The Workability and Crack Resistance of Natural and Recycled Aggregate Mortar Based on Expansion Agent through an Environmental Study

Junfang Sun, Ji Chen, Xin Liao, Angran Tian, Jinxu Hao, Yuchen Wang and Qiang Tang
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Junfang Sun: Dongwu Business School, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China
Ji Chen: School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University, Suzhou 215131, China
Xin Liao: Faculty of Geoscience and Environmental Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Angran Tian: School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University, Suzhou 215131, China
Jinxu Hao: Suzhou Municipal Administrative Projects Management Office, Suzhou 215000, China
Yuchen Wang: Kogod School of Business, American University, Washington, DC 20016-8004, USA
Qiang Tang: School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University, Suzhou 215131, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: Greenhouse gas emission has been a serious problem for decades. Due to the high energy consumption of traditional construction and building materials, recycled aggregate and other environmentally-friendly materials or recycled materials have been researched and applied. The treatment and reuse of construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a good way to reasonably distribute the renewable resources in the urban city. The recycled aggregate can be used in road engineering, geotechnical engineering and structural engineering. The combined use of natural aggregate and recycled aggregate may possess better performance in real constructions. This paper investigates the mechanical performance, micro-mechanism and CO 2 footprint assessment of NAM (natural aggregate mortar) and RAM (recycled aggregate mortar). Compressive strength test, flexural strength test, XRD and SEM, and CO 2 emission evaluation were conducted and analyzed. The results indicate that NAM depicts better compressive strength performance and RAM has higher flexural strength. The XRD and SEM patterns illustrate that the ettringite and C-S-H are the most important role in shrinkage-compensating mechanism, which is more obvious in RAM specimens. The proportion of CaO and MgO hydrated into Ca(OH) 2 and Mg(OH) 2 is also a key point of the volume expansion through the curing period. Finally, the CO 2 emission of NA is higher than RA per unit. This indicates that utilizing recycled aggregate over other conventional resources will reduce the energy consumption, and hit the mark to be environmental-friendly.

Keywords: recycled fine aggregate; expansion agent; mechanical properties; micro mechanism; carbon footprint (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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