Experimental Study on the Vegetation Growing Recycled Concrete and Synergistic Effect with Plant Roots

Abstract

Vegetation growing recycled concrete (VGRC) is a relatively new building material that has both biocompatibility and engineering function. The basic performance of VGRC was investigated by experimental analysis, and the hydration products and pore structure of different VGRC mix proportions were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and industrial computed tomography (CT). The results show that ultrafine slag can reduce Ca(OH)2 content in cementing material and has a filling effect on micropores. VGRC has the best performance; the internal pore distribution is uniform when porosity is 20–25%, and the ultrafine slag content is 40%. The compressive strength of VGRC is greatly damaged by the quick-freezing method, while the degree of damage from natural freeze–thaw cycles is relatively small. Soaking in acid solution can effectively reduce the internal pore alkalinity of VGRC. Most plants can grow normally in vegetation concrete, and plant roots can penetrate 6-cm thick concrete blocks after being planted for 60 days. The compressive strength of VGRC decreased after turf planting of 30 days and then increased slowly. The permeability coefficient of VGRC increases with the increase in porosity and aggregate size and decreases after planting and covering. The frost resistance of VGRC is enhanced, and the influence of aggregate size and porosity is small after turf planting.