Recycling of end of life concrete fines (0 - 4 mm) into silica and cement

The purpose of this work is to find a methodology in order to make possible the recycling of fines (0 - 4 mm) in the Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) process. At the moment this fraction is a not desired by-product: it has high contaminant content, it has to be separated from the coarse fraction, because of its high water absorption which can affect the properties of the concrete. In fact, in some countries the use of fines recycled aggregates is highly restricted or even banned. This work is placed inside the European project C2CA (from Concrete to Cement and Clean Aggregates) and it has been held in the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences of the Technical University of Delft, in particular, in the laboratory of Resources And Recycling. This research proposes some procedures in order to close the loop of the entire recycling process. After the classification done by ADR (Advanced Dry Recovery) the two fractions "airknife" and "rotor" (that together constitute the fraction 0 - 4 mm) are inserted in a new machine that works at high temperatures. The temperatures analysed in this research are 600 °C and 750 °C, cause at that temperature it is supposed that the cement bounds become very weak. The final goal is "to clean" the coarse fraction (0,250 - 4 mm) from the cement still attached to the sand and try to concentrate the cement paste in the fraction 0 - 0,250 mm. This new set-up is able to dry the material in very few seconds, divide it into two fractions (the coarse one and the fine one) thanks to the air and increase the amount of fines (0 - 0,250 mm) promoting the attrition between the particles through a vibration device. The coarse fraction is then processed in a ball mill in order to improve the result and reach the final goal. Thanks to the high temperature it is possible to markedly reduce the milling time. The sand 0 - 2 mm, after being heated and milled is used to replace 100% of norm sand in mortar production. The results are very promising: the mortar made with recycled sand reaches an early strength, in fact the increment with respect to the mortar made with norm sand is 20% after three days and 7% after seven days. With this research it has been demonstrated that once the temperature is increased it is possible to obtain a clean coarse fraction (0,250 - 4 mm), free from cement paste that is concentrated in the fine fraction 0 - 0,250 mm. The milling time and the drying time can be largely reduced. The recycled sand shows better performance in terms of mechanical properties with respect to the natural one.

Mejoras tecnológicas en el reciclado de residuos de construcción y demolición (RCD)

La tesis doctoral “Mejoras Tecnológicas en el Reciclado de Residuos de Construcción y Demolición (RCD)” investiga la utilización de los separadores hidráulicos para mejorar la calidad de los áridos reciclados, y se demuestra que es un equipo más eficiente que las técnicas actuales basadas en la simple separación por densidad. En la tesisn se ha realizado inicialmente una revisión de la situación del sector, para a continuación centrarse en los sistemas de separación utilizados en las plantas de valorización españolas. Una vez analizados éstos y en particular los de tipo hidráulico, de los que se resume un estudio comparativo, se ha procedido a ensayar a escala de Laboratorio el comportamiento de un separador hidráulico de aceleración diferencial con diversos materiales procedentes de tres plantas de reciclaje. Adicionalmente fueron probadas otras técnicas, como es la separación magnética para mejorar la calidad de los productos reciclados. En vista de los buenos resultados de la investigación, se procede a escalar los ensayos con equipo piloto y distintas composiciones de naturaleza cerámica y hormigón. El equipo utilizado fue un jig de 3´x 1´ en el que se ensayaron las tres muestras con resultados diferentes. La limpieza de los materiales impropios y el yeso fue positiva en las tres muestras, y únicamente la separación entre sí de los componentes pétreos, resultó dependiente de su proporción en la mezcla, obteniéndose los mejores resultados en las muestras con menor cantidad de materiales cerámicos. Finalmente, se procede a analizar en un laboratorio reconocido las propiedades de los áridos reciclados obtenidos en la separación hidráulica por jig, y constatar las mejoras conseguidas para su utilización como materiales de construcción en usos ligados y no ligados. Todo lo anterior permite afirmar que los equipos de separación hidráulica con aceleración diferencial (jig) presentan una innovación tecnológica en el reciclado de los residuos de construcción y demolición (RCD). ABSTRACT The doctoral thesis “Technological Improvements in Recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW)” researches the hydraulic separators utilization in order to improve the recycled aggregates quality, demonstrating that the equipment is more efficient than the current techniques based on the simple density separation. This doctoral thesis has been initially done reviewing the situation of the sector and focusing afterwards on the separation systems used at the Spanish recovery facilities. Once analyzed these and, particularly, the hydraulic type ones, from which a comparative study has been summarized, the behavior of a differential acceleration hydraulic separator with various materials coming from three recycling plants has been tested at laboratory scale. Additionally other techniques have been tested, such as the magnetic separation to improve the quality of recycled products. In view of the good investigation results, the testing process scaled up by using pilot equipment and different ceramics and concrete compositions. The equipment utilized was a jig 3” x 1”, in which the three samples were tested with different results. The unsuitable materials and gypsum cleanliness was positive on the three samples and only the separation among the stony components turned out to be dependent of its proportion in the mixing, obtaining the best results in the samples with less quantity of ceramic materials. Finally, the properties of the recycled aggregates obtained by jig hydraulic separation are analyzed at a recognized laboratory and the improvements gained for their utilization as construction materials, in bounded and unbounded uses, are stated. The facts cited are a basis for affirming that the hydraulic separator equipments with differential acceleration (jig) offer a technological innovation in the Recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW).

Estudio de hormigones reciclados no estructurales fabricados con árido reciclado mixto : propiedades mecánicas y expansión debida al contenido de sulfatos

El objetivo principal de este trabajo de investigación es estudiar las posibilidades de utilización del árido reciclado mixto para un hormigón reciclado en aplicaciones no estructurales, justificando mediante la experimentación la validez para esta aplicación, tanto del árido reciclado como del hormigón reciclado. Esta tesis se centró en los aspectos más restrictivos y limitativos en la utilización de los áridos mixtos en hormigón reciclado, basándose tanto en la normativa internacional existente como en los resultados obtenidos en los estudios bibliográficos consultados. La primera tarea realizada fue la caracterización completa de las propiedades del árido reciclado mixto, recogiendo especialmente los siguientes aspectos: granulometría, contenido de finos, absorción y densidades, composición del árido reciclado, índice de lajas, coeficiente de Los Ángeles, partículas ligeras y contenido de sulfatos. De este estudio de los áridos reciclados, se han destacado relaciones entre las propiedades. Las diferentes correlaciones permiten proponer criterios de calidad de un árido reciclado mixto para un hormigón reciclado. Se ha elegido un árido reciclado mixto entre los estudiados, de características límite admisibles, para obtener resultados conservadores sobre el hormigón reciclado fabricado con él. En una segunda etapa, se ha realizado un estudio de dosificación completo del hormigón reciclado, evaluando la consistencia del hormigón en estado fresco y la resistencia a compresión del hormigón en estado endurecido y se ha comparado con las mismas propiedades de un hormigón convencional. Se ha analizado la capacidad de absorción del árido conseguida con los métodos de presaturación empleados y en función de su estado de humedad, para poder evaluar las relaciones agua/cemento totales y efectivas del hormigón. Se ha estudiado el efecto de estos dos parámetros tanto en la consistencia como en la resistencia del hormigón reciclado. Finalmente, se ha estudiado el hormigón fabricado con un 50% y 100% de una partida de árido reciclado mixto de calidad admisible y se han ensayado las siguientes propiedades: consistencia, resistencia a compresión, resistencia a tracción indirecta, módulo de elasticidad dinámico, cambios de longitud, porosidad abierta y microscopía. Para analizar el efecto de los sulfatos, se han añadido artificialmente cantidades de yeso controladas en el hormigón reciclado. Se fabricaron hormigones con dos tipos de cemento, un cemento CEM I 42,5 R con elevado contenido de C3A, que debería dar lugar a expansiones mayores y un cemento con adiciones puzolánicas CEM II A-P 42,5 R, que atenuaría el comportamiento expansivo en el hormigón. Los resultados finales indican que la utilización del árido reciclado mixto en proporciones de hasta un 50%, permiten cubrir la gama de resistencias más exigentes dentro del hormigón no estructural. El contenido de sulfatos puede variar desde un 0,8% hasta un 1,9%, según el tipo de cemento y la proporción de sustitución del árido natural por árido reciclado mixto. Tanto en el caso del árido reciclado como en el hormigón, se ha realizado un estudio comparativo entre el conjunto de datos recopilados en la bibliografía y los obtenidos en este estudio experimental. En varias propiedades del hormigón reciclado, se han comparado los resultados con las fórmulas de la Instrucción EHE-08, para establecer unos coeficientes de corrección a aplicar a un hormigón reciclado con fines no estructurales. The main objective of this investigation work is to study the possibilities of using recycled mixed aggregate for a recycled concrete in non structural applications, justifying by means of experimentation both the validity of the recycled aggregate and recycled concrete. This thesis focused on the most restrictive and limiting aspects in the mixed aggregate use in recycled concrete, on the basis of the international standards as well on the results obtained in the bibliographic studies consulted. The first task achieved was the complete charcaterization of the mixed recycled aggregate properties, specially the following aspects: grain size analysis, fines content, absorption and densities, recycled aggregate composition, flakiness index, Los Angeles coefficient, lightweight particles and sulphate content. From this study, correlations between the properties were highlighted. The different correlations make possible to propose quality criterions for recycled mixed aggregate in concrete. Among the recycled aggregates studied, one of acceptable characteristics but near the limits established, was chosen to obtain conservative results in the recycled concrete made with it. In a second step, a complete recycled concrete mix design was made, to evaluate concrete consistency in the fresh state and concrete compressive strength in the hardened state and its properties were compared to those of a control concrete. The aggregate absorption capacity was analized with the presaturation methods achieved and in function of its state of humidity, to evaluate the total and effective water/cement ratios. The effect of these two parameters, both in consistency and compressive strength of recycled concrete, was studied. Finally, the concrete made with 50% and 100% of the elected recycled mixed aggregate was studied and the following concrete properties were tested: consistency, compressive strength, tensile strength, dynamic modulus of elasticity, length changes, water absorption under vacuum and microscopy. To analize the effect of sulphate content, some controlled quantities of gypsum were artificially added to the recycled concrete. Concretes with two types of cement were made, a cement CEM I 42,5 R with a high content of C3A, that would lead to major expansions and a cement with puzzolanic additions CEM II A-P 42,5 R that would lower the expansive behaviour of concrete. The final results indicate that the use of mixed recycled aggregate in proportions up to 50% make possible to cover the overall demanding strengths within the non structural concrete. Sulphates content can range between 0,8% and 1,9%, in function of the type of cement and the proportion of natural aggregate replacement by mixed recycled one. Both in the case of recycled aggregate and concrete, a comparative study was made between the data coming from the bibliography and those obtained in the experimental study. In several recycled concrete properties, the results were compared to the formulas of Spanish Instruction of Structural Concrete (Instruction EHE-08), to establish some correction coefficients to apply for a non structural recycled concrete.

Estudio de hormigón autocompactante con árido reciclado

La tesis doctoral “Estudio de hormigón autocompactante con árido reciclado” realizada dentro del programa de doctorado de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid “Máster en técnicas experimentales avanzadas en la ingeniería civil”, investiga la sustitución de áridos gruesos naturales por reciclados en hormigones autocompactantes, para demostrar la posibilidad de utilización de este tipo de árido en la fabricación de hormigones autocompactantes. En cuanto a la línea experimental adoptada, la primera fase corresponde a la caracterización de los cementos y de los áridos naturales y reciclados. En ella se han obtenido las principales características físicas y mecánicas. Una vez validadas las características de todos los materiales y adoptada una dosificación de hormigón autocompactante, se han elaborado cuatro dosificaciones con cuatro grados de incorporación de árido reciclado cada una, y una dosificación con seis grados de incorporación de árido reciclado. Fabricándose un total de 22 tipos de hormigón diferentes, sin contar todas las amasadas iniciales hasta la consecución de un hormigón autocompactante. Las cinco dosificaciones se han dividido en dos grupos para poder analizar con mayor grado de definición las características de cada uno. El primer grupo es aquel que contienen los hormigones con diferentes relaciones a/c, que incluye a la muestra A (a/c=0.55), muestra D (a/c=0.50) y muestra E (a/c=0.45). Por el contrario, el segundo grupo dispone de una relación fija de a/c=0.45 pero diferentes relaciones a/c efectivas, ya que algunas de las muestras disponen de un contenido de agua que permite contrarrestar la mayor absorción del árido reciclado. Estando en este grupo la muestra E (sin agua adicional), la muestra H (con presaturación de los áridos) y la muestra I (con un aporte de agua junto con el agua de amasado. Una vez fabricados los hormigones, se pasa a la segunda fase del estudio correspondiente a la caracterización del hormigón en estado fresco. En esta fase se han llevado a cabo los ensayos de escurrimiento, escurrimiento con anillo japonés, ensayo embudo en V y embudo V a los 5 minutos. Todos estos ensayos permiten evaluar la autocompactabilidad del hormigón según el anejo 17 de la EHE-08. La tercera fase del estudio se centra en la caracterización de los hormigones en estado endurecido, evaluando las características resistentes del hormigón. Para ello, se han realizado los ensayos de resistencia a compresión, a tracción, módulo de elasticidad y coeficiente de Poisson. En la cuarta y última fase, se han analizado la durabilidad de los hormigones, debido que a pesar de ofrecer una adecuada autocompactabilidad y resistencia mecánica, se debe de obtener un hormigón con una correcta durabilidad. Para tal fin, se ha determinado la resistencia a la penetración de agua bajo presión y carbonatación de las probetas. Este último ensayo se ha realizado teniendo en cuenta las condiciones del denominado método natural, con una exposición al ambiente de 90 días y 365 días. Con todos estos resultados se elaboraron las conclusiones derivadas de la investigación, demostrándose la posibilidad de fabricación de hormigones autocompactantes con árido reciclado (HACR) con sustituciones de hasta un 40%, e incluso dependiendo de la relación a/c con sustituciones del 60% y el 80%. ABSTRACT The doctoral thesis titled Analysis of self-compacting concrete with recycled aggregates, has been developed in accordance with the doctoral program: Master degree in advanced experimental techniques in civil engineering, at UPM. It investigates the possibility of replacing natural coarse aggregates with recycled coarse aggregates, in the field of self-compacting concrete. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the possibility of using recycled coarse aggregates in the manufacture process of self-compacting concretes. Regarding the experimental part, the first phase refers to mechanical and physical characterization of some materials such as cement, natural aggregates and recycled aggregates. Once the characteristics of all materials have been validated and the mixing proportions have been adopted, four different mixes are elaborated by using four dosage rates of recycled aggregates in each one of the samples. Moreover, an additional sample consisting of six different dosages of recycled aggregates is considered. A total number of 22 concrete specimens have been manufactured, without including all the initial kneading samples used to obtain this type of self-compacting concrete. The aforementioned mixes have been divided in two different groups to be able to analyze with more definition. The first group is the one in which the concrete contains different values of the water - cement ratio. It includes the next samples: A (w/c=0.55), D (w/c=0.50) and E (w/c=0.45). The second group has a fixed water -cement ratio, w/c=0.45, but a different effective water - cement ratio, since some of the samples have a water content that enables to offset the major absorption of the recycled aggregates, being in this group the mixing E (without additional water), the mixing H (with saturated recycled aggregate) and the mixing I (with an additional water content to the existing kneading water). Once the concrete samples have been manufactured, the following section deals with the characterization of the concrete in fresh conditions. To accomplish this, several characterization tests are carried out such as the slump-flow test, test slump flow with Japanese ring, test V-funnel and V-funnel to 5 minutes. These tests are used to assess the self-compacting conditions according to the annex 17 of the EHE-08 The third phase of the study focuses on the mechanical characterization, the assessment of the strength properties of the concrete such as compressive strength, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and Poisson´s ratio. Within the fourth and last phase, durability of the concrete is evaluated. This fact is motivated by the need to obtain not only good self-compacting and mechanical strength properties, but also adequate durability conditions. To accomplish the aforementioned durability, resistance of the samples under certain conditions such as water penetration pressure and carbonation, has been obtained. The latter test has been carried out taking into account the natural method, with an exhibition period to the environment of 90 days and 365 days. Through the results coming from this research work, it has been possible to obtain the main conclusions. It has been demonstrated the possibility to manufacture self-compacting concrete by using recycled aggregates with replacement rates up to 40% or, depending on the w/c ratio, rates of 60% and 80% might be reached.

Tratamento superficial dos agregados reciclados de RCD com hidrofugantes.

A proposta busca reduzir a absorção de água dos agregados reciclados de Resíduos de Construção e Demolição (RCD), através do tratamento de sua superfície com hidrofugante, de maneira que estes não aumentem o consumo de água tampouco reduzam a resistência mecânica. Os agregados reciclados de RCD foram caracterizados quanto à granulometria, morfologia, porosidade, ângulo de contato aparente, absorção de água, análise de imagem e rugosidade superficial. Em seguida, os mesmos foram tratados superficialmente com dois tipos de hidrofugante: solução de silano e parafina. Todos os tratamentos permitiram reduzir a absorção de água dos agregados reciclados de RCD. O tratamento por imersão foi aquele que permitiu obter os melhores resultados e a menor variabilidade entre as técnicas. Os tratamentos hidrofugam a superfície, apesar da parafina apresentar maior molhabilidade. O tratamento com parafina apresentou, em termos de absorção de água, resultados inferiores e menos variáveis que o silano. Os parâmetros de rugosidade constataram que, ambos os materiais perdem seu perfil topográfico original quando tratados com parafina. Os diferentes agregados reciclados com cada hidrofugante foram aplicados em materiais cimentícios analisados no estado fresco e no estado endurecido. Os tratamentos reduziram a absorção e o consumo de água de mistura, porém afetaram negativamente as propriedades mecânicas, devido nova interface gerada (no caso específica de parafina) e falta de molhabilidade nas superfícies.

Concreto com agregados reciclados de borracha de pneu: resistência à compressão a altas temperaturas

A sustentabilidade é uma preocupação para a indústria da construção civil, uma vez que é responsável pelo consumo de uma grande quantidade de recursos naturais e por impactos ambientais. Assim, a utilização de agregados reciclados em substituição dos agregados naturais mostra-se benéfica ao minimizar os impactos ambientais, o consumo de recursos naturais e na redução de alguns problemas urbanos associados à acumulação de lixo. Neste contexto, o trabalho de investigação desenvolvido teve como objetivo o estudo da utilização de agregados reciclados de borracha de pneu na composição do concreto, contribuindo com uma alternativa sustentável para o problema do depósito de pneus após a sua vida útil. O trabalho laboratorial realizado compreendeu ensaios de resistência à compressão do concreto. Estudaram-se três composições de concreto, uma composição de referência, uma composição com uma taxa de substituição de 15% e outra com taxa de substituição de 30% de agregados naturais por agregados reciclados de borracha de pneu usados. Os diferentes provetes de concreto foram submetidos a vários níveis de carregamento (0,15fcd; 0,3fcd e 0,7fcd) e a diferentes níveis de temperatura (20, 300, 500 e 700ºC). Os resultados obtidos permitiram verificar que o aumento da percentagem de agregados de borracha reciclados de pneu inserido no concreto conduz a um aumento do controlo de fendilhação e minimiza o surgimento de fissuração de origem térmica.

Development of sustainable, innovative and energy-efficient concrete, based on the integration of all-waste materials: SUS-CON panels for building applications

The building sector requires the worldwide production of 4 billion tonnes of cement annually, consuming more than 40% of global energy and accounting for about 8% of the total CO2 emissions. The SUS-CON project aimed at integrating waste materials in the production cycle of concrete, for both ready-mixed and pre-cast applications, resulting in an innovative light-weight, ecocompatible and cost-effective construction material, made by all-waste materials and characterized by enhanced thermal insulation performance and low embodied energy and CO2. Alkali activated “cementless” binders, which have recently emerged as eco-friendly construction materials, were used in conjunction with lightweight recycled aggregates to produce sustainable concrete for a range of applications. This paper presents some results from the development of a concrete made with a geopolymeric binder (alkali activated fly ash) and aggregate from recycled mixed plastic. Mix optimisation was achieved through an extensive investigation on production parameters for binder and aggregate. The mix recipe was developed for achieving the required fresh and hardened properties. The optimised mix gave compressive strength of about 7 MPa, flexural strength of about 1.3 MPa and a thermal conductivity of 0.34 W/mK. Fresh and hardened properties were deemed suitable for the industrial production of precast products. Precast panels were designed and produced for the construction of demonstration buildings. Mock-ups of about 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 m were built at a demo park in Spain both with SUS-CON and Portland cement concrete, monitoring internal and external temperatures. Field results indicate that the SUS-CON mock-ups have better insulation. During the warmest period of the day, the measured temperature in the SUS-CON mock-ups was lower.

Viabilidad de la aplicación de materiales reciclados y cenizas de biomasa en la fabricación de materiales tratados con cemento

La presente Tesis Doctoral es una contribución al conocimiento y la investigación sobre el uso de áridos reciclados y cenizas de fondo procedentes de la combustión de biomasa para su uso en ingeniería civil. El interés en el uso de áridos reciclados procedentes de residuos de construcción y demolición (RCD) están en continuo crecimiento debido a su potencial frente a diversos usos, entre ellos como material tratado con cemento para capas estructurales de carretera. Por otro lado, la producción de energía eléctrica a partir de centrales termoeléctricas que emplean biomasa como combustible, origina principalmente dos residuos: Cenizas de fondo (CF) formadas por el material total o parcialmente quemado y cenizas volantes (CV), partículas arrastradas por la corriente de gases al exterior de la cámara de combustión. En el desarrollo de este trabajo, se evaluó en una primera etapa, el comportamiento físico, químico y mecánico de diferentes mezclas de materiales granulares reciclados tratados con cemento, con diferentes contenidos de sulfato y de esta manera poder establecer protocolos de aplicación en la fabricación de suelocemento. Posteriormente, se analizo la viabilidad técnica de las cenizas de fondo de biomasa de varias plantas de energía andaluzas y de esta manera, evaluar su potencial uso en obras de infraestructura civil. Se determinó que las cenizas de fondo biomasa poseen propiedades aceptables para ser utilizados como un material de relleno en el núcleo de terraplenes de carreteras de más de 5 m en altura sin medidas de precaución adicionales. Por último, se estudio la posibilidad de incorporar, en proporciones determinadas, cenizas de fondo de biomasa en diferentes mezclas con árido natural y árido reciclado para su uso en ingeniería civil, concretamente como suelocemento para base y subbase de carreteras. El análisis de las propiedades mecánicas fue muy positivo. Las características físicas, químicas y mecánicas han sido estudiadas de acuerdo a la normativa vigente, y los parámetros han sido comparados con las especificaciones técnicas impuestas por la regulación española. La concepción del residuo como recurso para incorporarlo de nuevo al sistema productivo es un reto clave y una obligación y la principal motivación para el desarrollo de la presente Tesis Doctoral. Por ello, la correcta gestión de estos subproductos industriales, es esencial para evitar los impactos negativos sobre los ecosistemas, la biodiversidad y la salud humana, sin olvidar el beneficio económico que supone esta práctica.

Aplicación de residuos en la fabricación de morteros industriales

La presente Tesis Doctoral estudia el uso de la fracción fina de los residuos de construcción y demolición (RCD) en la fabricación de morteros de albañilería. El principal uso de los áridos reciclados de RCD es la construcción de rellenos o firmes de carreteras, aunque su uso como áridos para la fabricación de hormigones o morteros le daría un mayor valor añadido. A nivel internacional existen numerosos estudios sobre la utilización de la fracción gruesa de los áridos reciclados de RCD en la fabricación de hormigones. Sin embargo son escasos los trabajos llevados a cabo para valorizar la fracción fina. Actualmente en España la fracción fina de los áridos reciclados de RCD está infrautilizada y en la mayoría de los casos depositada sin uso en los vertederos de las Plantas de reciclaje. En este trabajo se han utilizado dos tipos de áridos reciclados, uno procedente de residuos de hormigón (FRCA) y otro de residuos mixtos de tabiquería con un alto porcentaje de ladrillo rojo cerámico (FMRA). Todos los materiales han sido caracterizados desde un punto de vista físico, químico y mineralógico para justificar el efecto de su incorporación a la fabricación de morteros industriales de albañilería. En una primera fase se estudiaron las propiedades del mortero fresco y endurecido fabricado con FRCA y cinco niveles de sustitución volumétrica de arena natural y FRCA: 0%, 5%, 10%, 20% y 40%.Se utilizó un cemento puzolánico tipo CEM-IV y se evaluaron las propiedades a corto y largo plazo de morteros de baja resistencia (M5) En una segunda fase, se utilizó un cemento tipo CEM-II y se fabricaron morteros de mayor resistencia (M-10) utilizando FRMA. En esta etapa se llevaron a cabo sustituciones de arena natural por arena reciclada de 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% y 100%. El residuo fue evaluado medioambientalmente mediante el test de conformidad antes y después de ser ligado con cemento (lixiviación). Los resultados fueron completados con estudios de durabilidad. Con el objetivo de completar los estudios anteriores, se llevó a cabo una tercera fase, donde se sustituyó hasta un 100% de arena natural por FRCA, utilizando un cemento tipo CEM-II para fabricar un mortero tipo M-10, dosificado de manera similar al empleado en la segunda fase de este trabajo. Como conclusión general de esta tesis, se puede decir que pueden admitirse tasas de sustitución de hasta un 50% de arena natural por árido reciclado en morteros industriales de albañilería para usos de interior sin que sus propiedades puedan verse afectadas significativamente. Los resultados obtenidos contribuyen a reducir la extracción de arena natural de canteras y ríos, minimizar el consumo de energía y emisiones de CO2, mitigar el calentamiento global y evitar el depósito en vertedero de la fracción fina de RCD.

Vulnerable users' protection with advanced recycling paving materials. Design and characterisation of rubber-based impact-absorbing pavement materials for bike lanes and sidewalks

Our cities are constantly evolving, and the necessity to improve the condition and safety of the urban infrastructures is fundamental. However, on the roads, the specific needs of cyclists and pedestrians are often neglected. The Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), among whom cyclists and pedestrians are, rarely benefit from the most innovative safety measures. Inspired by playgrounds and aiming to reduce VRUs injuries, the Impact-Absorbing Pavements (IAP) developed as novel sidewalks, and bike lanes surface layers may help decrease injuries, fatalities, and the related societal costs. To achieve this goal, the End-of-Life Tyres (ELTs) crumb rubber (CR) is used as a primary resource, bringing its elastic properties into the surface layer. The thesis is divided into five main chapters. The first concerns the formulation and the definition of a feasible mix. The second explores the mechanical and environmental properties in detail, and the ageing effect is also assessed. The third describes the modelling of the material to simulate accidents and measure the injury reduction, especially on the head. The fourth chapter is reserved for the field trial. The last gives some perspectives on the research and proposes a way to optimize and improve the data and results collected during the doctoral research. It was observed that the specimens made with cold protocol have noticeable performances and reduce the overall carbon footprint impact of this material. The material modelling and the accident simulation proved the performance of the IAP against head injuries, and the field trial confirmed the good results obtained in the laboratory for the cold-made material. Finally, the outcomes of this thesis opened many prospective to the IAP development, such as the use of a plant-based binder or recycled aggregates and gave a positive prospect of an innovative material to the urban road infrastructures.

Light coloured and draining wearing courses for low-impact urban pavements

Urban health and well-being are becoming current issues of modern cities due to local climate change and environmental noise. The Urban Heat Island and the Urban Noise Island have a direct impact on the economic, social, and environmental aspects of urban life, negatively affecting the well-being of worldwide citizens. The present research is focused on the study of innovative materials employed in the production of wearing course mixtures aiming to mitigate these phenomena. In particular, a synthetic transparent binder substituting bitumen and recycled aggregates produced from construction and demolition waste. Four mixtures were analysed. Among them, Mix 1 and Mix 2 are conventional wearing courses. The first is exclusively made of natural aggregates, while the second is constituted of 45 % of recycled aggregates (RA). Mix 3 and Mix 4 are draining wearing courses and, in this case, Mix 4 was produced by using 55 % of RA. Laboratory tests were required to fully characterize all the produced samples, allowing a proper comparison of results. Overall, all the mixtures studied provide prominent results suggesting potential applications of these innovative wearing courses in cycle lanes, historical centres, plazas, and parking lots. Among the conventional mixtures, Mix 2 is the most likely to assure the best performance in terms of road safety, efficiency, and durability while as far as the draining mixtures are concerned, Mix 4 is preferable due to its high content of recycled aggregates.

Environmental life cycle assessment of concrete made with fine recycled concrete aggregates

The majority of worldwide structures use concrete as its main material. This happens because concrete is economically feasible, due to its undemanding production technology and case Of use. However, it is widely recognized that concrete production has a strong environmental impact in the planet. Natural aggregates use is one of the most important problems of concrete production nowadays, since they are obtained from limited, and in some countries scarce, resources. In Portugal, although there are enough stone quarries to cover coarse aggregates needs for several more years, Supplies of fine aggregates are becoming scarcer, especially in the northern part of the country. On the other hand, as concrete structures' life cycle comes to an end, an urgent need emerges to establish technically and economically viable solutions for demolition debris, other than for use as road base and quarry fill. This paper presents a partial life cycle assessment (LCA) of concrete made with fine recycled concrete aggregates performed with EcoConcrete tool. EcoConcrete is a tailor-made, interactive, learning and communications tool promoted by the Joint Project Group (JPG) on the LCA of concrete, to qualify and quantify the overall environment impact of concrete products. It consists of an interactive Excel-spreadsheet in which several environmental inputs (material quantities, distances from origin to production Site, production processes) and outputs (material, energy, emissions to air, water, soil or waste) are collected in a life cycle inventory, and are then processed to determine the environmental impact (assessment) of the analysed concrete, in terms of ozone layer depletion, smog or "greenhouse" effect.

The effect of superplasticizers on the mechanical performance of concrete made with fine recycled concrete aggregates

It is considered that using crushed recycled concrete as aggregate for concrete production is a viable alternative to dumping and would help to conserve abiotic resources. This use has fundamentally been based on the coarse fraction because the fine fraction is likely to degrade the performance of the resulting concrete. This paper presents results from a research work undertaken at Institut Superior Tecnico (IST), Lisbon, Portugal, in which the effects of incorporating two types of superplasticizer on the mechanical performance of concrete containing fine recycled aggregate were evaluated. The purpose was to see if the addition of superplasticizer would offset the detrimental effects associated with the use of fine recycled concrete aggregate. The experimental programme is described and the results of tests for splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance are presented. The relative performance of concrete made with recycled aggregate was found to decrease. However, the same concrete with admixtures in general exhibited a better mechanical performance than the reference mixes without admixtures or with a less active superplasticizer. Therefore, it is argued that the mechanical performance of concrete made with fine recycled concrete aggregates can be as good as that of conventional concrete, if superplasticizers are used to reduce the water-cement ratio of the former concrete.

Optimization process of polyester polymer mortars modified with recycled GFRP waste aggregates – application of factorial experiment design-

Glass fibre-reinforced plastics (GFRP), nowadays commonly used in the construction, transportation and automobile sectors, have been considered inherently difficult to recycle due to both: cross-linked nature of thermoset resins, which cannot be remolded, and complex composition of the composite itself, which includes glass fibres, matrix and different types of inorganic fillers. Presently, most of the GFRP waste is landfilled leading to negative environmental impacts and supplementary added costs. With an increasing awareness of environmental matters and the subsequent desire to save resources, recycling would convert an expensive waste disposal into a profitable reusable material. There are several methods to recycle GFR thermostable materials: (a) incineration, with partial energy recovery due to the heat generated during organic part combustion; (b) thermal and/or chemical recycling, such as solvolysis, pyrolisis and similar thermal decomposition processes, with glass fibre recovering; and (c) mechanical recycling or size reduction, in which the material is subjected to a milling process in order to obtain a specific grain size that makes the material suitable as reinforcement in new formulations. This last method has important advantages over the previous ones: there is no atmospheric pollution by gas emission, a much simpler equipment is required as compared with ovens necessary for thermal recycling processes, and does not require the use of chemical solvents with subsequent environmental impacts. In this study the effect of incorporation of recycled GFRP waste materials, obtained by means of milling processes, on mechanical behavior of polyester polymer mortars was assessed. For this purpose, different contents of recycled GFRP waste materials, with distinct size gradings, were incorporated into polyester polymer mortars as sand aggregates and filler replacements. The effect of GFRP waste treatment with silane coupling agent was also assessed. Design of experiments and data treatment were accomplish by means of factorial design and analysis of variance ANOVA. The use of factorial experiment design, instead of the one factor at-a-time method is efficient at allowing the evaluation of the effects and possible interactions of the different material factors involved. Experimental results were promising toward the recyclability of GFRP waste materials as polymer mortar aggregates, without significant loss of mechanical properties with regard to non-modified polymer mortars.

Rheological behaviour of concrete made with fine recycled concrete aggregates - Influence of the superplasticizer

This paper evaluates the influence of two superplasticizers (SP) on the rheological behaviour of concrete made with fine recycled concrete aggregates (FRCA). Three families of concrete were tested: family CO made without SP, family Cl made with a regular superplasticizer and family C2 made with a high-performance superplasticizer. Five replacement ratios of natural sand by FRCA were tested: 0%, 10%, 30%, 50% and 100%. The coarse aggregates were natural gravels. Three criteria were established to design the concrete mixes' composition: keep the same particle size distribution curves, adjust the water/cement ratio to obtain a similar slump and no pre-saturation of the FRCA. All mixes had the same cement and SP content. The results show that the incorporation of FRCA significantly increased the shrinkage and creep deformation. The FRCA's effect was influenced by the curing age. The reference concrete made with natural sand stabilizes the creep deformation faster than the mixes made with FRCA. The incorporation of superplasticizer increased the shrinkage at early ages and decreased the shrinkage at 91 days of age. The regular superplasticizer did not improve the creep deformation while the high-performance superplasticizer highly improved this property. The incorporation of FRCA jeopardized the SP's effectiveness. This study demonstrated that to use FRCA and superplasticizer for concrete production it is necessary to take into account the different rheological behaviour of these mixes. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.