INFLUENCE OF ATTACHED MORTAR CONTENT ON THE PROPERTIES OF RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATE

摘要

Recycled concrete aggregates mainly differ from natural aggregates in that they are composed by two materials of different nature: natural aggregate and cement mortar attached to it. This last material is the origin of the different and worse properties of recycled aggregates. The objective of this study is to relate the attached mortar content to recycled aggregate properties, to establish the mortar content from which aggregate properties essentially get worse. This aspect can be useful for recycling plants as they will be able to adjust the production processes to improve aggregate quality, for example, by means of several crushing processes. The results show that the main properties unfavourably affected by the attached mortar content are density, absorption and Los Angeles abrasion. However, the attached mortar content is not the only determining factor on recycled aggregate properties, also mortar and natural aggregate quality influence them.