This is an outdated version published on 2023-05-01. Read the most recent version.

Mechanical performance of 100% recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) bricks

Authors

Rashid Hameed Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore (Pakistan)
Maryam Imran Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore (Pakistan)
M. Irtaza Hassan LMDC, Université de Toulouse, INSA, UPS Génie Civil, Toulouse (France)
Khadija Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore (Pakistan)
Eman Arshad Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore (Pakistan)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7764/RDLC.22.1.203

Keywords:

Bricks, concrete, recycled aggregates, mechanical performance, eco-friendly

Abstract

Urbanization and modern development of expanding infrastructure have resulted in large construction activities. With the expeditious growth in the construction industry, the rate of demolition has also increased. This is causing considerable increase in Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste all around the globe. To minimize its impact on society and environment, preventive measures are required to be taken on urgent basis, and for this reason construction industry has proposed the use of recycle concrete aggregates in different applications and there is dire need to investigate experimentally the properties of concrete products made using Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC). In this regard, this study focused to investigate the mechanical properties of 100% RAC bricks prepared with two different compositions with respect to coarse to fine aggregates ratio (i.e., 70:30 and 60:40), cement dosage (i.e., 10% and 15% by weight of total aggregates) and casting pressure (i.e., 25 MPa and 35 MPa). Recycled concrete aggregates required for this study were produced by crushing tested concrete samples having compressive strength of 21 MPa to 28 MPa. Mechanical tests were performed on bricks to determine their compressive strength, flexural strength, shear strength, impact energy in compression and flexure. In addition to these destructive tests, non-destructive (rebound hammer and ultra-sonic pulse velocity) tests were also performed. To draft a comparison, Natural Aggregate Concrete (NAC) bricks and first class burnt clay bricks were also tested. The results indicated that the compressive strength of NAC bricks was about 30% higher than the compressive strength of RAC bricks. However, RAC bricks exhibited higher compressive strength as compared to burnt-clay bricks. The flexural strength of RAC bricks containing 60% coarse aggregates and 40% fine aggregates and RAC bricks containing 70% coarse aggregates and 30% fine aggregates was found to be almost similar but their flexure strength was 37.3% and 20.7% lesser than their corresponding NAC bricks. Flexure strength of RAC bricks and burnt clay bricks was found to be almost same. Qualitative assessment by ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests showed that the NAC and RAC bricks were of good quality as per the standard criteria. The findings of this study indicated that RAC bricks satisfied the strength requirements as stated by local and international standards. Further, RAC bricks performed better than commonly used first class burnt clay bricks. Production and use of RAC bricks in masonry structures will not only help to conserve the depleting resources of natural aggregates and clay but also help to protect our environment from pollution by reducing CO₂ emission caused by the coal-burning as fuel in kilns for the manufacturing of burnt-clay bricks.

References

Amin, M., Zeyad, A. M., Tayeh, B. A., & Agwa, I. S. (2021). Effects of nano cotton stalk and palm leaf ashes on ultrahigh-performance concrete proper-ties incorporating recycled concrete aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 302, 124196. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.124196

Asif, M., Saleem, S., Tariq, A., Usman, M., & Haq, R. A. U. (2021). Pollutant emissions from brick kilns and their effects on climate change and agricul-ture. ASEAN Journal of Science and Engineering, 1(2), 135–140. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17509/ajse.v1i2.38925

ASTM C597 (2009), Standard test method for pulse velocity through concrete. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.

ASTM C805 (2018), Standard Test Method for Rebound Number of Hardened Concrete. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.

ASTM C67 (2017), Standard Test Methods for Sampling and Testing Brick and Structural Clay Tile. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.

ASTM C150 (2016), Standard specification for Portland cement. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

Basit, M., Khurshid, S. K., & Ali, A. (2018). Trends and Patterns of Population Growth in Pakistan. https://doi.org/http://doi.one/10.1729/Journal.18267

Bhat, M. S., Afeefa, Q. S., Ashok, K. P., & Bashir, A. G. (2014). Brick kiln emissions and its environmental impact: A Review. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment, 6(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5897/JENE2013.0423

Blank, J., Clary, C., & Nichiporuk, B. (2014). Drivers of Long-Term Insecurity and Instability in Pakistan: Urbanization. Retrieved in October 2022 from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR644.html

Chu, S. H., Poon, C. S., Lam, C. S., & Li, L. (2021). Effect of natural and recycled aggregate packing on properties of concrete blocks. Construction and Building Materials, 278, 122247.

Co, H. X., Dung, N. T., Le, H. A., An, D. D., van Chinh, K., & Oanh, N. T. K. (2009). Integrated management strategies for brick kiln emission reduction in Vietnam: a case study. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 66 (1), 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207230902760507

Coelho, A., & de Brito, J. (2012). Influence of construction and demolition waste management on the environmental impact of buildings. Waste Man-agement, 32(3), 532–541. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.11.011

Contreras-Llanes, M., Romero, M., Gázquez, M. J., & Bolívar, J. P. (2021). Recycled Aggregates from Construction and Demolition Waste in the Manu-facture of Urban Pavements. Materials, 14(21), 6605.

CCAC (2022), Improved Kiln Technology Delivers Environmental Benefits and Drives Generational Change in Pakistan’s Brick Sector. Climate & Clean Air Coalition. Retrieved 11 October 2022, from https://www.ccacoalition.org/en/news/improved-kiln-technology-delivers-environmental-benefits-and-drives-generational-change

De Lima Araújo, D., Nunes, F. G. T., Toledo Filho, R. D., & de Andrade, M. A. S. (2014). Shear strength of steel fiber-reinforced concrete beams. Acta Scientiarum. Technology, 36(3), 389–397. Retrieved from https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4025/actascitechnol.v36i3.19005

EN 60068-2-75:2014 Environmental testing Tests. Test Eh: Hammer tests - European Standards. (n.d.). Retrieved 11 October 2022, from https://www.en-standard.eu/bs-en-60068-2-75-2014-environmental-testing-tests-test-eh-hammer-tests/

Gómez-Soberón, J. M. (2002). Porosity of recycled concrete with substitution of recycled concrete aggregate: An experimental study. Cement and con-crete research, 32(8), 1301-1311.

Guo, Z., Tu, A., Chen, C., & Lehman, D. E. (2018). Mechanical properties, durability, and life-cycle assessment of concrete building blocks incorporating recycled concrete aggregates. Journal of Cleaner Production, 199, 136-149.

Hamad, B. S., & Dawi, A. H. (2017). Sustainable normal and high strength recycled aggregate concretes using crushed tested cylinders as coarse aggre-gates. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 7, 228-239.

Hameed, R., Zaib-Un-Nisa, Riaz, M. R., & Gillani, S. A. A. (2022). Effect of compression casting technique on the water absorption properties of concrete made using 100% recycled aggregates. Revista de La Construcción. Journal of Construction, 21(2), 387–407. https://doi.org/10.7764/RDLC.21.2.387

Hossain, M. A., Zahid, A. M., Arifunnahar, M., & Siddique, M. N. A. (2019). Effect of brick kiln on arable land degradation, environmental pollution and consequences on livelihood of Bangladesh. Journal of Science, Technology and Environment Informatics, 6(02), 474–488. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.18801/jstei.060219.50

Iftikhar, S., Rashid, K., Ul Haq, E., Zafar, I., Alqahtani, F. K., & Iqbal Khan, M. (2020). Synthesis and characterization of sustainable geopolymer green clay bricks: An alternative to burnt clay brick. Construction and Building Materials, 259, 119659. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CONBUILDMAT.2020.119659

IS 13311-1 (1992): Method of Non-destructive testing of concrete, Part 1: Ultrasonic pulse velocity.

Iqbal, K., & Baig, M. A. (2016). Quantitative and Qualitative Estimation of Construction Waste Material in Punjab Province of Pakistan. Am. J. Agric. Environ. Sci, 16(4), 770–779.

Kurda, R., de Brito, J., & Silvestre, J. D. (2019). Water absorption and electrical resistivity of concrete with recycled concrete aggregates and fly ash. Ce-ment and Concrete Composites, 95, 169–182. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.10.004

Makul, N., Fediuk, R., Amran, M., Zeyad, A. M., Murali, G., Vatin, N., … Vasilev, Y. (2021). Use of Recycled Concrete Aggregates in Production of Green Cement-Based Concrete Composites: A Review. Crystals 2021, Vol. 11, Page 232, 11(3), 232. https://doi.org/10.3390/CRYST11030232

Marzouk, M., & Azab, S. (2014). Environmental and economic impact assessment of construction and demolition waste disposal using system dynamics. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 82, 41–49. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.10.015

Mukhtar, A., Qazi, A. U., Khan, Q. S., Munir, M. J., Kazmi, S. M. S., & Hameed, A. (2022). Feasibility of Using Coal Ash for the Production of Sustainable Bricks. Sustainability, 14(11), 6692. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116692

Nadeem, K., Shahzad, S., Hassan, A., Usman Younus, M., Asad Ali Gillani, S., & Farhan, K. (2022). Municipal solid waste generation and its composition-al assessment for efficient and sustainable infrastructure planning in an intermediate city of Pakistan. Environmental Technology, 1–19. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2022.2054370

Ncube, A., Matsika, R., Mangori, L., & Ulgiati, S. (2021). Moving towards resource efficiency and circular economy in the brick manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe. Journal of Cleaner Production, 281, 125238. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125238

Nedeljković, M., Visser, J., Šavija, B., Valcke, S., & Schlangen, E. (2021). Use of fine recycled concrete aggregates in concrete: A critical review. Journal of Building Engineering, 38, 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JOBE.2021.102196

Naz, F., and Abedullah. (2022) Smog The fifth season in Pakistan – PIDE. Retrieved from https://pide.org.pk/research/smog-the-fifth-season-in-pakistan/

Otsuki, N., Miyazato, S. I., & Yodsudjai, W. (2003). Influence of recycled aggregate on interfacial transition zone, strength, chloride penetration and carbonation of concrete. Journal of materials in civil engineering, 15(5), 443-451.

Ozbakkaloglu, T., Gholampour, A., & Xie, T. (2018). Mechanical and durability properties of recycled aggregate concrete: effect of recycled aggregate properties and content. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 30(2), 04017275.

Pacheco, J., de Brito, J., Chastre, C., & Evangelista, L. (2019). Experimental investigation on the variability of the main mechanical properties of concrete produced with coarse recycled concrete aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 201, 110–120. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.12.200

Pakistan Coal Consumption: Brick Kilns Economic Indicators CEIC (2017). Retrieved from https://www.ceicdata.com/en/pakistan/energy-consumption-and-supplies-annual/coal-consumption-brick-kilns

Pakistan third largest brick- producing country in South Asia – Business Recorder. Retrieved from https://fp.brecorder.com/2017/05/20170504175631/

Pederneiras, C. M., Durante, M. D. P., Amorim, Ê. F., & Ferreira, R. L. D. S. (2020). Incorporation of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste in paver blocks. Revista IBRACON de Estruturas e Materiais, 13.

PN, M. L., Peter, C., Mohan, K., Greens, S., & George, S. (2018). Energy efficient production of clay bricks using industrial waste. Heliyon, 4(10), e00891. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00891

Rajarathnam, U., Athalye, V., Ragavan, S., Maithel, S., Lalchandani, D., Kumar, S., Bond, T. (2014). Assessment of air pollutant emissions from brick kilns. Atmospheric Environment, 98, 549–553. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.08.075

Rauf, A., Shakir, S., Ncube, A., Abd-ur-Rehman, H. M., Janjua, A. K., Khanum, S., & Khoja, A. H. (2022). Prospects towards sustainability: A compara-tive study to evaluate the environmental performance of brick making kilns in Pakistan. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 94, 106746. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.106746

Rodríguez, G., Medina, C., Alegre, F. J., Asensio, E., & de Sánchez Rojas, M. I. (2015). Assessment of Construction and Demolition Waste plant manage-ment in Spain: in pursuit of sustainability and eco-efficiency. Journal of Cleaner Production, 90, 16–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2014.11.067

Rehman, S. A.U, Cai, Y., Mirjat, N. H., Walasai, G. das, Shah, I. A., & Ali, S. (2017). The Future of Sustainable Energy Production in Pakistan: A System Dynamics-Based Approach for Estimating Hubbert Peaks. Energies 2017, Vol. 10, Page 1858, 10(11), 1858. Retrieved 11 October 2022 from https://doi.org/10.3390/EN10111858

Sarfraz, Z. (2020). The social and economic burden of smog in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Surgery and Medicine, 1(1), 5–7. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3595085

Sasanipour, H., & Aslani, F. (2020). Durability properties evaluation of self-compacting concrete prepared with waste fine and coarse recycled concrete aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 236, 117540. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117540

Shaikh, K., Imran, U., Khan, A., Khokhar, W. A., & Bakhsh, H. (2020). Health risk assessment of emissions from brick kilns in Tando Hyder, Sindh, Paki-stan using the AERMOD dispersion model. SN Applied Sciences, 2(7), 1–11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-3089-1

Silva, S., Evangelista, L., & de Brito, J. (2021). Durability and shrinkage performance of concrete made with coarse multi-recycled concrete aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 272, 121645. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.121645

Strategy, E., & System (ESPAS), P. A. (2015). Global trends to 2030: can the EU meet the challenges ahead? European Strategy and Policy Analysis System Brussels. https://espas.eu/files/espas_files/about/espas-report-2015.pdf

Thakur, A., Senthil, K., & Singh, A. P. (2022). Evaluation of concrete bricks with crumb rubber and polypropylene fibres under impact loading. Construc-tion and Building Materials, 315, 125752. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125752

Yousaf, H. S., Abbas, M., Ghani, N., Chaudhary, H., Fatima, A., Ahmad, Z., & Yasin, S. A. (2021). A comparative assessment of air pollutants of smog in wagah border and other sites in Lahore, Pakistan. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 84. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.252471

Yu, D., Duan, H., Song, Q., Li, X., Zhang, H., Zhang, H., … Wang, J. (2018). Characterizing the environmental impact of metals in construction and demo-lition waste. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(14), 13823–13832. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1632-z

Zhang, L. (2013). Production of bricks from waste materials–A review. Construction and Building Materials, 47, 643–655. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.05.043.

Downloads

Published

2023-05-01

Versions

How to Cite

Hameed, R., Imran, M. ., Hassan, M. I. ., Khadija, & Arshad, E. . (2023). Mechanical performance of 100% recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) bricks. Revista De La Construcción. Journal of Construction, 22(1), 203–222. https://doi.org/10.7764/RDLC.22.1.203