Mechanical characteristics of concrete with recycled aggregates coming from prefabricated discarded units

Abstract

The need to diminish the final amount of waste produced in construction and demolition processes in plants of concrete prefabricated products, has made us analyze the mechanical behaviour of concrete made with recycled aggregate coming from discarded concrete prefabricated units. The aim was to find a possible use for this recycled aggregate in different proportions in reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete, for prefabricated elements. Two situations using recycled aggregate have been studied: one of them, in natural state and subject to pre-saturation with selfcompacting H40 and H50 concrete, using as the only variable the substitution of the 4/12mm coarse aggregate in the following percentages: 0%, 20%, 50% and 100%. The results of the tests performed indicate that concretes with recycled aggregate coming from discarded prefabricated units can offer an excellent quality as structural concrete for future uses.