Using the Moisture Retention Property of Recycled Coarse Aggregates for Self-Curing of High Performance Concrete

Abstract

recycled coarse aggregates (SSD-RCA), as replacement of normal coarse aggregates (NCA) on the properties of hardened concrete is discussed in this paper. Concrete mixes were prepared using two different mixing procedures, and by replacing normal coarse aggregates (NCA) with 10% and 30% recycled coarse aggregates. The self-curing curing of concrete due to the incorporation of RCA was evaluated by determining the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, water absorption and percentage of voids of concrete under two different curing conditions. The compressive and the splitting tensile strength were comparable for both air and water curing mixes at 28 days with 10% and 30% replacement, indicating the influence of selfcuring effect through the use of RCA. This study exploits the benefits of rather undesirable property of RCA, such as high moisture retention property, or in another word, high water absorption, as internal curing water for strength development, in order to facilitate the recycling of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste. 