio is the same the compression strength of concrete made with
100% of recycled aggregate is lower than that on conventional concrete. For the recycled
aggregate concrete it will be necessary to add more cement in concrete made with 100% of
recycled aggregate in order to achieve the same workability and compression strength as
conventional concrete. Any variation in concrete production or in the properties of the
constituents used produces a variation of strength in the resultant concrete.

Tensile Strength of Concrete with RCA

This is of great importance in the design of concrete roads, railways etc. Concrete members
are also required to withstand tensile stresses resulting from restraint to contraction due to
drying or temperature variation.

Unlike metals it is difficult to measure concrete strength in direct tension and indirect
methods have been developed for assessing this property. The concrete strength in direct
tension is evaluated by “split cylinder test”. This method entails diametrically loading a
concrete cylinder in compression along its entire length. The load induces tensile stress over
the loaded diametrical plane and the cylinder splits along the loaded diameter. The magnitude
of the induced tensile stress at failure in expressed as:

Fct = 2F/ (3.14xL.d)

Where; F = Applied load

L = Length of cylinder

d = Diameter of cylinder

Flexural Strength of Concrete with RCA

The flexural strength of concrete is known as the modulus of rupture that is used to evaluate
tensile strength as determined from tests on beams. The standard size of beams for flexural
tests according to (BS 1881) is 150mm x 150mm x 700mm. However, the American society
for testing materials (A.S.T.M) stipulates that the length of the beam should be at least 50mm
longer than three times its depth and its width should be not more than one and half times its
depth. The minimum depth of width should be at least three times the maximum size of
aggregate and not less than 50mm. This is determined from simply supported beam loaded at
the three points. The resulting bending moment induces compressive and tensile stresses in
the top and bottom of the beam respectively.
The beam flexural strength is given as:

Fct = F.L/ (b.d.d)

Where; F = Applied load

L = Effective span

b and d = Breadth and depth of beam respectively.

The strength in bending is the extreme stress on the tensile side of a point at the point of
failure. The ultimate strength of under reinforced beams in flexure is insensitive to the model
used to represent the stress-strain relationship. It is only where failure occurs by crushing of
concrete in compression that the different stress-strain relationship may result in different
calculated ultimate strength.

2.1 Advantages of Recycled Aggregate Concrete

We all know that recycling materials is good for the environment otherwise it would end up
in a landfill. This is particularly true when you are dealing with bulky materials that take
away precious space for real garbage. By recycling aggregate like asphalt or concrete, we:

1. Reduce the amount of virgin rock mined: That means less mining, less blasting, and more
of a precious resource is preserved for the coming generations.

2. Decrease the energy used for processing: Turning reclaimed material back into useable
aggregate requires less energy than processing virgin stone.

3. Conserve the energy used for trucking: When we create recycled materials onsite, there’s
no trucking cost, environmentally and financially it is good.

4. Lessen the pollution and CO produced at each step of the process: The majority of
recycling operations reduce the power and fuel consumption needed during production
and distribution.
2.2 Process of Making Recycled Aggregate Concrete

Steps involved in recycled aggregate concrete:-

 Crushing
 Pre-sizing
 Sorting
 Screening
 Contaminant elimination

Production Sequence of RAC:-

1) Crushing and screening systems start with primary jaws, cones and/or large impactor
taking rubble from 30 inches to 4 feet.
2) A secondary cone or impactor may or may not need to be run, and then primary and
secondary screens may or may not be used, depending upon the project, the equipment
used and the final product desired.
3) A scalping screen will remove dirt and foreign particles. A fine harp deck screen will
remove fine material from coarse aggregate.
4) Further cleaning is necessary to ensure the recycled concrete product is free of dirt, clay,
wood, plastic and organic materials.
5) This is done by water floatation, hand picking, air separators, and electromagnetic
separators.
 Figure 5: Flowchart of recycling process
2.3 Applications of RAC

1) Smaller pieces of concrete are used as gravel for new construction projects. 
2) Sub-base gravel is laid down as the lowest layer in a road, with fresh concrete or asphalt
poured over it. The US Federal Highway Administration may use techniques such as
these to build new highways from the materials of old highways.
3) Crushed recycled concrete can also be used as the dry aggregate for brand new concrete if
it is free of contaminants. Also, concrete pavements can be broken in place and used as a
base layer for an asphalt pavement through a process called rubblization.
4) Larger pieces of crushed concrete can be used as riprap revetments, which are "a very
effective and popular method of controlling stream bank erosion."
5) With proper quality control at the crushing facility, well graded and aesthetically pleasing
materials can be provided as a substitute for landscaping stone or mulch.
6) Wire gabions (cages), can be filled with crushed concrete and stacked together to provide
economical retaining walls. Stacked gabions are also used to build privacy screen walls
(fencing).

Figure 6: Uses of RAC in different parts of world

CONCLUSIONS

1. Using Recycled fine aggregates in concrete can prove to be better however in less
quantity and can be recommended for lower grade applications like lower layers of roads
such Sub base course and base course.
2. By using Recycled aggregates in construction it will maximize the economic and
environmental benefits.
3. Compressive Strength of Concrete will decreases with increase in Percentage of Recycled
Aggregates for 7, 14, 21 days.
4. The Modulus of Elasticity of Concrete is an important property in Mix Design. The
modulus of elasticity of concrete also affects its strength.
5. Splitting Tensile Strength Test is simple and gives uniform results. The Average Tensile
Strength is 2.65MPa for 21 days test specimen.
6. Average Compressive Strength for 100% of Recycled aggregate at 21days specimen is
24.98MPa. Average Compressive Strength for 75% of Recycled aggregate at 21days
specimen is 25.99MPa.

REFERENCES

1. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management SCEM-2011-0265.R3.

2. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 118 No. 18 2018, 3239-
3263 ISSN: 1311-8080 (printed version); ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version).
3. ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences VOL. 11, NO. 19, OCTOBER 2016.
4. Materials and Structures (2007) 40:529–541 DOI 10.1617/s11527-006-9161-5.