Mechanical and durability properties of concrete using contaminated recycled aggregates

The degradation of concrete structures due to chlorides and sulphates penetration is of obvious importance in civil engineering as having major impact on structural durability. In this paper, the results of an investigation on the effect of contaminated crushed concrete aggregates on mechanical properties and durability of recycled concrete are presented. Natural aggregates concrete (NC) slabs were cured in water, sea water, chloride solutions or sulphate solutions and then crushed to obtain virgin and contaminated (polluted) recycled aggregates. The properties of natural (NA) and recycled aggregates (RA) and the mechanical properties and durability performances of a new concrete made from 100% of RA are analysed. The results show that contaminated RA are much sensitive to chlorides than sulphates and are rapidly leached when soaked into water. Significant differences were observed between the properties of original and new concrete and the results clearly show the necessity of taking these contaminations into account. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.