Waste Management 30 (2010) 655659

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Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Recycling of rubble from building demolition for low-shrinkage concretes

Valeria Corinaldesi *, Giacomo Moriconi
Department of Materials and Environment Engineering and Physics, Universit Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Accepted 26 November 2009
Available online 22 December 2009

a b s t r a c t
In this project concrete mixtures were prepared that were characterized by low ductility due to desiccation by using debris from building demolition, which after a suitable treatment was used as aggregate for
partial replacement of natural aggregates. The recycled aggregate used came from a recycling plant, in
which rubble from building demolition was selected, crushed, cleaned, sieved, and graded. Such aggregates are known to be more porous as indicated by the Saturated Surface Dry (SSD) moisture content.
The recycled concrete used as aggregates were added to the concrete mixture in order to study their
inuence on the fresh and hardened concrete properties. They were added either after water pre-soaking
or in dry condition, in order to evaluate the inuence of moisture in aggregates on the performance of
concrete containing recycled aggregate. In particular, the effect of internal curing, due to the use of such
aggregates, was studied. Concrete behavior due to desiccation under dehydration was studied by means
of both drying shrinkage test and German angle test, through which shrinkage under the restrained condition of early age concrete can be evaluated.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Conicting results have been reported by different authors
regarding drying shrinkage of recycled-aggregate concretes. Hansen and Begh (1985) found that Recycled-aggregate concretes
made with coarse recycled aggregate and natural sand have 40
60% higher shrinkage than corresponding conventional concretes . . . while others have reported (Bentz and Snyder, 1999;
Bentur et al., 2001; Zhutovsky et al., 2004; Lura and Bisschop,
2004) the possibility of using porous lightweight aggregates that
provide an opportunity for reducing concrete shrinkage due to
the internal curing effect (i.e., porous aggregates said hold water
that can be given back to the surrounding cement paste during cement hydration leading to reducing its shrinkage). In this project
concrete mixtures were prepared that were characterized by low
shrinkage strain by using recycled aggregates coming from building demolition. Such aggregates from recycled concrete are wellknown for being characterized by higher porosity and lower
weight with respect to natural aggregates.
2. Materials
A commercial portland-limestone blended cement, Type CEM II/
A-L 42.5R according to the European Standards EN 197-1 (2000),
was used. The Blaine neness of the cement was 0.41 m2/g and
its relative specic gravity was 3.05.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 071 2204428; fax: +39 071 2204729.
E-mail address: v.corinaldesi@univpm.it (V. Corinaldesi).
0956-053X/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2009.11.026

Natural sand (5 mm maximum size) and natural gravel (15 mm

maximum size) were used. Their bulk specic gravities (in SSD
condition) and their water absorption values evaluated according
to UNI EN 1097-6 (2000) are reported in Table 1. Their grain-size
distribution curves evaluated according to UNI EN 933-1 (1997)
are reported in Fig. 1.
A recycled-aggregate fraction (15 mm maximum size) was also
used as a partial replacement for natural gravel. This fraction came
from an industrial crushing plant in Villa Musone (Italy), in which
rubble from building demolition is obtained for recycling it in new
concrete mixtures. Such rubble is checked for proper quality in order to avoid hazardous materials such as asbestos or chalk, then
ground, cleaned, sieved, and graded. Its average composition is
84% concrete, 13% masonry, and 3% miscellaneous (mainly bitumen, but also glass and wood) by volume. Its bulk specic gravity
and its water absorption value evaluated according to UNI EN
1097-6 (2000) are reported in Table 1. Its grain-size distribution
curve evaluated according to UNI EN 933-1 (1997) is reported in
Fig. 1. Table 2 reports the data concerning pore structure of various
components of the recycled aggregate and the mean value of the
total open porosity of the aggregate fraction. These results were
obtained by means of the mercury intrusion technique. Its mean
value was calculated from ve samples for each component of
the recycled-aggregate fraction.
A water-reducing admixture (SP) was added to mixtures in all
cases. It was a carboxylic acrylic ester polymer SP in the form of
30% aqueous solution.
In some cases, a shrinkage-reducing admixture (SRA) was also
added to the mixture. It is a chemical admixture based on

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V. Corinaldesi, G. Moriconi / Waste Management 30 (2010) 655659

the force pulling the walls of the pores would, therefore, decrease,
and the resultant shrinkage strain would be reduced as a result.

Table 1
Bulk specic gravity and water absorption of the aggregate fractions.
Aggregate
fraction

Water absorption
(%)

Relative density (specic gravity) in

SSD

Natural sand
Natural gravel
Recycled
aggregate

2.5
1.8
7.5

2.64
2.66
2.34

3. Concrete mixture proportions

Fig. 1. Grain size distribution curves of the aggregate fractions.

Table 2
Total open porosity (%) and average pore dimension (nm) of the singular components
of the aggregate fraction and of the total recycled-aggregate fraction.
Component

Percentage by
volume (%)

Total open
porosity (%)

Average pore
dimension (nm)

Cement paste
Inert
Tile
Bitumen
Total recycled
aggregate

41
43
13
3
100

18.7
11.9
36.1
24.1
18.2

125
124
251
485
152

polypropylenglycol ether (Maltese et al., 2005) that reduces drying

and/or autogenous shrinkage (Collepardi et al., 2005; Berke et al.,
2003; Nakanishi et al., 2003). The mechanism through which
shrinkage-reducing admixtures are able to reduce plastic, autogenous, and, especially, drying shrinkage of concrete seems to be
the lowering of surface tension of the water in capillary pores
(Rongbing and Jian, 2005; Folliard and Berke, 1997; Bentz et al.,
2001). In fact, as water-lled pores begin to lose moisture, curved
menisci are formed, and the surface tension of water pulls inward
the walls of the pores. With the reduced surface tension of water,

Six concrete mixtures were prepared. The water to cement ratio

of 0.45 and the same slump of 150160 mm was maintained for all
mixtures, in order to guarantee sufcient workability by varying
the kinds of coarse aggregate (recycled concrete and natural) and
chemical admixture. Mixture proportions are reported in Table 3.
The rst mixture, marked as NAT + SP, was prepared with a
water-reducing admixture added at a dosage of 0.8%, in terms of
total mass of the admixture by the mass of cement, which allowed
a water reduction of 28%. Natural sand and gravel were combined
at a percentage of 40% and 60% by volume, respectively, in order to
achieve optimum grain-size distribution of the inert fraction
according to the Bolomey particle-size distribution curve (Collepardi, 1991).
The second mixture, marked as NAT + SP + SRA, was prepared
in the same way; however, the only difference was the addition
of the shrinkage-reducing admixture at a dosage of 2.7% by weight
of the cement.
The mixtures marked as REC + SP and RECSAT + SP were prepared with the water-reducing admixture of the same dosage of
0.8% by the mass of cement, by using the recycled aggregate obtained from a rubble recycling plant as coarse aggregate in addition
to the natural gravel. Natural sand, natural gravel, and recycledaggregate fractions were combined at 40%, 30%, and 30%, respectively, by volume, for optimizing the grain-size distribution of
the inert fraction according to the Bolomey particle-size distribution curve. The mixtures marked as REC + SP + SRA and RECSAT + SP + SRA were prepared in the same way; however, the
only difference was the addition of the SRA at a dosage of 2.7%
by weight of the cement.
In the mixtures marked as REC + SP and REC + SP + SRA the
recycled-aggregate fraction was added to the mixture in dry conditions. On the other hand, in the mixtures marked as RECSAT + SP
and RECSAT + SP + SRA the recycled-aggregate fraction was added
to the mixture after water-soaking the recycled aggregates, in SSD
condition. It is believed that pre-soaked aggregates can be more
effective in order to create an internal water supply that is able
to reduce drying-shrinkage, as well as to avoid mixing water
absorption in aggregates during mixing and, consequently, to
maintain concrete workability.
3.1. Estimation of the paste volume protected from shrinkage
Concerning the benecial effect due to the use of lightweight
porous aggregates pre-soaked with water, Bentz and Snyder
(1999) introduced the concept of protected paste volume in concrete, that is, the volume of cement paste surrounding the

Table 3
Concrete mixture proportions (dosages in kg/m3 of concrete).

a
b

Mixtures

NAT + SP

NAT + SP + SRA

RECSAT + SP

RECSAT + SP + SRA

REC + SP

REC + SP + SRA

Water
Cement
Natural sand
Natural gravel
Recycled aggregate
Superplasticizer
SRA

165
365
735
1100

165
365
735
1100

3
10

165
365
735
550
485
3

165
365
735
550
485
3
10

195a
365
735
550
455b
3

195a
365
735
550
455b
3
10

Water dosage plus 30 kg of water for the saturation of the dry recycled aggregate.
Recycled aggregate dosage less 30 kg (dosage relative to the dry instead of SSD condition).

V. Corinaldesi, G. Moriconi / Waste Management 30 (2010) 655659

pre-soaked aggregate particles that can be wetted by the water given back by the aggregate itself and consequently where autogenous shrinkage would not occur.
Bentz and Snyder suggested a method for calculating the minimum volume of lightweight aggregate (depending on the microstructure of the aggregate itself) in order to guarantee sufcient
water supply for all the cement paste of the concrete. Taking into
account the mean value of the total open porosity of the recycled
aggregate used (i.e., 18.2%, see Table 2), the minimum volume of
such porous aggregate that should be added to the mixture equals
120 l/m3 of concrete. This corresponds to the 18.2% of the total inert volume of 687 l/m3. Since the recycled aggregate percentage for
optimizing the grain-size distribution of the whole inert fraction
was chosen equal to 30%, the recycled aggregate amount seems
to be more than enough to guarantee cement paste protection
due to water available from aggregates for internal curing.

terms of minimizing the workability loss, compared with the reference mixture without SRA (a slump loss of only 25 mm).
6. Compression tests: results and discussion
As it can be observed in Fig. 5 and Table 4, the recycled-aggregate concretes showed almost the same values of compressive

4. Preparation and curing of specimens

Twelve specimens (100-mm cubes) were cast from each concrete mixture. They were then wet-cured at 20 C in order to evaluate compressive strength development.
Three prismatic specimens (100  100  500 mm) were also
cast from each concrete mixture. They were wet-cured for one
day at 20 C and then cured for additional 90 days at 20 C and relative humidity of 50%, in order to evaluate drying shrinkage
according to the procedure described in UNI 6555 (1973).
Further prismatic specimens were cast (one from each concrete
mixture) in a steel mold 75 mm  75 mm, 8 mm thick, and
1030 mm long (see Fig. 2) for the German angle test. Since their
manufacturing, these specimens were kept in open air and exposed
to halogen lamp irradiation (150 W) in order to simulate solar
warming. The lamp was placed at 100 mm from the upper surface
of the angle specimens. In this way, the concrete surface temperature after 4 h was maintained at 77 1 C (see Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Halogen lamp irradiation on the German angle specimen.

5. Fresh concrete workability

The slump values were measured after 5 min and 35 min after
the concrete mixture mixing. They are reported in Fig. 4. As can
be seen from Fig. 4, the use of shrinkage-reducing admixture led
to workability loss after 35 min in every case. This was especially
true in the presence of recycled aggregates. The pre-soaking of
the recycled-aggregate fraction produced an evident benet, in
Fig. 4. Slump values after 5 and 35 min since ingredients mixing.

Fig. 2. Scheme of the steel angle used for the German angle test.

657

Fig. 5. Compressive strengths vs. curing time.

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V. Corinaldesi, G. Moriconi / Waste Management 30 (2010) 655659

Table 4
Compressive strength values (in MPa).

Table 5
Results of the restrained shrinkage test (performed by means of German angle).

Mixtures

Curing time (days)

1

28

NAT + SP
NAT + SP + SRA
RECSAT + SP
RECSAT + SP + SRA
REC + SP
REC + SP + SRA

14.1
8.2
5.9
7.0
5.6
5.9

42.8
35.5
36.3
44.5
38.0
37.9

53.3
47.3
51.1
51.0
44.9
51.1

Mixtures

Number of cracks

NAT + SP
NAT + SP + SRA
RECSAT + SP
RECSAT + SP + SRA
REC + SP
REC + SP + SRA

3
1
1
None
None
None

strength as the reference concretes. In each case the 28-day compressive strength was equal to or higher than 45 MPa. When only
the superplasticizing admixture was used, the recycled aggregate
addition caused a strength loss of 515% and when the superplasticizer was used together with SRA the compressive strength of the
recycled-aggregate concretes was 8% higher than NAT + SP + SRA
concrete.

The time required for cracking of restrained shrinkage was less

than one day in each case, thus indicating that plastic shrinkage instead of drying shrinkage was the main cause of concrete cracking.
The data reported in Table 5 show that, also in terms of early-age
shrinkage under restrained conditions, the concrete mixtures containing recycled aggregates performed better than the reference
mixtures without recycled aggregates and with shrinkage-reducing admixture.

7. Drying shrinkage tests: results and discussion

9. Conclusions

The drying shrinkage results are reported in Fig. 6. By comparing the shrinkage strains of natural-aggregate concretes, the effectiveness of the shrinkage-reducing admixture can be observed
(20% less strain after 90 days of exposure).
By comparing the drying shrinkage strains of recycled-aggregate concretes with those of reference mixtures, it can be noted
that the shrinkage of the recycled-aggregate concretes is always
lower even when compared with the reference mixture containing
SRA (indicated as NAT + SP + SRA).
A reason for this is believed to be the internal curing effect due
to the presence of recycled aggregates, which are more porous than
natural aggregates. This hypothesis has also been conrmed by
other authors (Bentur et al., 2001; Zhutovsky et al., 2004; Lura
and Bisschop, 2004).

On the basis of the results obtained, it is concluded that the use

of recycled aggregate without water pre-soaking was detrimental
in terms of workability loss, especially when a shrinkage-reducing
admixture was used. On the other hand, the compressive strength
loss in the presence of recycled aggregate was limited, resulting in
lose of less than 15%.
Shrinkage-reducing admixture, which has been proven to be
effective in reducing drying shrinkage of ordinary concrete, were
not effective in the presence of recycled aggregates. The reason
probably lies in the internal curing effect due to the water reserve
guarantee by the open porosity of recycled aggregates, which probably makes the shrinkage-reducing admixture ineffective in such
conditions. Indeed, recycled-aggregate concretes showed signicantly lower drying shrinkages, even in spite of lower elastic modulus of recycled aggregates. This result was conrmed by the
restrained shrinkage test.
Moreover, the internal curing effect, which is presumed to be
higher when the recycled aggregate is pre-soaked, seems to be
more attributable to the presence of recycled aggregate itself
rather than to its pre-soaking.

8. German angle tests: results and discussion

This method for evaluating restrained shrinkage of concrete
was developed by the Technical Academy Aachen in Germany
and adopted as the Technical Test Regulations (TP BE-PCC) by
Highway Construction Department of the Federal Ministry of
Transport (1990). The German angle test was carried out under severe exposure conditions (under halogen lamp irradiation) in order
to simulate the effect of wind and/or solar warming on the plastic
shrinkage of concretes at an early age. The results obtained in
terms of the number of cracks appearing are reported in Table 5.

Fig. 6. Drying shrinkage vs. time.

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