Elevated Temperature Performance of Reactive Powder Concrete Containing Recycled Fine Aggregates

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Civil Engineering
• Sustainable Construction

Background:

• Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) offers superior mechanical properties.
• The construction industry faces challenges with waste management and resource depletion.
• Utilizing recycled aggregates in concrete is a key aspect of sustainable development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of elevated temperatures on the properties of RPC with recycled fine aggregates.
• To evaluate the feasibility of using recycled fine aggregates as a partial replacement for natural sand in RPC.
• To assess the performance of RPC under various thermal conditions with different percentages of recycled aggregates.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of RPC specimens with 25%, 50%, and 75% recycled fine aggregate replacement.
• Exposure of specimens to elevated temperatures (25, 200, 400, 600 °C) after different curing conditions.
• Testing for mass loss, compressive strength, split-tensile strength, flexural strength, and water absorption.

Main Results:

• Mechanical properties of RPC degraded with increasing temperature.
• Partial replacement of natural sand with recycled fine aggregates did not cause significant performance degradation.
• Water absorption increased with higher temperatures and recycled aggregate content.

Conclusions:

• Recycled fine aggregates are suitable for partial replacement of natural sand in RPC.
• The use of recycled aggregates contributes to the production of more sustainable RPC.
• RPC incorporating recycled aggregates maintains acceptable performance levels under thermal stress.