Use of Recycled Concrete Aggregate in Concrete Pavement Mixes
Natural virgin aggregates (NVAs) have become gradually exhausted across the state of Tennessee. There is a growing need for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to replace NVAs with more sustainable recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs). It is the intention of the project to quantitatively assess various RCAs available in Tennessee and to explore their suitability for TDOT new paving concrete mixes. This report documents the main findings of the project. A total of eight RCAs were collected representing different concrete origins of pavement, returned concrete, and mixed sources including buildings. Their basic properties were evaluated, including size and gradation, specific gravity, absorption, LA abrasion loss, chloride content, and pH value. These properties were observed to vary widely with RCA sources. This report also covers how RCAs affected the performance of concrete. It becomes evident that RCAs from good quality concrete origins such as pavements can be used in new paving concrete when adequately designed and proportioned. They demonstrated similar performance as NVAs. However, RCAs from unknown or mixed sources should be used with cautions as they may have inconsistent quality. Poor quality RCAs reflected by high absorption, high LA abrasion loss, and low specific gravity due to unsound adhered paste are not recommended for paving concrete because they will substantially reduce the strength and durability of concrete. RCAs with nondurable aggregate origins are also unsuitable for paving concrete applications.
- Record URL:
- Record URL:
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Corporate Authors:
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro
School of Concrete and Construction Management
Murfreesboro, TN United StatesTennessee Department of Transportation
James K. Polk State Office Building, 505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN United States 37243Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Authors:
- Yang, Zhifu
- Overall, Kevin
- Brown, Heather J
- Publication Date: 2022-1-31
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Edition: Final Report
- Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 86p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Concrete aggregates; Concrete pavements; Mechanical properties; Pavement performance; Paving materials; Recycled materials
- Identifier Terms: Tennessee Department of Transportation
- Geographic Terms: Tennessee
- Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Materials; Pavements;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01843826
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: RES2020-06
- Contract Numbers: RES2020-06
- Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Apr 25 2022 3:51PM