Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A major challenge for our society is the protection of the environment. Some of the important issues are the reduction in the consumption of energy and natural raw materials, as well as the increase in consumption of waste materials. At present these topics are getting considerable attention as part of sustainable development programs. The use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) from construction and demolition waste (C&DW) in construction, as alternative to virgin (natural) aggregates, has strong potential. The use of RCA preserves natural resources and reduces the space required for the disposal of RCA in landfill. It is estimated that 16 thousand million (billion) tons of concrete (and 25 billion tons of aggregate) were used in 2010. Of the 2-3 billion tons of C&DW which are produced worldwide every year, South Africa contributes 5-8 million tons. This amount is increasing rapidly every year. Significant amounts of demolished concrete find their way to landfill sites. A solution for excess waste production would be the utilization of RCA together with an improvement in the final quality of RCA. It might be an important breakthrough for our society in our attempt towards sustainable development. Worldwide, infrastructure has developed a great deal since the beginning of the twentieth century. Much of the core infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water systems, and sewers, was put in place during the first half of that century. Aggregates used as construction materials, as for instance in road pavements, or as an ingredient of concrete, are important components of infrastructure. Urbanization involves reduction of natural aggregate (NA) resources, but environmental concern and the rising cost of NA is the reason that recycled materials from different sources (like roads, buildings) are being used more and more with NA in new construction work. Environmental awareness is increasing in every country for many reasons and sustainable development is demanded of all industries, including the building and construction industries. By nature, construction is not environmentally friendly, and sometimes it also changes the behavior of nature in many ways. Recycling is one of the most important ways to minimize the waste that comes from different sources, thereby avoiding repetition of, and additional environmentally hazardous practices. It may create new wealth by diminished transport and production costs and sparing of landfill site space and cost. It has the potential to extend the life of natural resources by adding a source of material, thereby reducing environmental interference and impacting on nearby construction sites, all of which improve sustainability of our natural resources. Much research on the uses of RCA has been performed during the last few decades. In fact, most of them showed that the strength class of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) is adequate for use as structural concrete although volume changes in and durability performance of RAC in comparison with natural aggregate concrete (NAC) are still being debated and researched. Some researchers found that the durability of concrete produced with RCA is inferior, but others have found it to be sufficient for use in structural concrete. The fact that an insufficient number of studies have been carried out on the durability aspects, has limited the use of RCA as material for road construction. The aim of this study is to determine the suitability of using the RCA in structural concrete based on its strength, stiffness, dimensional stability and durability. Three types of RCA designated RCA1, RCA2 and RCA3 in this study, were taken from three different sources. These materials were tested to establish their mechanical characteristics for use as aggregates in concrete. In the experimental program RCA was used at replacement percentages of 0%, 30% and 100% to (partially) replace NA in order to study its suitability as aggregate in concrete, and to what level of NA replacement its behavior is satisfactory for structural application. A single compressive strength class was studied, due to the limited time. By performing tests of compressive strength, Young’s modulus, creep, shrinkage, and durability performance, it has been found that selected types of RCA show a real possibility for use as aggregate in concrete. When concrete with a RCA replacement of 100% was compared with NAC100% there was a small decline in strength, but when concrete with a RCA replacement of 30% was compared with NAC100% the results showed almost equal strength. A slight reduction in durability performance was found for RAC30% compared with NAC100%, but similar dimensional stability performance in terms of specific creep and drying shrinkage was measured for RAC30% and NAC100%. Based on detailed experimental results obtained from this thesis project, a number of recommendations have therefore been made for RCA characteristics that will be used in concrete mixes also taking into account the quality of RCA. Some suggestions are proposed based on the mechanical properties and durability of the concrete. In the final conclusions, future studies on RCA properties are suggested, which would help us in increasing our knowledge in the application of RCA, and which may lead to the optimal production of structural concrete in a sustainable way. In general the use of RCA in concrete is feasible and good quality RCA at 30% replacement of NA may be suitable for any kind of structural concrete. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Groot uitdaging vir ons samelewing is die beskerming van die omgewing. Van die belangrike sake is die vermindering in die verbruik van energie en van natuurlike, onverwerkte materiale asook die groter verbruik van afvalmateriaal. Hierdie onderwerpe kry tans aanienlike aandag as deel van volhoubare ontwikkelingsprogramme. Die gebruik van betonaggregate, herwin vanaf konstruksie-en slopingsafval, en gebruik in konstruksie as alternatief vir ongebruikte natuurlike aggregate, het goeie potensiaal. Die gebruik van herwonne aggregaat beskerm natuurlike hulpbronne en verminder die oppervlakte en volume wat nodig is vir die weggooi daarvan op stortingsterreine. Dit is beraam dat 16 duisend miljoen (biljoen) ton beton (en ongeveer 25 biljoen ton aggregaat) gedurende 2010 gebruik is. Van die 2-3 biljoen ton konstruksie-en slopingsafval wat jaarliks wêreldwyd gegenereer word, dra Suid Afrika 5-8 miljoen ton by. Hierdie hoeveelheid word elke jaar vinnig meer. Beduidende hoeveelhede gesloopte beton beland elke jaar op stortingsterreine. ‘n Oplossing vir die probleem van te veel atval generering sou wees die gebruik daarvan as herwonne beton-aggregaat, sou saamval met ‘n verbetering in die uiteindelike kwaliteit van herwonne aggregaat beton. Dit kan dalk ‘n belangrike deurbraak wees vir ons samelewing in ons strewe na volhoubare ontwikkeling. Infrastruktuur het wêreldwyd baie ontwikkel sedert die begin van die twintigste eeu. Baie van die kerninfrastruktuur insluitende paaie, brue, waterstelsels en riole is gebou tydens die eerste helfte van daardie eeu. Aggregaat gebruik as konstruksiemateriaal, byvoorbeeld in padplaveisels of as’n bestanddeel van beton, is ‘n belangrike deel van infrastruktuur. Verstedeliking veroorsaak vermindering van natuurlike aggregaat hulpbronne maar besorgdheid oor die omgewing en die stygende koste van nataurlike aggregaat veroorsaak dat herwonne materiale vanaf verskillende bronne (soos paaie en geboue) meer en meer aanvullend tot natuurlike aggregaat in nuwe konstruksiewerke gebruik word. Omgewingsbewustheid is om baie redes aan die toeneem in elke land en volhoubare ontwikkeling word vereis van alle industrieë. Herwinning is een van die hoofmaniere om afval vanaf verskillende bronne tot ‘n minimum te beperk. Dit skep nuwe rykdom, verminder vervoeren vervaardigingskoste en benut afval wat anders op stortingsterreine verlore sou gegaan het. Dit het die potensiaal om die lewensduur van natuurlike hulpbronne te verleng deur ‘n materiaalbron by te voeg, deur inmenging in die omgewing te verminder, wat almal bevorderlik is om volhoubare benutting van ons hulpbronne te verbeter. Baie navorsing is gedurende die laaste paar dekades gedoen aangaande die gebruik van herwonne aggregaat. Die meeste van die navorsing het inderdaad getoon dat die sterkte van beton met herwonne aggregaat genoegsaam is vir gebruik as struktuurbeton alhoewel daar wel debatte gevoer word oor die volumeveranderings en duursaamheid prestasie van herwonne aggregaat beton vergeleke met dié van natuurlike aggregaat beton. Sommige navorsers het bevind dat die duursaamheid van beton wat met herwonne aggregaat gemaak is, minderwaardig is maar andere het bevind dat dit voldoen aan die vereistes van struktuurbeton. Slegs die feit dat daar onvoldoende toetse rakende duursaamheid gedoen is, het die gebruik van herwonne beton aggregaat beperk tot padboumateriaal. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om te bepaal wat die geskiktheid van herwonne betonaggregaat is vir gebruik in struktuurbeton, gegrond op sterkte en duursaamheid. Drie soorte herwonne betonaggregaat wat in hierdie studie as RCA1, RCA2 and RCA3 aangedui word, is elk vanaf ‘n ander bron geneem. Hierdie materiale is getoets om hulle meganiese kenmerke vas te stel vir gebruik as aggregaat in beton. In die eksperimentele program is 0%, 30% en 100% herwonne betonaggregaat gebruik om natuurlike aggregaat gedeeltelik be vervang om sodoende die geskiktheid as betonaggregaat te bestudeer. Deur toetse uit te voer op ‘n beperkte sterkte-klas beton, soos toetse vir die bepaling van druksterkte, Young’s modulus, kruip, krimp en duursaamheid, is daar bevind dat sekere soorte herwonne betonaggregaat heel moontlik gebruik kan word in struktuurbeton. Toe beton met 100% herwonne betonaggregaat vergelyk is met beton met 100% natuurlike aggregaat, is bevind dat daar ‘n klein vermindering in sterkte was, maar waar beton met 30% herwonne betonaggregaat vergelyk is met beton met 100% natuurlike aggregaat, het die resultate byna dieselfde sterkte getoon. Dus op grond van gedetaileerde eksperimentele resultate is ‘n aantal aanbevelings gemaak vir kenmerke van herwonne betonaggregaat wat in betonmengsels gebruik sal word met inagneming van die gehalte van herwonne betonaggregaat. Die resultate vir beton met 30% en 100% herwonne betonaggregaat word vergelyk met beton wat slegs natuurlike aggregaat bevat. Sekere voorstelle gegrond op meganiese eienskappe en duursaamheid van die beton word gemaak, asook aanbevelings vir toekomstige studies van herwonne betonaggregaat wat ons sal help om ons kennis vir die toepassing van herwonne betonaggregaat uit te brei.

<p>The physical properties of the coarse fraction of the till (0.4 to 20 cm) and the surface boulders have been studied at two different sites in Sweden. The research work included: development of a new image analysis software for 3D size and shape measurements of particles; lithological analysis on multiple size fractions in till and magnetic susceptibility survey on coarse till clasts, surface boulders and local bedrock.</p><p>The new 3D image analysis method provides an enormous amount of size and shape data for each particle in the coarse fraction (2 to 20 cm) in till. The method is suitable for field study, cost effective and the software is executable in Matlab. The field imaging method together with the image analysis software give non subjective results of size and shape of coarse particles and makes it feasible and easy to study representative sample size, which is one tonne for testing clasts of size up to 20 cm.</p><p>The lithological analysis of the multiple size fraction of the till clasts has been investigated on six different size fractions of the till (0.4 to 20 cm); the result of the different samples from the two sites shows that this method can potentially be used as a stratigraphic tool in the areas where there is no unique indicator lithologies.</p><p>The magnetic susceptibility has been made on the surface boulders, the 6-20 cm till fraction and on insitu bedrock outcrops near to the study sites. The method has good potential for determining stratigraphic relationships between different till units as well as for determining the provenance ofcoarse clasts and surface boulders.</p>

Betong är ett av de mest använda byggnadsmaterialen i världen. Den består av en blandning av cement, vatten och ballast. Ballasten utgör cirka 65-75 % av betongmassan. Merparten av denna ballast kommer i nuläget från naturgrus. En ersättning av naturgrusballasten är önskvärd i enlighet med Regeringens miljömål för ”Grundvatten av god kvalitet” som innebär att uttaget på naturgrus ska minskas till 1-3 miljoner ton/år fram till år 2020. Detta examensarbete fokuserar på att testa ersätta naturgrus med krossberg i betong. Målet var att få likvärdiga egenskaper i den nya betongblandningen både när det gäller tryckhållfasthet och arbetbarhet. Ett annat mål var att ta reda på hur en ökad krossbergförbrukning skulle bidra till att nå en hållbar utveckling i betongindustrin. Arbetet utfördes i samarbete med Ulricehamn Betong AB (UBAB), en betongfabrik i närheten av Ulricehamn. Arbetet genomfördes i form av en laboratoriestudie där resultat från två testserier jämfördes med ”referensbetong”. Referensbetongen är baserad på ett känt- och beprövat betongrecept på UBAB. De två testserierna fokuserar på två parametrar i betongblandningen som varieras, krossbergandelen i betongreceptet och mängden flytmedel så kallad superplasticerare. Syftet var att undersöka hur variationen av dessa två parametrar i betongblandningen påverkar betongens egenskaper bland annat tryckhållfasthet och arbetbarhet. Testerna utfördes på gjutna kuber vid 1 och 28 dygns ålder och i visa fall även vid 5 dygns ålder. Resultaten av alla dessa tester presenteras och analyseras i rapporten. En hållbarhetsanalys på ballast i allmänhet och betongballast i synnerhet genomfördes också i rapporten. I denna hållbarhetsanalys beskrevs miljöpåverkan av transport som är knyten till ballastmaterial. Testresultaten från alla försöken visar att alla väsentliga egenskaper är oförändrade och är likvärdiga med betong med merparten av naturgrus. Krosset är tillgängligt i närtrakten vilket leder i sin tur till mindre transporter och mindre utsläpp till luften. En ökad förbrukning av betong med merparten av krossat berg bidrar därmed till hållbarheten inom betongindustrin i allmänhet och UBAB:s hållbarhetsmål om minskad CO2 utsläpp kan uppnås i synnerhet. Ur social hållbarhetssynpunkt är en betong med upp till 70 % krossbergsersättning av naturgrus en arbetsmiljövänlig och hållbar lösning till det sinande naturgrusbiståndet. För att åstadkomma en betongproduktion med mer krossbergandel bör forskning kring ämnet göras tills ersättningen av naturgruset omfattar hela 100 % av betongballasten och minst 3 tester av samma försök ska göras för att utesluta slumpen. / Concrete is one of the most used building materials in the world. It consists of a mixture of cement, water and aggregate. The concrete constitutes of approximately 65-75% of aggregates. Most of this used aggregate is natural aggregate. A replacement of natural aggregate is desirable in accordance with the Government's environmental objective for '' Groundwater of Good Quality ', which means that the use of natural aggregate will be reduced to 1-3 million tones/year by 2020. In this master thesis a study to test the replacement of natural aggregate with crushed stone in concrete is presented. The goal was to produce equivalent properties to standard concrete in the new concrete mix, both in terms of compressive strength and workability. Another goal was to find out how an increasing use of crushed aggregates would contribute to achieve sustainable development in the concrete industry. The work was carried out in cooperation with Ulricehamn Betong AB (UBAB), a concrete factory near Ulricehamn. The work consisted of laboratory study where two test series results were compared with tests from a "reference concrete". The reference concrete is based on a well-known and proven concrete recipe from UBAB. The two test series comprise two parameters that are varied in the concrete mixture, the crushed rock fraction and the amount of additive, so-called superplasticizer. The purpose was to investigate how the variation of these two parameters in the concrete mixture affects the properties of concrete such as compressive strength and workability. The tests were carried out on cast cubes at 1 and 28 days of age and, when appropriate, at 5 days of age. The results of all these tests are presented and analyzed in the report. A sustainability analysis of aggregate in general and concrete aggregate in particular is also presented in the report. This sustainability analysis describes the environmental impact of transport that is attributed to aggregate material both in a local and global perspective. Test results from all trials show that these essential properties are unchanged and are equivalent to the concrete which mostly contains natural aggregates. The rock is available nearby area, which in turn leads to less transport and less emissions to the air. Increased consumption of concrete with most of crushed rock contributes to the sustainability of the concrete industry in general and the achievement of UBAB's sustainability targets on reduced CO2 emissions. From a social sustainability perspective, a concrete with up to 70% crushed rocks is a work environmentally friend and a sustainable solution to the ending natural aggregates. To achieve a concrete production with more crushing rock, a research on the subject should be done until the replacement of the natural aggregates comprises 100% of the concrete ballast and at least 3 tests of same attempt must be done to exclude the chance.

This study investigates the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as a partial substitute of natural aggregates in concrete as fine and coarse aggregates. Concrete was prepared by replacing natural aggregates with equal volume of grinded PVC, with volume replacement ratio as 10%, 50% for fine and then 10% and 50% for coarse aggregates. Experiments were performed to investigate the wet density, workability (measured by slump test), compressive strength, elastic modulus, and water absorption of concrete. After checking the particle distribution (sieve analysis), wet density, workability, and compressive strength, since compressive strength of coarse PVC concrete was much less than that of the reference concrete it was decided to continue the investigation using only the fine partial replacements. The results showed that the wet density of concrete gradually decreased with the increase of PVC content, and workability increased with the increase of PVC. Compressive strength decreased by 13 to 20% for fine PVC and 25 to 31% for coarse PVC concrete, as PVC content increased. Also, it was realized that with the increase of PVC content, elastic modulus decreased by 8.7% for 10% fine PVC while 30% for 50% coarse PVC concrete, and water absorption decreased by 27% for 10% fine PVC concrete and 36% for the 50% fine PVC. It is not advisable to replace aggregates with PVC for achieving reference strength of 40 MPa with water to cement ratio. After studying many probabilities of using the PVC aggregates, it was decided to work on the possible maximum and minimum percentages of substitution, where it was chosen to be 10 and 50%.

En la actualidad en gran parte del mundo se viene proponiendo e impulsando las políticas ambientales que puedan reducir el problema de la degradación de los recursos naturales a la que está siendo sometido el planeta. A tal efecto se plantea la realización de esta investigación para tratar de determinar el grado de influencia en las propiedades físicas del concreto fabricado con agregados reciclados procedentes de la trituración. La variable seleccionada para la investigación ha sido: el porcentaje de sustitución del agregado grueso natural por agregado grueso reciclado en la dosificación del concreto. El objetivo general de la investigación es analizar en qué medida la cantidad de agregado grueso reciclado usado en la dosificación de la mezcla influye en las propiedades mecánicas del concreto. El tipo de investigación fue básica y cualitativa, la metodología. Se usó una metodología experimental y transversal. El análisis de los resultados experimentales indican que la resistencia a la compresión y a la tracción no se ven afectadas notoriamente al reemplazar el 20% de agregado natural, en un mayor porcentaje de reemplazo , la resistencia empieza a decaer directamente proporcional a un mayor porcentaje de agregado reciclado. Today in much of the world has been proposing and promoting environmental policies that can reduce the problem of the degradation of natural resources that the planet is undergoing. For this purpose the realization of this research to try to determine the degree of influence on the physical properties of concrete made with recycled aggregate from crushing arises. The selected research variable was the percentage of coarse natural aggregate replacement by recycled coarse aggregate concrete proportions. The overall objective of the research is to analyze to what extent the amount of recycled coarse aggregate used in the dosage of the mixture influences the mechanical properties of concrete. The research was basic and qualitative methodology. An experimental and transversal approach was used. Analysis of the experimental results indicate that the compressive strength and tensile strength are not affected noticeably by replacing 20% of natural aggregate, a higher percentage replacement, resistance begins to drop directly proportional to a higher percentage of added recycling.

The physical properties of the coarse fraction of the till (0.4 to 20 cm) and the surface boulders have been studied at two different sites in Sweden. The research work included: development of a new image analysis software for 3D size and shape measurements of particles; lithological analysis on multiple size fractions in till and magnetic susceptibility survey on coarse till clasts, surface boulders and local bedrock. The new 3D image analysis method provides an enormous amount of size and shape data for each particle in the coarse fraction (2 to 20 cm) in till. The method is suitable for field study, cost effective and the software is executable in Matlab. The field imaging method together with the image analysis software give non subjective results of size and shape of coarse particles and makes it feasible and easy to study representative sample size, which is one tonne for testing clasts of size up to 20 cm. The lithological analysis of the multiple size fraction of the till clasts has been investigated on six different size fractions of the till (0.4 to 20 cm); the result of the different samples from the two sites shows that this method can potentially be used as a stratigraphic tool in the areas where there is no unique indicator lithologies. The magnetic susceptibility has been made on the surface boulders, the 6-20 cm till fraction and on insitu bedrock outcrops near to the study sites. The method has good potential for determining stratigraphic relationships between different till units as well as for determining the provenance ofcoarse clasts and surface boulders. / QC 20110413

Concrete as a building material is subject to continuous innovation and thanks to advanced technology and quantum of research, its properties are still improved. It is logical that the more concrete we produce, the more waste it arises. The volume of this waste can not be stored in landfills endlessly, nowadays most of the waste economies in the world are trying to recycle concrete rubble. The recycling is not such a problem, the technology has been long verified but the quality of the recycled concrete aggregate is unquestionably one of the primary assumption which leads to accomplish required properties of concrete. In fact, the recycling process is „crushing“ the concrete into particles with an effort to eliminate the cement paste on the surface of the aggregate. An ideal solution would be create a resistant and firm coating that would adhere perfectly to the cement matrix. This diploma thesis is focused on the properties of recycled concrete aggregate and methods of improvement and optimization of the concrete mix composition.