Mechanical and elastic behaviour of concretes made of recycled-concrete coarse aggregates

In this paper an investigation of mechanical behaviour and elastic properties of recycled-aggregate concretes is presented. These concretes were prepared by alternatively using two different (coarse and finer coarse) recycled-aggregate fractions both made of recycled concrete coming from a recycling plant in which rubble from demolition is collected and suitably treated. Several concrete mixtures were prepared by using only virgin aggregates (as reference), 30% finer coarse recycled aggregate replacing fine gravel and 30% coarse recycled aggregate replacing gravel. Five different water to cement ratios were adopted as: 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55 and 0.60. Concrete workability was in the slump range of 190–200 mm. Compression tests were carried out after 28 days of wet curing. In addition, concrete elastic modulus and drying shrinkage were evaluated. Results obtained showed that structural concrete up to C32/40 strength class can be manufactured by replacing 30% virgin aggregate with recycled-concrete aggregate. Moreover, a correlation between elastic modulus and compressive strength of recycled-aggregate concrete was found and compared to those reported in the literature. Finally, on the basis of drying shrinkage results, particularly if finer coarse recycled-concrete aggregate is added to the mixture, lower strains could be detected especially for earlier curing time.