Effect of Casting Pressure on the Properties of 100% Recycled Aggregate Concrete Pavers

Abstract

The construction and demolition (C&D) waste is required to be recycled for sustainable development and to save natural resources. In this study, the influence of casting pressure on the properties of pavers made using Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) was investigated. RAC mix having 60% fine and 40% coarse recyled aggregates was prepared using 20% cement (by weight of total aggregates). The same mix was used in making concrete pavers of size 200 mm x 100 mm x 60 mm by employing Compression Casting Technique (CCT). For comparison purposes, pavers of same size were also prepared using Natural Aggregate Concete (NAC) under the same casting pressure. Pavers were tested to determine their density, initial rate of water absorption, porosity and efflorescence. The tests were performed after 28 days of casting. The results showed that above mentioned properties of RAC pavers are improved with the increase of casting pressure; by increasing the casting pressure from 5 to 30 MPa, density, initial rate of water absorption and prosity of RAC was improved up to 2.01%, 83.6% and 51.7%, respectively. The results further indicated that compared to NAC pavers, RAC pavers exhibit inferior properties. No efflorescence was observed in RAC and NAC pavers.