Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this research is to investigate the potential use of coarse recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as a material in structural concrete. The lack of knowledge and specifications in South Africa are the main reasons for this research of RCA. By increasing the database of research of RCA in South Africa the possibility of specifications for this alternative building material can be initiated. The implications of such specifications would lead to RCA acceptance in concrete design and therefore reducing the amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste accumulating at landfill sites and decreasing the extraction of depleting natural aggregates. The objectives that are achieved through this research project are firstly, what is the percentage replacement of RCA to a concrete blend that will produce a material that achieves similar or better results than a concrete blend containing natural aggregates. Secondly, what aggregate properties and limits should be defined in the specification of RCA for it to be accepted as a material in concrete mixtures. The objectives were assessed through examining the geometrical, physical and chemical properties of the aggregate as a material and the fresh and hardened concrete properties of concrete which contains RCA as a constituent. RCA which was processed by a commercial recycling facility which produces concrete masonry units was collected at three different instances. This material was reprocessed in the laboratory to control the grading and amount of fine material not guaranteed by the recycling process. The RCA is then combined with natural aggregate (NA) at the replacement percentages: 0, 15, 30, 50 and 100% which is then used to examine the aggregate properties. It was determined that the physical properties of RCA were dependent on the geometrical properties, while taking into consideration that the geometrical properties are dependent on the source and method of recycling of the original C&D waste. The chemical properties were established as dependent on the physical properties of the RCA. The RCA is then mixed with NA at the same replacement percentages together with other concrete constituents to produce the concrete used to examine fresh and hardened concrete properties. The fresh concrete properties investigated were: slump, slump loss, air content and fresh compacted density. The hardened concrete properties studied were: compressive strength, tensile splitting strength, oxygen permeability, water sorptivity, chloride conductivity, modulus of elasticity, shrinkage and creep. The concrete properties were not significantly influenced by the inclusion of RCA. According to the aggregate and concrete properties examined in this investigation, the full replacement of NA in structural concrete is possible and will improve the sustainable development of the construction industry. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om ondersoek in te stel na die potensiele gebruik van growwe herwonne betonaggregaat (RCA) as ‘n materiaal in betonstruktuurontwerp. Die gebrek aan kennis en spesifikasies in Suid Afrika is die vernaamste rede vir hierdie navorsing van RCA. Deur die vermeerdering van die databasis van hierdie navorsing van RCA in Suid-Afrika kan die moontlikheid van spesifikasies vir hierdie alternatiewe boumateriaal geïnisieer word. Die implikasie van sodanige spesifikasies sou lei tot RCA aanvaarding in betonontwerp en dus die vermindering van die hoeveelhede konstruksie en sloping (C&D) van afvalversameling by stortterreine en om die ontginning van natuurlike aggregate te verminder. Die doelwitte wat deur hierdie navorsingsprojek bereik word is eerstens, wat is die vervangings persentasie van RCA in 'n betonmengsel wat produseer word wat dieselfde of beter resultate sal lewer as 'n betonmengsel wat uit natuurlike aggregate bestaan. Tweedens, watter aggregaat eienskappe en beperkings moet gedefinieer word in die spesifikasie van RCA sodat dit aanvaarbaar is as ‘n materiaal in betonstruktuur ontwerp. Die doelwitte word geassesseer deur die ondersoek van die geometriese, fisiese en chemiese eienskappe van die aggregaat as ‘n wesenlike materiaal en die vars en verharde betoneienskappe van RCA as ‘n bestanddeel in struktuurbetonontwerp. RCA monsters was geneem by ‘n kommersiele herwinningsfasiliteit wat RCA gebruik om betonsteen eenhede te vervaardig, is op drie verskillende tydperke ingesamel. Hierdie materiaal is herverwerk in die laboratorium om die gradering en die hoeveelheid van fyn materiaal wat nie deur die herwinningsproses beheer is nie. Die RCA was dan gekombineer met NA teen vervangingspersentasies van: 0, 15, 30, 50 en 100 % wat dan gebruik was om die eienskappe van die aggregaat te ondersoek. Daar is vasgestel dat die fisiese eienskappe van die RCA afhanklik van die geometriese eienskappe, met inagneming dat die geometriese eienskappe afhanklik is van die bron en metode van die herwinning van die oorspronklike C&D afval. Dit is gestig dat die chemise eienskappe is afhanklik van die fisiese eienskappe van die RCA. Die RCA is toe gemeng met NA teen dieselfde vervangingspersentasies saam met ander beton bestanddele om beton te produseer wat dan vergelyk kan word met vars en verharde beton eienskappe. Die volgende vars betoneienskappe is ondersoek: insinking, insinking verlies, luginhoud en vars gekompakteerde digtheid. Die volgende verharde betoneienskappe is bestudeer: druksterkte, trek die splintsing van krag, suurstofpermeabiliteit, water sorptiwiteit, chloride geleidingsvermoё, modulus van elastisiteit, krimp en kruip. Die beton eienskappe was nie beduidend beïnvloed deur die insluiting van RCA nie. Volgens die aggregate en beton eienskappe wat in hierdie navorsing ondersoek is, blyk dit dat die volle vervangingswaarde van NA in strukturele beton moontlik is en die volhoubare ontwikkeling van die konstruksiebedryf sal verbeter.

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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.

In accordance with the Paris Agreement and the national goal of climate neutrality by 2045, Sweden needs to lower its greenhouse gas emissions. The second-largest source of CO2 emissions in the country comes from the production of cement, one of the main ingredients of concrete. With concrete being an ideal construction material, and Sweden needing to build more urban housing, Sweden is now in a position where they need to combine a high rate of housing construction with emission cuts to reach the climate goals. Concrete from construction and demolition waste is recyclable and can be used as an aggregate in new concrete and as an input in cement production. This is, however, currently not being done in Sweden and concrete waste is instead used for low-grade purposes such as road construction, landfill infrastructure, and backfilling.  This study, therefore, aims to identify why recycled concrete is not being used to a larger extent in Swedish housing. An interview study has been conducted with actors along the concrete value chain to find out the extent to which housing projects use recycled concrete today, as well as what challenges and possibilities there are for increased use. The results show that recycled concrete within housing projects is currently only used for backfilling. Sweden does not have big enough volumes of high-quality concrete waste for it to be commercially viable to recycle it into recycled aggregate concrete. This recycling process is both costlier and more time-consuming than using conventional methods with raw materials, something Sweden has an abundance and easy access to. There is also a reluctance within the construction industry to use new and unproven methods and materials. Improved on-site sorting of waste materials, leading to higher quality aggregates, and construction standards adapted to the use of recycled materials, are actions to be taken to allow for an increased use of recycled aggregate concrete. All interviewed actors also mentioned the potential of recycled concrete for non-load-bearing walls in housing projects.

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Betong är idag och har länge varit det allra vanligaste byggnadsmaterial i Sverige. Det är ett robust och mångsidigt byggnadsmaterial med flera fördelar. Detta arbete är en experimentell studie av betongavfall från Hedareds sand & betong för betongprogrammet RE: Concrete och Högskolan i Borås. Betongavfallet krossas till ny ballast och därefter siktas och gjuts till ny betong enligt olika betongrecept. Försöken sker i betonglabbet i Högskolan i Borås för att krossa och tillverka betong. Grundreceptet har tillhandhållits av Hedareds sand & betong. Syftet med arbetet har varit att undersöka möjligheterna för att kunna använda återvunnen betong i nya bärande konstruktioner. Målet var att bevisa att det var tekniskt möjligt att åstadkomma en 100 % ersättning av ballast med återvunnen betong och få fram ny betong som passar den bärande stommen i en byggnad. Olika egenskaper undersöktes så som tryckhållfasthet för den nya betongen och partikelfördelning samt vattenabsorption för ballasten med målet att uppnå likvärdigt resultat som för referensbetongen. Resultatet visar att det är möjligt att kunna återvinna betong till 100 %. Arbetbarheten är bra i flertal försök men bör förbättras för att uppnå likvärdig arbetbarhet som referensbetongens. Referensbetongens tryckhållfasthet är 59 MPa och bästa tryckhållfasthet som erhållits för återvunnen betong är 57,2 MPa. Detta tyder på ett positivt resultat och den återvunna betongen i denna studie kan ersätta naturgrusballast i en bärande konstruktion till 100 %. / Concrete is and has been for a long time the most common building material in Sweden. It is a robust and multipurpose building material with several advantages. This report is about an experimental study of concrete waste from Hedareds sand & betong. The concrete waste is crushed to a new aggregate and then sifted and casted into new concrete. The study was conducted in the Concrete Laboratory at University of Borås for crushing and casting of concrete. Recipes are supplied by Hedareds sand & betong as a starting point, which is later modified gradually to achieve better results. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibilities for using recycled concrete in new constructions. It is also examined if the recycled concrete is technically sustainable and if the workability is good enough for using in load bearing structures. Different properties are studied such as compressive strength, particle distribution, water absorption and workability to achieve equivalent results as the reference concrete. The result obtained in this study shows that it is possible to recycle concrete by replacing aggregates to 100 % in new concrete. Workability is good in several tests, but it should be improved to achieve the same workability as the reference concrete. The reference concrete's compressive strength is 59 MPa and the best compressive strength obtained for recycled concrete is 57.2 MPa. This indicates positive results and the recycled concrete in this study can replace ordinary concrete in a load bearing construction.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science (Building) in Construction Project Management to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / There is a problem of construction waste on construction sites. However, there are various strategies that can be employed; not only on construction sites, but generally on construction projects from the inception of the project to manage construction waste more effectively. Construction waste management can loosely be defined as a function of controlling waste on construction projects to limit its generation and disposal but enhance reduce and recycling. Construction waste mainly arises from design changes, poor choice of construction materials, improper material specifications, inappropriate strategies employed or wrong strategies implemented; leading to poor management of waste on construction projects. Construction waste can be ‘physical’ or ‘non-physical’. Physical construction waste refers to tangible solid waste of materials emanating from construction activities. Non-physical waste pertains to waste of time and project funds in the form of unnecessary expenditure. The aim of this study is to identify waste management strategies utilized on construction sites in Gauteng. Pertinent literature provided a basis of the study. A cross-sectional survey using three construction sites in Gauteng: an office building project, a road project and a civil works project was adopted. The most common strategies were found to be –proper selection of construction materials, proper planning and logical sequencing of construction work activities on a project. There is a variety of branded materials hence the need for proper selection of materials. Further, there are a lot of factors that influence the flow of work activities hence the requirement to keep track and plan activities accordingly to counter distortions. It is acknowledged that strategies found to be common in Gauteng are basic techniques in controlling construction waste generation and the results tied back to the literature. It was established that technological tools like Building Information Modeling are not yet common in Gauteng. Improvements on usage of prefabricated components and offsite manufacturing of components is recommended to stakeholders of the construction industry. It is also logical to conclude that waste management strategies employed on construction sites in Gauteng are anchored on factors of economic viability and government policies. In their quest to make projects profitable and in their efforts to make construction projects compliant to regulations, as a result, construction contractors achieve reductions in waste generation on construction projects. Therefore what the study found out are mainly practices that could, in addition to achieving primary aim, contribute to waste reduction. These strategies identified are implemented primarily to achieve time, cost and quality objectives and thus indirectly waste reduction. / MT2018

The diploma thesis deals with using of recycled aggregate of concrete for base layers of pavement. The work is divided into practical and theoretical part. The theoretical part deals with basic concepts of construction and demolition waste, production, development and management of this waste in the Czech Republic. It also focuses on the principle of recycling and the use of recycled concrete in the Czech Republic and abroad. The practical part of the thesis deals with laboratory testing and assessment of recycled aggregates in bound, unbound and grouted courses layers of the base layers of roads.

The master thesis dealing with problematic about durability of concrete, with use of recycled concrete and addition of silica additions. Predominant for resistance of concrete constructions is surface layer, through which aggressive gasses and liquids penetrate from surrounding environment. The most important indicator of concrete durability is ability of surface layer transmissions of aggressive substants. In experimental part will be defined the actual state of surface layer by normal testing methods. The transmissions of surface layer will be tested on concrete cubes. Tests for transmissions of air (method TORRENT), of water (method ISAT), of acid gases (dept of carbonation by quick test in 98% CO2) will be carried out and also strength tests. Assessment of positive or negative influence of additions and amount of cement on durability and mechanical properties of concrete will be discussed in conclusion.