Parameters for assessing recycled aggregate and their correlation

Abstract

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste has consumed a large portion of the landfill areas in Hong Kong. Among them, concrete occupies more than 70% of the total C&D waste by volume. Thus it is necessary to recycle concrete waste to preserve landfill areas. Various governmental departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) are encouraging the use of recycled aggregate (RA) in the Hong Kong construction industry by issuing various guidelines and specifications. Owing to uncertainty in their properties, however, practitioners are sceptical in using it as a substitute. In this study, an attempt has been made to look at relations among six main parameters that describe the behaviour of RA: (1) particle size distribution; (2) particle density; (3) porosity and absorption; (4) particle shape; (5) strength and toughness; and (6i) chloride and sulphate contents. RA samples were obtained from nine demolition sites with service lives ranging from 10 to 40 years and another set of samples was collected from the Tuen Mun Area 38 recycling plant. The behaviour of these samples was compared with that of normal aggregate samples. This study revealed that there is a strong correlation among various parameters, and by measuring three of them: either `particle density' or `porosity and absorption' or `particle shape', and `strength and toughness', and `chloride and sulphate contents', it is possible to assess the behaviour of RA. This can significantly help by reducing RA testing time and cost before using it as recycled aggregate concrete.