No / Degrading infrastructure and applications of structural demolition create tremendous amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW) all around the world. To address this issue in an effective way, recycling CDW in a most appropriate way has become a global concern in recent years. To this end, this study focused on the utilization of CDW-based materials such as hollow brick (HB), red clay brick (RCB), roof tile (RT), glass (G) and concrete (C) in the production of geopolymer mortars. These materials were first collected from an urban transformation area and then subjected to an identical two-step crushing-milling procedure to provide sufficient fineness for geopolymerization. To investigate the influence of blast furnace slag (S) addition to the CDW-based mixtures, 20% S substituted mixture designs were also made. Fine recycled concrete aggregates (FRCA) obtained from crushing and sieving of the waste concrete were used as the aggregate. A series of mixtures were designed using different proportions of three distinct alkali activators such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and calcium hydroxide (Ca[OH]2). To improve their applicability, the mixtures were left to cure at room temperature rather than the heat curing which is frequently applied in the literature. After 28 days of ambient curing, the 100% CDW-based geopolymer mortar activated with three different activators reached a compressive strength of 31.6 MPa, whereas the 20% S substituted geopolymer mortar achieved a compressive strength of 51.9 MPa. While the geopolymer mortars activated with only NaOH exhibited poor performance, it was found that the use of Na2SiO3 and Ca(OH)2 improved the compressive strength. Main geopolymerization products were related to NASH, CASH, and C(N)ASH gel formations. Our results demonstrated that mixed CDW-based materials can be employed in the manufacturing geopolymers, making them potential alternatives to Portland cement-based systems by being eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and comparable in compressive strength. / This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 894100.

Yes / Geopolymers are mostly produced with main-stream precursors such as fly ash and slag. These precursors are successfully used and competitively demanded by the cement industry. Development of geopolymers from alternative precursors is appealing. The main aim of this work is the development of geopolymers with construction and demolition waste-based precursors including masonry units (red clay brick, roof tile, hollow brick) and glass. Different curing temperatures (50, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125 oC), curing periods (24, 48, 72 h), and Na concentrations (10, 12, 15%) of alkaline activator (NaOH) were employed. Compressive strength testing and microstructural investigations were performed including X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Results showed that depending on the type of precursor (hollow brick), curing temperature/period (115 oC/24 h) and concentration of alkaline activator (12%), it is possible to obtain compressive strength results more than 45 MPa. Hollow brick is the most successful precursor resulting in higher compressive strength results thanks to a more compact microstructure. The strength performance of red clay brick and roof tile is similar. The compressive strength results of geopolymers with glass precursor are lower, most probably due to significantly coarser particles of glass used. The main reaction products of red clay brick-, roof tile- and hollow brick-based geopolymers are sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H) gels with zeolite-like structures while they are sodium silicate gels in the case of glass-based geopolymers. Our findings showed that CDW-based materials can be used successfully in producing geopolymers. Current research is believed to help raise awareness in novel routes for the effective utilization of such wastes which are realistically troublesome and attract further research on the utilization of CDW-based materials in geopolymer production. / The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey and British Council provided under projects: 117M447 and 218M102.

Yes / As a viable option to upcycle construction and demolition waste (CDW) into value-added materials, geopolymer technology is emerging. Most studies investigate CDWs in a separated form or in combination with mainstream pozzolanic/cementitious materials focusing only on fundamental properties of geopolymer pastes, not considering to scale such materials to the level of their application in the forms of structural mortars/concretes or to characterize long-term performance/durability. This study investigated the development and characterization of ambient-cured mortars with mixed CDW-based geopolymer binders and untreated fine recycled concrete aggregates (FRCA). Mixture of CDW-based roof tile (RT), red clay brick (RCB), hollow brick (HB), concrete (C), and glass (G) was used as the precursor, while ground granulated blast furnace slag (S) was used in some mixtures to partly replace CDW precursors. Compressive strength, durability-related parameters including drying shrinkage, water absorption, and efflorescence, microstructure and materials sustainability were evaluated. Results showed that 28 d compressive strength results above 30 and 50 MPa is achievable with the entirely CDW-based and slag-substituted mortars, which were found improvable to have entirely CDW-based structural concretes. Drying shrinkage of the mortars is slightly higher than that of conventional cementitious/geopolymeric systems although it can be minimized significantly through mixture optimization. Water absorption values remain comparable with the literature. CDW-based geopolymer mortars outperform Portland cement mortars in terms of CO2 emission and energy requirement. Our findings show that via utilizing CDW-based constituents in mixed form as precursor and waste aggregates, it is possible to develop greener construction materials with acceptable strength and long-term performance. / This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 894100. The authors also wish to acknowledge the support of the Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey provided under project: 117M447.

Yes / Construction and demolition waste (CDW) management and recycling practices are crucial for transitioning to a circular economy. This study focuses on the detailed characterization of CDWs, including hollow brick (HB), red clay brick (RCB), roof tile (RT), concrete (C), and glass (G), collected from seven different sites. The CDWs were characterized based on particle size distribution, chemical composition, and crystalline nature. Pozzolanic activity was evaluated through compressive strength measurements of cement mortars with 20% cement replacement by CDWs at 7, 28, and 90 days. The results showed that clayey CDWs exhibited similar physical/chemical properties and crystalline structures. Compositions of Cs varied significantly based on their original materials. CDWs satisfied the minimum strength activity index for supplementary cementitious materials, with pozzolanic activity influenced by fineness and SiO2+Al2O3 contents. The average strength activity indexes for HB, RCB, RT, C, and G were 84.5%, 86.3%, 83.4%, 80.7%, and 75.8%, respectively. Clayey CDWs contributed to mechanical strength development, while Cs' contribution was related to hydration of unreacted cementitious particles. G exhibited the weakest pozzolanic activity due to its coarser particle size. Overall, CDWs demonstrated suitable properties for use as supplementary cementitious materials in PC-based systems.

Yes / CDW-based concrete requires alkali-activators to generate geopolymerization process. These alkali-activators are difficult to be handled at the construction site and one of the rational ways to built reinforced geopolymer structures is the prefabricated construction. The connection of the precast structures is the most vulnerable component under the effect of seismic actions. Proper detailing and design of connections are crucial for sufficiently-ductile performance under seismic loading. Additionally, to achieve the disassembling and reusing of structural members, a demountable connection, i.e., dry connection, should be used instead of a wet connection. In this study, four novel fully-demountable connections for reinforced construction and demolition waste-based (CDW) geopolymer concrete members are developed. Seismic performances of these different demountable connections and one reference monolithic connections are experimentally investigated. The connections are subjected to reversed cyclic lateral displacements under constant axial loading. Comparisons are made referring to observed damage patterns, connection strengths, moment–curvature relations, initial stiffnesses, plastic hinge lengths, and energy dissipation characteristics of the proposed demountable connections and the monolithic connection. The results of the experimental study indicate that one proposed demountable connection exhibited larger lateral capacity and better seismic performance than its monolithic counterpart, whereas the other three proposals showed less performance than the monolithic counterpart. / The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No: 869336, ICEBERG

Yes / Developing a fast, cost-effective, eco-friendly solution to recycle large amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW) generated from construction industry-related activities and natural disasters is crucial. The present investigation aims to offer a solution for repurposing CDW into building materials suitable for accelerated construction and housing in developing countries and disaster-prone areas. Feasibility of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) inclusion in geopolymer mortars constituted entirely from CDW (masonry elements) was investigated via an environmental impact-oriented approach by addressing the composition related key parameters. Mechanical performance was evaluated through compressive strength tests, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging with line mapping analyses were carried out to monitor the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) properties. To investigate the environmental impacts of the geopolymer mortars and highlight the advantages over Portland cement-based mortars, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed. Findings revealed that roof tile (RT)-based geopolymer mortars mainly exhibited better strength performance due to their finer particle size. Mixtures activated with 15 M NaOH solution and cured at 105 °C achieved an average compressive strength above 55 MPa. RCA size was the most influential parameter on compressive strength, and a smaller maximum RCA size significantly increased the compressive strength. Microstructural analyses showed that the ITZ around smaller RCAs was relatively thinner, resulting in better compressive strength results. LCA proved that CDW-based geopolymer mortars provide the same compressive strength with around 60% less CO2 emissions and similar energy consumption compared to Portland cement-based mortars. / This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 894100. The authors also wish to acknowledge the support of the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) provided under project: 117M447

Yes / Construction and demolition waste (CDW) has reached severe environmental and economic dimensions due to its large volume among all solid waste, highlighting the importance of local actions to manage, recycle, and reuse CDW. Ductile demountable connections are necessary to disassemble and reuse the concrete structural members and fast assembly of precast structures in seismic regions without generating waste. In this study, the seismic performance of CDW-based reinforced geopolymer concrete columns has been investigated. Six ½ scaled columns (half of which were demountable and the other half monolithic) were experimentally tested under reversed cyclic lateral displacement excursions, considering three different levels of constant axial loading to determine failure mechanisms, load–displacement responses, ductilities, energy dissipation capacities, stiffness degradation relations, and curvature distributions. The obtained test results were used to determine the performance of CDWbased geopolymer concrete columns and compare the performances of the demountable connection with the monolithic connection. The test results showed that the novel demountable connection for precast concrete frames exhibited better seismic performance in terms of maximum lateral load capacity, initial stiffness, energy dissipation capacity, and maximum curvature than their monolithic counterparts. Besides, increasing the axial compression ratio on the columns caused an increase in lateral load capacity, energy dissipation capacity, energy dissipation ratio, and initial curvature stiffness; however, it decreased the ductility. Finally, the capacity predictions of current codes, i.e., TS500 and ACI318, were conservative when compared with experimental results. / This publication is a part of doctoral dissertation work by the first author in the Academic Program of Civil Engineering, Institute of Science, Hacettepe University. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No: 869336, ICEBERG (Innovative Circular Economy Based solutions demonstrating the Efficient recovery of valuable material Resources from the Generation of representative End-of-Life building material). This work was also supported by Newton Prize 2020. The fifth and seventh authors acknowledge the financial support received from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie SkłodowskaCurie grant agreement No 894100. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 4th Oct 2024.

Many highway and hydraulic structures in North America have been reported to be affected by alkali aggregate reaction (ASR). It is anticipated that most of these structures will be demolished as they approach the end of their service lives. Recycling demolished concrete as aggregates in new concrete is an option that not only reduces the amount of construction demolition waste (CDW) disposed in landfills but also lessens the consumption of non-renewable resources such as natural aggregates. However, the use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in new concrete requires detailed research to make sure that the durability of the recycled material is not compromised, especially if the RCA had been previously affected by ASR. In this research project, coarse recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is reclaimed and processed from distinct members (i.e. foundation blocks, bridge deck and columns) of an ASR-affected overpass after nearly 50 years of service. RCA concrete mixtures incorporating 50 and 100% replacement are manufactured and stored in conditions enabling further ASR development. Mechanical (i.e. Stiffness Damage Test - SDT) and microscopic (Damage Rating Index - DRI) analyses are performed at a fixed “secondary” induced expansion of 0.12%. Results show that the overall performance of the ASR-affected recycled mixtures depends upon the “past” condition of the RCA particles. Moreover, the DRI was able to capture the “past” and “secondary” induced expansion and damage of affected RCA while the SDT only detected the “secondary” distress development. Lastly, an adapted version of the DRI was proposed to further evaluate the overall damage of recycled concrete along with properly displaying “past” and “secondary” induced distress.

A construção civil consome uma quantidade enorme de matérias primas minerais e por consequência também gera uma grande quantidade de resíduos, denominados resíduos de construção e demolição (RCD). No Brasil a estimativa é de que são geradas mais de 70 milhões de toneladas de RCD por ano, ficando atrás apenas da produção de minério de ferro, areia e brita. A reciclagem de RCD, tanto no Brasil como em outros países, envolve basicamente etapas de britagem e peneiramento, sendo poucas as usinas que utilizam o beneficiamento mineral para a separação das fases porosas inorgânicas, as quais causam inúmeras dificuldades na utilização dos agregados reciclados como materiais de construção. Estudos recentes comprovaram a eficácia do beneficiamento mineral na produção de agregados reciclados de baixa porosidade. No entanto, a aplicação em argamassas e concretos ainda não é recomendada e tampouco regulamentada, principalmente pela ausência de procedimentos de caracterização dos produtos gerados. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho avalia a técnica de medida de porosidade por meio de intrusão de mercúrio em agregados miúdos reciclados e a influência deste parâmetro no comportamento reológico de argamassas. Complementarmente, são também estudados o comportamento reológico de misturas cimentícias formuladas com areias com diferentes características (morfologia e porosidade). Foram utilizadas três areias recicladas com diferentes porosidades e três areias comerciais (naturais ou oriundas de britagem de rochas) de referência com diferentes formas. As areias foram caracterizadas e, posteriormente, foram utilizadas na formulação de argamassas, as quais foram avaliadas tanto no estado fresco como no endurecido. A porosimetria por intrusão de mercúrio mostrou-se uma alternativa mais rápida e precisa na determinação da porosidade de areias recicladas. Contudo, para estudos de materiais particulados de granulometria fina, abaixo de 300 m, a definição das condições operacionais torna-se determinante. Os resultados mostraram que apesar das diferentes características das areias (forma e porosidade), estas podem apresentar um comportamento reológico similar em função do teor de água e de aditivos adicionados à mistura cimentícia. Por outro lado, a porosidade dos agregados influencia diretamente nas propriedades mecânicas da mistura, pois quanto maior o consumo de água e o teor de ar incorporado, maior será a porosidade no estado endurecido e, consequentemente, menor sua resistência à compressão. Sendo assim, o estabelecimento do equilíbrio entre o investimento em tecnologias de processamento mineral para redução da porosidade ou a tolerância ao aumento no consumo de água e aditivos está mais diretamente relacionado à viabilidade econômica do que técnica. Uma alternativa ao beneficiamento mineral após a britagem, seria a substituição parcial dos agregados naturais pelos reciclados; com isso, tem-se uma redução da porosidade total da mistura e a incorporação parcial de agregados reciclados, com mínima intervenção no sistema. / The construction industry consumes an enormous amount of mineral raw materials and consequently also generates lots of waste, known as construction and demolition waste (CDW). In Brazil, it is estimated that over 70 million tons of CDW are generated per year, which is equivalent to the fourth position in national ranking of mineral commodities production. Recycling of CDW, in Brazil and in other countries, basically involves crushing and screening stages. Few plants uses mineral processing for the separation of inorganic porous phases, responsible for many limitations on recycled aggregates application as construction material. Recent studies have proven the effectiveness of mineral beneficiation in the production of low porosity recycled aggregates. However, application in mortar and concrete is still not recommended nor regulated, mainly by the absence of characterization procedures of generated products. In this context, this research evaluates the mercury intrusion porosity technique for characterization of recycled fine aggregates and the influence of this parameter on the rheological behavior of mortars. Additionally, the rheological behavior of mortars composed with fine aggregates with different characteristics (morphology and porosity) are also studied. Recycled sands with three different porosities and three commercial sands (natural or produced by rocks crushing) with different shapes were used. The sands were characterized and used on mortars composition, which were analyzed in fresh and hardened state. The mercury intrusion porosimetry proved to be a faster and accurate method in determining the porosity of recycled sands. However, the operations conditions and experimental procedure for the characterization of fine particulate materials, mainly below 300 m, plays a major role for reproducible results. The results showed that despite the different sands features (porosity and shape), they may have similar rheological behavior as a function of water content and additives added to the mortars. Aggregates porosity influences directly the mechanical properties of the mortar, the higher the water consumption and air content, the higher the porosity in the hardened state and consequently the lower the compression resistance. Thus, the establishment of the equilibrium between the investments in mineral processing technologies to reduce the aggregates porosity or the tolerance for increasing water and additives consumption is more related to the economic viability than technically. An alternative to mineral beneficiation after crushing would be the partial replacement of natural aggregates by recycled ones, this will lead to a lower porosity system with partial incorporation of recycled aggregates.

Os processos de reciclagem e produção de agregados reciclados provenientes de resíduos de construção e demolição (RCD) estão se consolidando no Brasil, mas o seu emprego não ocorre na mesma proporção. A utilização desses em pavimentação, principalmente em camadas de base e sub-base, é considerada mais conveniente que em outras áreas, visto que não necessita de procedimentos avançados de reciclagem e utiliza os mesmos processos construtivos que agregados já consagrados, como britas graduadas. Entretanto, as recomendações normativas existentes remetem à caracterização dos agregados, sendo que as alusões ao seu comportamento mecânico são idênticas às impostas para britas graduadas. Além disso, a literatura existente é limitada frente a outros materiais alternativos, o que implica restrições ao seu emprego. Buscando atenuar essas incertezas, essa pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar o comportamento mecânico de agregados reciclados provenientes de RCD, de modo a identificar suas principais características e fornecer parâmetros de anteprojeto para o dimensionamento de pavimentos que utilizam esse material como camadas de suporte. Para isso, a primeira etapa comportou uma análise dos processos de beneficiamento dos agregados reciclados, de modo a identificar como influem nas suas características, o que foi alcançado concomitantemente a segunda etapa, que consistiu na análise dos agregados por meio de ensaios específicos de caracterização física e química. A terceira e principal etapa baseou-se na análise do comportamento mecânico, que além da determinação em equipamentos convencionais, também utilizou um equipamento triaxial de grande porte que comporta corpos de prova de 25 x 50 cm, permitindo a utilização da distribuição a ser empregada em campo. Essa etapa iniciou pela análise da compactação, realizada com curvas granulométricas e modos de umedecimento distintos, onde os mais promissores foram escolhidos para verificar a influência do método de compactação, sendo ele dinâmico ou vibratório. Após essas determinações, a análise concentrou-se no módulo de resiliência, na resistência ao cisalhamento e na deformação permanente, sendo que as evoluções da deformação permanente foram classificadas segundo a teoria do Shakedown. Os resultados demonstraram que a compactação causa a quebra de agregados, porém essa é menor quando utilizada compactação dinâmica. Os RCD apresentaram bom comportamento em relação deformações elásticas, com módulo de resiliência semelhantes aos apresentados por britas. Dado a diminuição de partículas lamelares causada pela quebra durante o processo de compactação, os valores mais representativos do ângulo de atrito e do intercepto coesivo foram 41° e 60 kPa, respectivamente. As análises das deformações realizadas em multiestágios demonstraram que, se utilizados em pavimentos com baixo de volume de tráfego, para razões de tensões σd / σ3 < 2 e tensões desvio σd ≤ 210 kPa, bases compostas de RCD não vão desenvolver deformações plásticas iniciais excessivas e o material vai responder elasticamente. Além disso, essas bases estão seguras contra falhas de cisalhamento. Em suma, as análises indicam que os RCD podem ser utilizados como materiais para bases e sub-bases de pavimentos de baixo volume de tráfego, dando um destino nobre a uma matéria-prima renovável e facilmente encontrada, que na maioria das vezes é desperdiçada e cuja geração aumenta constantemente. / Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) recycling processes are consolidating in Brazil, but their use does not occur in the same proportion. The application of such in pavement, especially in base and sub-base layers, it is considered more convenient than in other areas because it does not require advanced recycling procedures and using the same constructive processes which aggregates already established, as graded gravel. However, existing normative recommendations refer to the characterization of the aggregates, and the allusions to their mechanical behavior are identical to those imposed on graded gravel. Moreover, the existing literature is limited compared to other alternative materials, implying restrictions on its use. Seeking to mitigate these uncertainties, this research aims to analyze the mechanical behavior of recycled aggregates from CDW, in order to identify its main characteristics and provide parameters for draft design of pavements that using this material as a support layer. For this, the first step involved an analysis of the aggregates recycling procedures, in order to identify the influence of this process in their characteristics, which were concomitantly reached the second stage consisting in the analysis of aggregate by specific tests of physical and chemistry characterization. The third and main step was based on the analysis of mechanical behavior, which besides determining in conventional equipment also utilized a large triaxial device that carries specimens of 25 x 50 cm, allowing the use of the distribution to be employed in field. This step began by analyzing the compaction performed with gradation curves and distinct modes of moistening, where the most promising were chosen to investigate the influence of compaction method, either dynamic or vibration. After these determinations, the analysis focused on the resilient modulus, shear strength and permanent strain, and the evolution of permanent strain were classified according to the theory of Shakedown. The results showed that compaction causes the aggregates break, but this is less when used dynamic compaction. The CDW had good behavior relative elastic strains, with resilient modulus similar to those presented by gravel. Since the decrease of lamellar particles caused by breakage during the compaction process, the most representative values of the friction angle and cohesive intercept were 41° and 60 kPa, respectively. The analysis of the permanent strain carried out in multistage demonstrated that if used in pavements with low traffic volume, for reasons of stress σd / σ3 < 2 and deviator stress σd ≤ 210 kPa, compound bases CDW will not develop excessive initial plastic strain and the material will respond elastically. In addition, these bases are secure against shear failure. In essence, the analysis indicates that the CDW can be used as materials for bases and sub-bases of low volume traffic floors, giving a noble destiny to a renewable raw material and easily found that most of the time is wasted and whose generation is constantly increasing.