Mechanical Properties of Botanical Recycled Concrete under Different Production Conditions

Abstract

Botanical recycled concrete, or concrete bonded with wood, is formed by heat pressing the mixture of concrete and wooden waste. Botanical recycled concrete is a relatively new material and the relationship between production condition and its real-world performance is not clear yet. This experimental study investigated the influence of several production condition factors on the density and bending strength of botanical recycled concrete. As a result, temperature and mass ratio of concrete powder to wood flour presented significant effects on the density of this botanical recycled concrete. The increase in production temperature resulted in a remarkable increment in density and bending strength. This is probably due to increased wood flowability and accelerated compaction and bonding formation. The fineness of wood flour had a significant effect on improving bending strength. This is attributed to a larger contact surface between the wood substance and concrete particles.