Improved Serviceability and Environmental Performance of One-Way Slabs through the Use of Layered Natural and Recycled Aggregate Concrete

Nikola Tošić, Snežana Marinković and Yahya Kurama
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Nikola Tošić: Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Jordi Girona 1–3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Snežana Marinković: Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Belgrade, Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 73, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Yahya Kurama: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-22

Abstract: Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC), i.e., concrete produced with recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) has been heavily investigated recently, and the structural design of RAC is entering into design codes. Nonetheless, the service load deflection behavior of RAC remains a challenge due to its larger shrinkage and creep, and lower modulus of elasticity. A novel solution to this challenge is the use of layered concrete, i.e., casting of horizontal layers of different concretes. To investigate the potential benefits and limits of layered concrete, this study contains a numerical parametric assessment of the time-dependent sustained service load deflections and environmental impacts of homogeneous and layered NAC and RAC one-way slabs. Four types of reinforced concrete slabs were considered: homogeneous slabs with 0%, 50% and 100% of coarse RCA (NAC, RAC50 and RAC100, respectively) and layered L-RAC100 slabs with the bottom and top halves consisting of RAC100 and NAC, respectively. In the deflection study, different statical systems, concrete strength classes and relative humidity conditions were investigated. The results showed that the layered L-RAC100 slabs performed as well as, or even better than, the NAC slabs due to the differential shrinkage between the layers. In terms of environmental performance, evaluated using a “cradle-to-gate” Life Cycle Assessment approach, the L-RAC100 slabs also performed as well as, or slightly better than, the NAC slabs. Therefore, layered NAC and RAC slabs can be a potentially advantageous solution from both structural and environmental perspectives.

Keywords: construction sustainability; functionally graded concrete; Life Cycle Assessment; OpenSees; sustained service load; time-dependent deflection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:24:p:10278-:d:459079

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