Characterization of Recycled Concrete Aggregate after Eight Years of Field Deployment

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is a high-quality substitute for virgin aggregate as base or subgrade material in pavement construction. However, heavy metal leaching and/or production of high pH leachate are environmental risks commonly associated with the use of RCA. To characterize changes in physical and chemical properties after use, RCA base course and subgrade soil samples were recovered from the Minnesota road research (MnROAD) field site after eight years and compared to the original RCA physical and chemical characteristics. RCA samples were analyzed to determine their mineralogy, carbonate content, acid neutralization capacity (ANC), material pH, and trace element leaching potential. ANC was higher in the recovered RCA and higher for the fine-grained RCA particles than the coarse particles, which was confirmed by extensive carbonation of the fines fractions during field deployment. Material pH of RCA and subgrade soil samples were significantly higher than leachate pH measured in previous and current field investigations of this site, suggesting that conventional laboratory techniques do not represent field conditions and should be modified to better represent field conditions.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002708
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/08991561
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Authors:
  • Natarajan, Bharat Madras
  • Kanavas, Zoe
  • Sanger, Morgan
  • Rudolph, Jared
  • Chen, Jiannan
  • Edil, Tuncer
  • Ginder-Vogel, Matthew
  • 0000-0001-9183-1931
• Publication Date: 2019-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: 04019070
• Serial:
  • Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
  • Volume: 31
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ISSN: 0899-1561
  • EISSN: 1943-5533
  • Serial URL: http://ascelibrary.org/journal/jmcee7

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Chemical properties; Concrete aggregates; Heavy metals; Leachate; Recycled materials; Subgrade materials
• Uncontrolled Terms: Recycled concrete aggregate
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01700280
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Mar 29 2019 10:20AM