Impact Resistance of Treated Recycled Aggregate Concrete: Drop Weight Test

Abstract

Abstract The present study deals with recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) performance against impact loads. The drop weight test determines RAC’s strength and impact energy absorption capacity. Recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs) with different qualities (physical and mechanical properties) are used to prepare the RAC mix. The RAC is treated with three different mechanical treatments with varying charges and drum revolutions. It is observed that quality improvisation in RCA improves RAC impact resistance. A strong correlation between the RCA abrasion value and the RAC impact energy is observed, with an R2 value of 0.79. Additionally, a good correlation holds between the RCA crushing value and the impact energy of RAC with an R2 value of 0.61. Furthermore, RAC’s impact resistance can be enhanced by reducing its brittleness index (BI). The BI of RAC decreases as RCA quality improves. A strong correlation is also held between the BI and the impact energy of RAC with an R2 value of 0.98. The impact energy absorbing capacity of RAC’s with treated RCA is increased by up to 48.35% compared to RAC with untreated RCA. RAC composed with improved quality RCA has an impact energy of 0.92 fractions of natural aggregate concrete (NAC). The impact energy of concrete built from untreated recycled concrete aggregate (URCA) is only 0.62 fraction of the impact energy of concrete made from NA.