Characterization of Recycled Concrete Aggregate after Eight Years of Field Deployment
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31, Issue 6
Abstract
Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is a high-quality substitute for virgin aggregate as base or subgrade material in pavement construction. However, heavy metal leaching and/or production of high pH leachate are environmental risks commonly associated with the use of RCA. To characterize changes in physical and chemical properties after use, RCA base course and subgrade soil samples were recovered from the Minnesota road research (MnROAD) field site after eight years and compared to the original RCA physical and chemical characteristics. RCA samples were analyzed to determine their mineralogy, carbonate content, acid neutralization capacity (ANC), material pH, and trace element leaching potential. ANC was higher in the recovered RCA and higher for the fine-grained RCA particles than the coarse particles, which was confirmed by extensive carbonation of the fines fractions during field deployment. Material pH of RCA and subgrade soil samples were significantly higher than leachate pH measured in previous and current field investigations of this site, suggesting that conventional laboratory techniques do not represent field conditions and should be modified to better represent field conditions.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded by the pooled fund of the Recycled Materials Resource Center, which is supported by the Federal Highway Administration. Funding was also provided by the Ready Mixed Concrete Research and Education Foundation and the Portland Cement Association. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsors.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31 • Issue 6 • June 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 10, 2018
Accepted: Nov 21, 2018
Published online: Mar 24, 2019
Published in print: Jun 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Aug 24, 2019
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