Concrete Mix Design for Completely Recycled Fine Aggregate by Modified Packing Density Method

Abstract

The undesirable properties of conventional recycled fine aggregate (RFA) often limit its application in the construction industry. To overcome this challenge, a method for preparing completely recycled fine aggregate (CRFA), which crushes all concrete waste only into fine aggregate, was proposed. The obtained CRFA had high apparent density, and its water absorption was lower than that of the conventional RFA. To take advantage of the CRFA, this paper introduced the modified packing density method for the CRFA concrete mix design. The modified packing density method took account of the powder with a particle size of smaller than 75 μm in the CRFA and balanced both the void ratio and the specific surface area of the aggregate system. Concrete (grade C55) was prepared using the CRFA to validate the feasibility of the proposed method. The unit price of the prepared CRFA concrete was around 12.7% lower than that of the natural aggregate concrete. Additionally, the proposed procedure for the concrete mixture design could recycle all concrete waste into the new concrete and replace all the natural fine aggregate in the concrete mixture.