Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354

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Materials and Design

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The role of 0–2 mm fine recycled concrete aggregate on the compressive

and splitting tensile strengths of recycled concrete aggregate concrete
Adel Gorjinia Khoshkenari a, Payam Shafigh b,⇑, Mahmoud Moghimi c, Hilmi Bin Mahmud b
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
c
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The aim of this study is to investigate the role of 0–2 mm fine aggregate on the compressive and splitting
Received 1 January 2014 tensile strengths of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) concrete with normal and high strengths. Normal
Accepted 23 July 2014 coarse and fine aggregates were substituted with the same grading of RCAs in two normal and high
Available online 1 August 2014
strength concrete mixtures. In addition, to keep the same slump value for all mixes, additional water
or superplasticizer were used in the RCA concretes. The compressive and splitting tensile strengths were
Keywords: measured at 3, 7 and 28 days. Test results show that coarse and fine RCAs, which were achieved from a
Recycled concrete aggregate
parent concrete with 30 MPa compressive strength, have about 11.5 and 3.5 times higher water absorp-
Compressive strength
Splitting tensile strength
tion than normal coarse and fine aggregates, respectively. The density of RCAs was about 20% less than
Normal strength concrete normal aggregates, and, hence, the density of RCA concrete was about 8–13.5% less than normal aggre-
High strength concrete gate concrete. The use of RCA instead of normal aggregates reduced the compressive and splitting tensile
strengths in both normal and high strength concrete. The reduction in the splitting tensile strength was
more pronounced than for the compressive strength. However, both strengths could be improved by
incorporating silica fume and/or normal fine aggregates of 0–2 mm size in the RCA concrete mixture.
The positive effect of the contribution of normal sand of 0–2 mm in RCA concrete is more pronounced
in the compressive strength of a normal strength concrete and in the splitting tensile strength of high
strength concrete. In addition, some equation predictions of the splitting tensile strength from compres-
sive strength are recommended for both normal and RCA concretes.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction for concrete will grow to approximately 18 billion tons (about

7.5 billion m3) a year by 2050 [4]. Due to at least three-quarters
Concrete is the most widely used construction material due to of the volume of concrete being occupied by aggregate [5], such
its many advantages, such as low cost, availability of raw constitu- a huge usage of concrete increases the use of natural aggregates,
ent materials, workability and its ability to be cast into many which creates an ecological imbalance and has a significant effect
shapes, good fire resistance and durability. The many advantages on the environment. Consuming such enormous quantities of
of concrete are weighed against the severe energy consumption natural resources for making concrete and cement means that
and pollution resulting from the manufacture of cement [1]. In the current concrete construction practice is unsustainable [6].
addition, a study conducted by Struble and Godfrey [2] revealed Meyer [7] stated that there are five ways to achieve sustainability
that between a reinforced concrete beam and a steel I-beam with of the concrete industry: (1) increase the use of supplementary
the same moment capacity, the concrete beam required much less cementitious materials, (2) increase the use of recycled materials,
energy and had a lower net environment impact than the steel (3) improve durability, (4) improve mechanical properties, and
beam. (5) reuse of wash water. Among these five ways, the use of recycled
It was reported that about 2.7 billion m3 of concrete was pro- aggregates saves natural resources, dumping space and supports
duced in 2002 worldwide, which is more than 0.4 m3 of concrete the environment [8].
produced per person annually [3]. It is expected that the demand Concrete waste constitutes the major proportion of construc-
tion waste totalling about fifty per cent of the total waste gener-
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 172437383; fax: +60 379675318. ated [9]. Researchers have shown that among the many types of
E-mail addresses: pshafigh@um.edu.my, pshafigh@gmail.com (P. Shafigh). solid waste generated from the construction industry recycled

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.07.048
0261-3069/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
346 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354

concrete aggregate (RCA) is a good substitute for aggregate in pro- research is required to investigate the effect of RCA on the proper-
ducing structural concrete [10,11]. Tam et al. [9] reported that a ties of concrete in terms of the splitting tensile and flexural
concrete made of recycled aggregates fulfils green requirements. strengths, the bond between the aggregate and paste, porosity,
These requirements are: (i) it can recycle and reduce natural chloride penetration, as well as the effect of quality of the parent
resources and energy consumption; (ii) it will not affect the envi- concrete of RCA. In addition, it was recommended that further
ronment; and (iii) it can maintain sustainable development. It research is needed to investigate the potential use of RCA in the
has been reported [12] that a concrete containing recycled aggre- production of high strength, high performance, lightweight and
gate has a lower compressive strength compared to that of normal self-compacting concretes. Therefore, there are still many ques-
aggregate (NA) concrete. This is due to the lack of bonding between tions concerning RCAs, RCA concretes and their properties which
recycled aggregate and cement matrix and also the high water are still unanswered.
absorption capacity of recycled aggregate [13]. The quality of con- The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of using
crete containing RCA strongly depends on the amount of RCA in the 0–2 mm fine RCA instead of NA on the compressive and tensile
concrete mixture. It has been reported [6] that for manufacturing strengths of normal and high strength concretes. In this study,
structural grade concrete by the partial substitution of the natural the quality of the parent concrete is known. In addition, to achieve
aggregate with RCA by up to 50% is feasible. In addition, reports a better and more accurate comparison between normal aggregate
[14–16] have shown that RCA can be used in high strength, high and RCA concretes, similar grading was used for normal and recy-
performance and durable concretes. cled concrete aggregates.
To produce a RCA concrete of good quality, factors such as
remaining micro cracks in RCA after the crushing process, high 2. Experimental work
water absorption, smaller specific gravity of RCA as well as a pos-
sible reduction in quality and durability need to receive proper 2.1. Materials used
consideration in advance [17]. To produce good quality RCA con-
crete, using coarse and fine RCAs, the use of fine RCA in concrete 2.1.1. Binder
is not recommended; alternatively, the replacement of natural Type II Portland cement and silica fume were used as the
sand by recycled fines was recommended to be limited to a maxi- binder. The cement used had a specific gravity, Blain surface area,
mum of 20% [12]. Sima and Park [18] reported that at any age (up initial and final setting times of 3.15, 3.06 m2/g, 115 min and
to 28 days) of a mortar, the compressive strength reduces as the 195 min, respectively. The cement had 3, 7 and 28 days compres-
natural sand is replaced with the fine RCA. They also reported that sive strength of about 18.5, 30.0 and 40.0 MPa, respectively. The
for making structural concrete members, coarse RCA can be fully chemical composition of the cement and silica fume is shown in
used instead of normal coarse aggregate. However, for such a pur- Table 1.
pose in a concrete containing 100% coarse RCA, the fine RCA can be
used for up to 60% of the total fine aggregate. The reports of many 2.1.2. Superplasticizer
researchers have revealed that the compressive strength of RCA A sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde superplasticizer (SP)
concrete decreases as the amount of RCA increases; this is because was used for mixes containing silica fume. The amount of SP used
of the existence of the cement paste residue in the aggregate par- was to achieve a slump value in the range of 80–100 mm.
ticles [19]. Fig. 1 shows a schematic of a RCA surrounded with new
mortar in RCA concrete [20]. Indeed, the use of RCA in concrete
2.1.3. Aggregates
involves an increase in the mortar content in the resulting con-
The recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs) were produced from
crete, which, in turn, potentially increases the shrinkage strain.
crushing tested reinforced concrete beams (RCBs) in the laboratory
The drying shrinkage strain of RCA concrete may range from 20%
(Fig. 2), which can be called the parent concrete (PC). The mix pro-
to 70% more than the reference concrete, which, together with
portion of the PC is shown in Table 2. On average, the compressive
the 100% replacement of NA with RCA, might reach up to 263%
strength of the PC was about 30 MPa. The concrete rubble obtained
[21].
from the primary crushing of the RC beams was crushed using a
Although, much research has been conducted on the use of
crushing machine to achieve aggregate of different sizes.
recycled aggregates in structural concrete, a large amount of these
Natural coarse and fine aggregates, which were used the manu-
materials are used in non-structural concretes or used as road
facture of the PC, were also used in this study. From the different
bases [22]. Due to the wide variation in the properties of concrete
sizes of RCA, coarse and fine RCA with the same grading as the nat-
containing recycled aggregate, engineers still prefer the use of vir-
ural aggregates were achieved. Therefore, the grading of sand used
gin materials, or the use of recycled material is limited to a low
in all mixes (normal sand, combined sand and RCA sand) is the
level replacement of coarse aggregate. In 2012, from a review of
same. The grading of sand along with the ASTM: C33 sand grading
the use of RCA in concrete [12] it was concluded that more
curves are shown in Fig. 3. The densities of the coarse and fine RCAs
were 2.31 and 1.97 g/cm3, respectively, while the density of natu-
ral coarse and fine aggregates in the SSD condition were 2.86 and

Table 1
The chemical composition of binder.

Oxide composition OPC Silica fume

SiO2 21.9 94.6
Fe2O3 3.3 0.9
CaO 63.3 0.5
MgO 1.2 1.0
Al2O3 4.9 1.3
SO3 2.1 0.1
K2O 0.6 1.0
Na2O 0.4 0.3
Fig. 1. A recycled aggregate surrounded with new mortar in a recycled aggregate LOI 2.4 –
concrete [20].
 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354 347

Fig. 2. (a) Waste concrete for recycling from tested concrete beams and (b) recycled concrete aggregates after primary crushing.

Table 2
Mix proportions of parent concrete (kg/m3). 2.1.4. Mix proportions
Two groups of mix proportions were considered in this study.
Content Cement Water Water/cement ratio Aggregate
Group A includes four normal strength mixes. In this group, all
0–4 mm 4–12.5 mm the mixes had the same cement content. The slump value was kept
Parent concrete 410 225 0.55 947 735 constant in the range of 80–100 mm for all mixes. Mix N was made
of normal aggregate and is the control concrete mix. The other
mixes had fine and coarse RCAs. Due to the higher water absorp-
tion of RCAs as well as porous surface texture, when natural aggre-
gates were substituted with RCAs in mix N, the slump decreased.
For keeping a constant slump value in the range of 80–100 mm,
the slump value can be increased by increasing the water or adding
SP into the concrete mixture. Therefore, N-RW and N-RS mixes,
which only contain RCAs, had additional water and SP, respec-
tively, compared to mix N.
To investigate the effectiveness of very fine RCA ranging in size
from 0 to 2 mm on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete,
RCAs, except fine aggregates in the range of 0–2 mm, were used
instead of normal aggregate in mix N (mix N-RP). Safiuddin et al.
[12] reported that, typically, RCA particles contain 30–60% old
cement paste/mortar, depending on the aggregate size. A smaller
size includes a greater amount of old cement paste/mortar.
Another report [23] showed that about 20% of coarse RCA of
20–30 mm in size includes old cement/mortar while fine RCA of
up to 0.3 mm size includes 45–65% old cement/mortar. Therefore,
to avoid too great a reduction in the compressive strength of RCA
Fig. 3. Grading curve of fine natural and recycled concrete aggregates. concrete, the use of fine RCA in concrete is generally not recom-
mended [22,24]. In addition, Meyer [25] reported that most of
2.47 g/cm3, respectively. The fineness modulus of the sand was the strength loss of RCA concrete compared to normal aggregate
3.04. The aggregate crushing value of the coarse RCA and normal concrete is due to the portion of the RCA that is smaller than
coarse aggregate were 40 and 120 MPa, respectively. The water 2 mm. In this study, to maximize the usage of RCAs in concrete,
absorption of the coarse and fine RCA, as well as the normal coarse instead of ignoring all the fine RCA, the effect of one portion of fine
and fine aggregates were measured as being approximately 6.87%, RCA in the range of 0–2 mm in size on the fresh and hardened
14.05%, 0.60% and 4.16%, respectively. properties of concrete was investigated. The first advantage of
Fig. 4 clearly shows the porous texture of the coarse RCA, how- using natural sand of 0–2 mm instead of RCA in RCA concrete
ever, no porosity could be visually observed on the normal coarse was observed in the workability of the concrete. In mix N-RP, it
aggregates. was observed that the slump value without additional water or

Fig. 4. Surface texture of coarse natural aggregate (right) and RCA (left).
348 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354

SP was still similar to the control mix (mix N). This showed the aggregate in different scales, respectively. It is clear from these fig-
importance and the role of 0–2 mm fine RCA on the fresh proper- ures that the texture surface of RCA is like a sponge and many
ties of the RCA concrete. pores can be observed on the surface while these are not observed
The aim of making group B mixes was to investigate the effect in normal aggregates. Kou and Poon [27] reported that water
of using silica fume and the reduction of water to binder ratio on absorption is the most distinctive difference between the proper-
the quality of RCA concrete. In this group, mixes of H, H-R and ties of the RCAs and normal aggregates. They demonstrated that
H-RP are the same as the mixes of N, N-RS and N-RP, respectively, the high water absorption of RCA is due to the presence of the por-
but with a different type of binder, as well as water and SP con- ous cement mortar. de Juan and Gutiérrez [28] showed that there is
tents. The mix proportions of all mixes are shown in Table 3. a relationship between the attached mortar and water absorption
of RCA. Previous studies [17,29–35] showed that coarse and fine
2.1.5. Test methods aggregates have water absorption in the range of 3.5–7.7% and
For mixing of the constituent materials, first, all the solid mate- 4.6–13.1%, respectively.
rials were blended in a mixer for one minute. Then mixing water In addition, the aggregate crushing value test results revealed
was added to the mixture and mixing continued for three minutes. that the coarse RCA used in this study had a strength value of about
Then the slump test was performed. In the RCA concretes, the SP or one third of the normal coarse aggregate. Ismail and Ramli [36]
additional water was added to the mixture to achieve the desired reported that due to the presence of mortars with porous nature
slump value of 80–100 mm. The concrete specimens were cast in remains in the RCA as well as the presence of numerous micro-
100-mm cubes for compressive strength testing and cylinders of cracks, the quality of RCA is lower than normal aggregates.
100-mm diameter and 200-mm height for the splitting tensile
strength. The specimens were compacted using a vibrating table
3.2. Density
and were demoulded one day after casting. The specimens were
then put in water with a temperature of 20 ± 2 °C until the date
The density of RCAs is about 20% less than that of normal aggre-
of testing. The tests were conducted using a compression testing
gates. Therefore, it was expected that by substituting the natural
machine of 2000 kN capacity in the environmental lab with
aggregate with such RCAs the density of concrete would reduce.
temperature of 22–23 °C and 80 ± 5% relative humidity. For each
The densities of group A mixes were 2468, 2132, 2148 and
tests of compressive and splitting tensile strengths sixty-three
2273 kg/m3 for the N, N-RW, N-RS and NRP mixes, respectively.
specimens were tested. The results reported in this study are the
The densities of group B mixes were 2546, 2266 and 2276 for the
average of three tests.
H, H-R and H-RP mixes, respectively. In groups A and B, the con-
cretes containing RCAs showed 7.9–13.6% and 10.6–11% lower
3. Results and discussion density, respectively, compared to the control concrete mix. Saf-
iuddin et al. [12] reported that the density of RCA concrete is typ-
3.1. Properties of RCAs ically 5–15% lower than normal aggregate concrete. They stated
that this is due to the old mortar that adheres to the normal aggre-
The test results showed that both coarse and fine RCAs are gate, which has a much lower density than normal aggregates.
about 20% lighter than normal aggregates. The lower density of A concrete with a density in the range of 1440–1840 kg/m3 is a
RCAs was due to the old mortar being attached to the normal lightweight concrete, while the density of ordinary concrete is in
aggregates. The mortar was from a concrete with a compressive the range of 2240–2400 kg/m3 [37]. Therefore, a concrete with a
strength of 30 MPa. Therefore, it had more porosity than a natural density in the range of 1840–2240 kg/m3 can be called semi-light-
aggregate. Some of these porosities can be visually observed on the weight concrete. In addition, in practice, a concrete with a density
surface of the coarse RCA in Fig. 4. Evangelista and de Brito [26] less than 2160 kg/m3 is considered as lightweight concrete [38].
reported that due to the higher porosity of the recycled aggregates, Therefore, two concrete mixes N-RW and N-RS can be categorized
these aggregates have lower specific densities. They have recog- as lightweight concrete. The immediate benefit of using light-
nized the higher porosity of the recycled aggregates from the weight concrete is the reduction of reinforcement and the founda-
greater water absorption. tions due to saving in dead load.
Test results showed that the water absorption of coarse and fine
RCAs was about 11.5 and 3.5 times more than the natural coarse
and fine aggregates, respectively. Such high level of water absorp- 3.3. Compressive strength
tion for both coarse and fine RCAs is noticeable. The main reason
for the high water absorption of RCAs is due to the porosity of The compressive strength test results of all mixes at 3, 7 and
these aggregates. The porosity in these aggregates not only can 28 days are shown in Table 4. The analysis of the results for each
be observed on the surface (Fig. 4) but also in microscopic scale. group, as well as a comparison of the results of groups A and B,
Figs. 5 and 6 show microscopic images of a RCA and normal are as follows.

Table 3
Mix proportions of normal aggregate and RCA concretes (kg/m3).

Mix group Mix No. Cement Silica fume Water Additional SP Normal aggregates Recycled concrete aggregate
water
0–2 mm 2–4 mm 4–9.5 mm 9.5–12.5 mm 0–2 mm 2–4 mm 4–9.5 mm 9.5–12.5 mm
A N 410 – 195 – – 675 272 184 551 – – – –
N-RW 410 – 195 30 – – – – – 675 272 184 551
N-RS 410 – 195 – 1.4 – – – – 675 272 184 551
N-RP 410 – 195 – – 675 – – – – 272 184 551
B H 369 41 100 – 12.3 675 272 184 551 – – – –
H-R 369 41 100 – 12.3 – – – – 675 272 184 551
H-RP 369 41 100 – 12.3 675 – – – – 272 184 551
 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354 349

Fig. 6. Microscopic images from the surface of normal aggregate.

compressive strength of mix N-RW compared to mix N at 3, 7

and 28 days was about 38%, 34% and 27%, respectively. It can be
seen that with increasing age, the difference in compressive
strength between these two mixes reduced.
In mix N-RS, all aggregates were RCA. In this mix, to achieve the
same workability as mix N, superplasticizer was used in the
mixture instead of adding water. It can be seen from Table 4 that
the compressive strength of this mix was much better than mix
N-RW. Mix N-RS showed 61%, 39% and 18% higher compressive
strength than mix N-RW at 3, 7 and 28 days, respectively. There-
fore, it can be concluded that the use of superplasticizer in concrete
containing wholly RCA is mandatory.

Table 4
Compressive strength of concretes (MPa).

Mix group Mix No. Compressive strength (MPa)

Fig. 5. Microscopic images from the surface of RCA. 3 days 7 days 28 days
A N 15.5 26.1 38.0
N-RW 9.6 17.3 27.9
3.3.1. Group A N-RS 15.5 24.1 32.8
Mix N was a normal strength concrete. In this concrete when all N-RP 13.9 22.8 34.3
the conventional aggregates were substituted with the recycled B H 39.1 63.9 81.3
concrete aggregates, for similar workability (mix N-RW), the H-R 21.9 35.4 52.2
compressive strength reduced significantly. The reduction of the H-RP 22.1 35.5 47.9
350 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354

From the slump test result for mix N-RP, it was observed that if from a weak concrete, it is possible to produce concrete containing
in a whole RCA concrete, just fine RCA ranging in size from 0 to wholly RCA with greater strength.
2 mm be substituted with normal sand, the slump of RCA would A comparison between the compressive strength test results of
be similar to normal concrete. Indeed, the performance of normal the H-R and H-RP mixes showed that substituting the fine RCAs of
fine aggregate of 0–2 mm on the fresh property of RCA concrete 0–2 mm with normal sand aggregate does not have a significant
was similar to the use of superplasticizer or additional water into effect on the compressive strength, while it was observed that this
the mixture. In addition, the 28-day compressive strength of mix size range of aggregate may have a significant effect on the fresh
N-RP was about 23% and 5% more than the N-RW and N-RS mixes, properties and compressive strength of a RCA concrete with nor-
respectively. However, mix N-RP had a 28-day compressive mal strength.
strength of about 10% lower than the control mix (mix N). In gen- A comparison between the compressive strength of N and H as
eral, from the test results of group A mixes, it can be concluded that well as N-RS and H-R mixes showed that the contribution of the
if the parent concrete is grade 30, it is possible to produce the same silica fume to improve the compressive strength of the RCA con-
grade concrete containing wholly RCA by using a small amount of crete was lower than that for the normal aggregate concrete. The
superplasticizer or by substituting fine RCA of 0–2 mm with nor- improvement in the compressive strength of RCA concrete at early
mal fine aggregate. ages and 28-day age was about one third and half that of the nor-
It is worth noting that the volume of slabs is generally some- mal aggregate concrete, respectively. This is in contrast to the
where between 70% and 90% of the total concrete volume of a results reported by Kou et al. [41] in the case of recycled aggregate
building [39]. In addition, strength is not a major consideration (RA) concrete in which the RA contained more than 90% crushed
in floor slabs [4]. Therefore, the use of concretes, such as N-RW recycled rubble. They studied the effect of different mineral admix-
and N-RS with a density of about 13% less than normal weight con- tures, such as silica fume, metakaolin, fly ash and ground granu-
crete in the floors of buildings, particularly in high-rise buildings, lated blast furnace slag as cement replacement in percentages of
could result in a saving on the material used, such as steel. 10%, 15%, 35% and 55%, respectively, on some engineering proper-
ties of RA concrete. They found that silica fume and metakaolin
improve the short and long-term properties of the concrete.
3.3.2. Group B Moreover, they concluded that the contribution of the mineral
The aim of producing this group of mixes was to investigate the admixtures to improve the performance of RA concrete is higher
effectiveness of using silica fume along with a reduction of water compared to that for normal aggregate concrete.
content by using superplasticizer on the properties of RCA con- It should be noted that most general-use concrete has a com-
crete. In this group, the H, H-R and H-RP mixes were similar to pressive strength of between 20 and 40 MPa [42]. The compressive
the N, N-RS and N-RP mixes from group A, respectively, except in strength test results showed that in group A, all RCA concretes had
the amount of silica fume, water and superplasticizer contents. a 28-day compressive strength in this range. However, in group B,
The compressive strength test results are shown in Table 4. The the 28-day compressive strength of RCA concretes were signifi-
test results indicated that in concrete containing wholly RCA, if sil- cantly higher than 40 MPa, which could be considered as high
ica fume is used as a cement replacement together with a reduced strength concrete.
of water content (by using a superplasticizer), with the same
slump value, the compressive strength could be significantly 3.4. Splitting tensile strength
increased. Mix H-R had a compressive strength of about 42%, 47%
and 59% more than mix N-RS at 3, 7 and 28 days, respectively. Compressive and tensile strengths are both required for the
These results showed that the increase in rate of strength gain design of structures. However, in many practical applications, such
for mix H-R was more than mix N-RS. This was due to the existing as unreinforced concrete structures, structures under seismic load-
silica fume in the H-R mixture, which had a significant effect in ings, pavement, slabs, mass concrete dams, airfield runways, and
terms of filling and pozzolanic reaction. segmental pre-stressed concrete bridges, the tensile strength value
Elhakam et al. [40] reported that in a RCA concrete containing is even more important than the compressive strength in the
coarse RCAs and natural sand as fine aggregate, adding 10% silica design of these structures [43,45].
fume as cement addition enhanced the properties of concrete. They A review of the available information concerning the effect of
attributed the improvement to the ultra-fine particles, which RCA on the splitting tensile strength of concrete conducted by Saf-
decreases the porosity of recycled aggregate concrete; the pozzola- iuddin et al. [12] in 2012 showed that limited literature is available
nic action of the silica fume, which enhances the cement matrix; in this regard. In addition, there has not been enough studies to
and the improvement of the transition zone between the recycled develop an empirical equation for predicting the splitting tensile
aggregates and cement mortar. The 28-day compressive strength strength for RCA concretes. According to the available information,
of mix H-R was also significantly more than the compressive it has been reported that the splitting tensile strength of RCA con-
strength of the parent concrete. This showed that if RCAs obtained crete is 0–10% lower than that for normal aggregate concrete. It can

Table 5
Splitting tensile strength of concretes (MPa).

Mix group Mix No. Splitting tensile strength (MPa) Splitting tensile strength/compressive
strength ratio at 28 days (%)
3 days 7 days 28 days
A N 1.8 2.4 4.2 11.1
N-RW 1.1 2.1 2.8 10.0
N-RS 1.7 2.3 3.1 9.5
N-RP 1.6 2.2 3.4 9.9
B H 2.9 4.0 5.7 7.0
H-R 2.1 2.7 4.0 7.7
H-RP 2.0 2.8 4.2 8.8
 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354 351

be seen that the reduction in the splitting tensile strength is not on the splitting tensile and compressive strengths of concretes
significant. with a 28-day compressive strength up to 84 MPa showed that at
Table 5 shows the splitting tensile strengths for all mixes at 3, 7 low strengths, the splitting tensile strength may be as high as
and 28 days. In group A, all RCA concretes had a lower splitting 10% of the compressive strength; however, at higher strengths, it
tensile strength than the control mix (mix N). The reduction varied may reduce to 5% [47]. Therefore, normally, the splitting tensile
from 4% to 40% for all ages. The lowest splitting tensile strength strength/compressive strength ratio of N-RW, N-RS and N-RP
was for mix N-RW. Compared to mix N-RW, mix N-RS showed mixes would be expected to be higher than mix N due to their
about 55%, 10% and 11% higher splitting tensile strength at the compressive strength being lower than mix N, while the ratio
3-, 7- and 28-day ages. Such an improvement in the tensile was lower than mix N in these concretes. Therefore, it can be seen
strength was due to the use of a small amount of superplasticizer that the contribution of RCA in a concrete with normal strength has
instead of increasing the water content in the RCA concrete mix- a greater negative effect on the splitting tensile strength compared
ture. Therefore, according to the test results of the compressive to the compressive strength. However, the test results of group B
and tensile strengths, it is strongly recommended that a superp- concretes showed that reducing the water content and the use of
lasticizer be used in concrete containing wholly RCA mixtures. silica fume in the RCA concrete mixture improved the splitting ten-
The best result for the tensile strength of the RCA concrete in sile strength/compressive strength ratio significantly. In this group,
group A was achieved for mix N-RP at the 28-day age. The splitting it can be seen that, generally, concrete with lower strength had a
tensile strength of the RCA concrete containing normal 0–2 mm higher splitting tensile strength/compressive strength ratio. A
sand (mix N-RP) was about 10% more than for the RCA concrete comparison between the splitting tensile strength ratios of the
containing superplasticizer (mix N-RS) at 28-day age. This shows N-RP and N-RS mixes showed that the reduction rate of the split-
that the performance of the normal sand in the 0–2 mm size range ting tensile strength of concrete containing wholly RCA reduced
is similar or better than with the superplasticizer. if the 0–2 mm RCAs was substituted with the same size of normal
It should be noted that the minimum splitting tensile strength aggregates. This positive effect of 0–2 mm normal sand was more
for a structural lightweight aggregate concrete is 2.0 MPa [46]. pronounced in the group B RCA compared to group A.
Mix N-RW has the lowest density among all the mixes. This mix Fig. 7 shows the relationship between the splitting tensile and
and mix N-RS are considered as semi-lightweight concretes. The compressive strengths for all mixes at 28 days. The relationship
splitting tensile strength of both mixes at 7 and 28 days is more is considered for all concretes as well as for concretes containing
than the minimum requirement for structural lightweight aggre- RCA. It can be seen that in both cases, there is a nonlinear relation-
gate concrete. ship with a strong correlation between the two strengths. Zain
In group B, similar to group A, both RCA concretes showed a et al. [43] stated that the relationship between the splitting tensile
lower splitting tensile strength in the range of 26–32% compared strength and compressive strength is nonlinear. This is because
to the normal aggregate concrete at all ages. However, a compari- when the compressive strength of concrete increases, the tensile
son between the splitting tensile strength of RCA concretes in strength also increases but at a much smaller rate when compared
groups A and B showed that group B RCA concretes had much to the increase in compressive strength.
higher splitting tensile strength, and, generally, they had a better There are a number of empirical relationships between the
tensile strength than the group A control concrete (mix N). It can splitting tensile and compressive strengths proposed by various
be seen that if silica fume is used in the RCA concrete mixture codes of practice and researchers. In most cases, the relationships
along with reduced water to binder ratio, the tensile strength of are in the following format:
RCA concrete improved to about 14% at early ages and is equivalent
ft ¼ k  fca ð1Þ
to the tensile strength of normal aggregate concrete.
Table 5 shows the splitting tensile strength to compressive where ft is the splitting tensile strength, fc is the compressive
strength ratio for all mixes at 28-day age. In group A, the ratio of strength and k and a are constant coefficients.
all RCA concretes was lower than the control concrete. This showed However, there are other forms of equation predictions, such as
that although the contribution of RCA in the concrete mixture Eqs. (2) and (3), which were reported by Zain et al. [43] and Eq. (4)
reduced both the compressive and splitting tensile strengths, the reported by Parrott [48].
reduction in the splitting tensile strength was more pronounced
than for the compressive strength. Another reason that proves this ft ¼ 0:54fcy0:5 =ðw=bÞ ð2Þ
conclusion is that, as reported by Neville [5], when the compres-
sive strength of concrete increases, the tensile strength also ft ¼ fcy =ð0:1fcy þ 7:11Þ ð3Þ
increases but at a decreasing rate. For example, an investigation
ft ¼ 0:226fcy0:705 þ 1 ð4Þ

where ft is the splitting tensile strength (MPa), fcy is the cylinder

compressive strength (MPa), w/b is water to binder ratio and k
and a are constant coefficients.
A comparison between the experimental results obtained for
wholly RCA concretes in this study and those estimated by Eq.
(1) reported by [43,48–58] showed that the equations proposed
by ACI 318-99 [50] (Eq. (5)), Arioglu et al. [54] (Eq. (6)), and Bhanja
and Sengupta [56] (Eq. (7)) give a closer estimated value to the real
value measured for mixes of N-RW, N-RS and H-R. The average
underestimate error of these equations was about 3%. In these con-
cretes, Eq. (2) also gives a good estimation with an average under-
estimate error of about 6%. In the general form, if all concretes
containing RCA are considered, the best proposed equations are
Fig. 7. Relationship between splitting tensile strength and compressive strength at those reported by Arioglu et al. [54] (Eq. (6)) and Bhanja and Seng-
28 days. upta [56] (Eq. (7)) with, on average, underestimate error of about
352 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354

6%. In addition, Eq. (4) also gives an average error of about 5% for all
five mixes containing RCA.

ft ¼ 0:59fcy0:5 ð5Þ

ft ¼ 0:387fcy0:63 ð6Þ

0:717
ft ¼ 0:248fcu ð7Þ
Among the many existing proposed equations that were inves-
tigated by the authors it was found that a few equations could be
used for all mixes with an error of less than 10%. Eq. (4) with an
absolute error of about 7% as well as Eqs. (6) and (7) with an under-
estimate error of about 8% and 7%, respectively, can be used for all
mixes. Overall, the use of Eqs. (4) and (7) are recommended for Fig. 8. Relationship between splitting tensile strength and compressive strength of
predicting splitting tensile strength from compressive strength concretes at all ages.
for all concrete mixes at the 28-day age.
Although most prediction equations for the splitting tensile 1.13. These results indicate the good accuracy of Eqs. (8) and (9),
strength are a function of the 28-day compressive strength, some particularly in the case of RCA concretes.
of the proposed equations were developed based on the function Fig. 8 shows relationship between splitting tensile strength and
of the compressive strength and concrete age. Eq. (8) shows that compressive strength at all ages. It can be seen that there is a rela-
there is a relationship between the tensile strength, compressive tionship with strong correlation between these two properties for
strength and concrete age, which was proposed by Zain et al. [43]. concretes containing RCA as well as for all concretes. From this fig-
ure, it can be concluded that irrespective of the type of aggregate
0:5
fts;t ¼ 0:59fcy;t =ðt=t 28 Þ0:04 ð8Þ
used in the concrete, Eq. (10) can be used to predict the splitting
where fts,t and fcy,t are the splitting tensile strength and compressive tensile strength from compressive strength with good accuracy.
strength, respectively, in MPa at the age of t days, where t is age of This equation is very similar to the equation reported by Bhanja
concrete at t days. and Sengupta [56].
In addition, Eq. (9), as proposed by De Larrard and Malier [44], 0:71
ft ¼ 0:24fcu ð10Þ
was developed for predicting the splitting tensile strength from the
compressive strength at any age.
4. Conclusions
ftj ¼ 0:6 þ 0:06fcj ð9Þ

where ftj and fcj are average values of the splitting tensile strength From the test results of this experimental study the following
and the compressive strength, both in MPa, respectively, at j days. conclusions can be drawn:
Table 6 presents the results of the predicted splitting tensile
strength derived from Eqs. (8) and (9), as well as the experimen- (1) Coarse and fine RCAs obtained from a parent concrete with
tal/predicted splitting tensile strength ratio of these equations. As 30 MPa compressive strength may have significantly higher
can be seen in this table, generally, Eq. (8) gives an overestimate water absorption than normal coarse and fine aggregates of
prediction at early ages and a conservative estimation at the about 11.5 and 3.5 times, respectively. In addition, the
28-day age. However, Eq. (9) gives a conservative prediction at aggregate crushing value of the coarse RCA is about one
all ages. The experimental/predicted ratio of Eq. (8) ranged third of the normal coarse aggregate.
between 0.73 and 1.27 with an average value of 0.98. The average (2) The density of RCAs is about 20% less than normal aggre-
experimental/predicted ratio value for wholly RCA concretes gate. Concretes containing RCAs have 8–13.5% less density
(mixes of N-RW, N-RS and H-R) was 0.94 and for all concretes than normal aggregate concrete and can be categorized as
containing RCA it was 0.95. The experimental/predicted ratio of semi-lightweight aggregate concrete.
Eq. (9) ranged between 0.91 and 1.45 with an average value of (3) Due to the higher water absorption value of RCAs, as well as
1.12. The average experimental/predicted ratio value for wholly the porous surface texture of these aggregates, substituting
RCA concretes was 1.12 and for all concretes containing RCA was normal coarse and fine aggregates with RCAs reduces the

Table 6
Predicted splitting tensile strength of concretes for different ages (MPa).

Mix group Mix no. Predicted splitting tensile strength (MPa)

Eq. (8) Eq. (9)
3d 7d 28d 3d 7d 28d
P E/P P E/P P E/P P E/P P E/P P E/P
A N 1.9 0.95 2.6 0.92 3.3 1.27 1.5 1.20 2.2 1.09 2.9 1.45
N-RW 1.5 0.73 2.1 1.0 2.8 1.00 1.2 0.92 1.6 1.31 2.3 1.22
N-RS 1.9 0.89 2.5 0.92 3.0 1.03 1.5 1.13 2.0 1.15 2.6 1.19
N-RP 1.8 0.89 2.4 0.92 3.1 1.10 1.4 1.14 2.0 1.10 2.7 1.26
B H 3.0 0.97 4.0 1.0 4.8 1.19 2.9 1.00 4.4 0.91 5.5 1.04
H-R 2.3 0.91 3.0 0.90 3.8 1.05 1.9 1.11 2.7 1.00 3.7 1.08
H-RP 2.3 0.87 3.0 0.93 3.7 1.14 1.9 1.05 2.7 1.04 3.5 1.20

P: prediction; E: experiment.
 A.G. Khoshkenari et al. / Materials and Design 64 (2014) 345–354 353

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