ABSTRACT

Many dilapidated civil constructions have been demolished as a result of the necessity for rehabilitation and the effective use of the land that is available. The build-up of waste materials from destroyed concrete strains landfills and adds to the environmental load, making development initiatives unfeasible. Superplasticizers can be used to improve the mechanical characteristics of concrete, which is one way to address this problem. The objective of this work is to assess how a superplasticizer affects the mechanical characteristics of concrete made using recycled aggregate. In order to make concrete specimens, several replacement ratios of fresh natural aggregates with recycled stone and brick aggregates were tested, ranging from 0% to 100%. After applying the superplasticizer to 50% of the concrete specimens, the water content of the concrete mixtures decreased by 15%. The outcomes of the tests show that adding superplasticizers to recycled aggregate concrete improves its mechanical qualities. The mechanical performance of the concrete was found to be unaffected by the addition of superplasticizer, even when recovered stone and brick aggregates replace 50% and 25% of the fresh, natural coarse aggregates, respectively.

Keywords:
Superplasticizer; Recycled stones and bricks; Mechanical properties; Fresh and Harden concrete tests; Microstructural Analysis