Sustainable Construction Materials

Recycled Aggregates

Ravindra K. Dhir OBE, Jorge de Brito, Rui V. Silva, Chao Qun Lye

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780081009918
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Civil Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Sustainable Construction Materials: Recycled Aggregate focuses on the massive systematic need that is necessary to encourage the uptake of recycled and secondary materials (RSM) in the construction industry. This book is the fifth and the last of the series on sustainable construction materials and like the previous four, it is also different to the norm. Its uniqueness lies in using the newly developed, Analytical Systemisation Method, in building the data-matrix sourced from 1413 publications, contributed by 2213 authors from 965 institutions in 67 countries, from 1977 to 2018, on the subject of recycled aggregate as a construction material, and systematically analysing, evaluating and modelling this information for use of the material as an aggregate concrete and mortar, geotechnics and road pavement applications. Environmental issues, case studies and standards are also discussed. The work establishes what is already known and can be used to further progress the use of sustainable construction materials. It can also help to avoid repetitive research and save valuable resources. The book is structured in an incisive and easy to digest manner and is particularly suited for researchers, academics, design engineers, specifiers, contractors, and government bodies dealing with construction works.

• Provides an exhaustive and comprehensively organized list of globally-based published literature spanning 5000 references
• Offers an analysis, evaluation, repackaging and modeling of existing knowledge that encourages more responsible use of waste materials
• Provides a wealth of knowledge for use in many sectors relating to the construction profession, including academia, research, practice and adoption of RSM

1

Introduction

Synopsis

The experiences of a wide range of collaborative industrial research projects, supported by a large number of organisations (in the main from industry, government departments and research councils), and in particular their dissemination to the point of application, which laid the foundation for this work of producing a series of five books on the subject of sustainable construction materials, are briefly described in this chapter. The role of recycled and secondary materials in achieving sustainable construction, leading to sustainability, is explained. This book, the fifth, and the last, of the series, deals with recycled aggregates arising from construction, demolition and excavation waste. An introduction to the material is provided, along with a brief description of the novel procedure of systematic analysis and evaluation of the large volume of experimental data sourced for use in developing this work. The structure of the book, in terms of the layout and the contents, is also described.

Keywords

Sustainable development; Sustainable construction materials; Recycled aggregates; Book layout; Book contents

Main Headings

• Background

• Sustainable construction materials

• Recycled aggregates

• Layout and contents

1.1. Background

The basis of this book stems from years of active research and development work undertaken since 1988 at the Concrete Technology Unit (CTU). The CTU is known worldwide for its excellence in research and for working in close collaboration with the construction industry, involving, in large part, small- to medium-sized enterprises, national/multinational companies, charities and government departments. It is also known for its commitment to dissemination of knowledge, as well as an active and decisive involvement in promoting sustainability and the use of sustainable materials, both as a component of cement and as aggregate in the construction sector.

This work has involved the undertaking of carefully planned and focused research to address some of the most challenging issues over the years, including sustainability in construction in general (Dhir et al., 2002a, 2006a,b; Whyte et al., 2005; Dhir et al., 2003); the sustainable use of natural resources to reduce CO₂ emissions, for example, by reducing the cement content of concrete mixes across all strength grades (Dhir et al.,2000, 2004a,b, 2006a,b; Dhir and Hewlett, 2008), and the recycling of waste materials to conserve natural resources (Limbachiya et al., 2000; Dyer and Dhir, 2001; Paine et al., 2002, 2004; Dhir, 2006; Dhir et al., 2008a,b, 2010; Dyer et al., 2006; Paine and Dhir, 2010a,b; Dhir and Halliday, 2006).

Of note, an outreach programme was launched to share and transfer knowledge, in the form of organised seminars, workshops and conferences, during the period of 1988–2008 (Dhir and Green, 1990; Dhir and McCarthy, 1996; Dhir et al., 2002b, 2008b, 2015), and in doing so, a centre for the advancement of small- to medium-sized enterprises in the construction sector was established. This also included the initiation of the globalisation of concrete research and the forming of the UK–India (UKIERI) (Newlands and Dhir, 2011) and Ireland–India research collaboration groups in 2008 and 2012, respectively, and the establishment of the UKIERI Concrete Congress in 2013 (Dhir et al., 2013, 2015).

Working at the forefront of cutting-edge research, in close partnership with a wide industrial base, also brought to light the fragmented and therefore often ineffective nature of the research that has generally been undertaken. Indeed, in the area of sustainable construction materials, this has stifled the rate of progress in realising the potential for developing greater adoption of these materials. As a response to this, a new approach to research, analytical systemisation, has been developed to bring together and analyse and evaluate the published data in the global literature, to better understand and utilise information in making technological advancements.

Using this analytical systemisation method, the following selected successful comprehensive studies have been published:

1. • A study undertaken by Silva et al. (2014a) has provided a method for classifying recycled aggregates (RAs) derived from construction demolition waste for use in concrete, which could help with their certification and boost stakeholders’ confidence in their use. The same authors have produced a series of further studies assessing the effect of using RAs in concrete and geotechnical applications (Silva et al., 2014b, 2015a,b,c, 2016a,b, 2017a,b).
3. • A series of studies aimed at assisting the design engineer in adopting the use of sustainable construction materials, within the framework of existing design codes such as Eurocode 2 (2004), has been published by Lye at el. (2015a,b, 2016a,b,c,d, 2017). This work assessed the effects of coarse recycled concrete aggregate, glass cullet as a fine aggregate and copper slag as a fine aggregate on the modulus of elasticity, creep and shrinkage of concrete.
4. • On the carbonation, chloride ingress and associated corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete made with cement incorporating fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag and ground limestone, complying with the European standard EN 197-1 (2011), the analysis and evaluation of global data have revealed some challenging facts about the performance of concrete and the accompanying impacts on sustainability that had hitherto not generally been appreciated (Lye et al., 2015b, 2016d; Elgalhud et al., 2017a,b).
5. • Similarly, in the area of incinerated ashes, a series of studies has been undertaken using the analytical systematisation method in characterising sewage sludge ash and municipal incinerated bottom ash and assessing their environmental impacts and potential for use as components of cement or aggregate in mortar and concrete, geotechnics, road pavements and ceramic applications (Lynn et al., 2015, 2016a,b,c, 2017a,b).

The analytical systematisation method is proving to be an increasingly powerful tool in analysing and evaluating globally published experimental data on recycled and secondary materials, in terms of characterising the materials and establishing their potential applications and engineering performance across different disciplines, as well as addressing the important environmental impacts and sustainability issues. This approach has been adopted in developing this series of five books on sustainable construction materials, and the first, second, third and fourth, dealing with copper slag (Dhir et al., 2016a), sewage sludge ash (Dhir et al., 2016b), municipal incinerated bottom ash (Dhir et al., 2017) and glass cullet (Dhir et al., 2018), respectively, have been published.

This work, the fifth of the series, dealing with RA, which is obtained from processed constructi...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Related titles
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Author Profiles
• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Methodology
• 3. Availability of Recycled Aggregates
• 4. Processing of Recycled Aggregates
• 5. Properties and Composition of Recycled Aggregates
• 6. Use of Recycled Aggregates in Mortar
• 7. Fresh Concrete Properties
• 8. Strength Development of Concrete
• 9. Deformation of Concrete Containing Recycled Concrete Aggregate
• 10. Recycled Aggregate Concrete: Durability Properties
• 11. Use of Recycled Aggregates in Geotechnical Applications
• 12. Use of Recycled Aggregates in Road Pavement Applications
• 13. Environmental Impact, Case Studies and Standards and Specifications
• 14. Potential for the Recycled Aggregate Market
• 15. Epilogue
• Index