Freezing and thawing cycles is one of the most damaging factors that affect the durability of concrete. The damages caused by the cyclic freeze-thaw action can be divided into two factors. The first factor is an increase in internal crack, which causes the loss in relative dynamic modulus (RDM) of the concrete and the second factor is surface scaling, which leads to weight loss of the concrete. In this study, the durability of concrete made by replacing natural coarse aggregates (NCA) with various percentages of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA). Also some tests have been conducted with the addition of air entraining admixture (AEA). Prior to mixing the concrete, both NCA and RCA were characterized to determine their suitability as a construction material. Concrete mixes consisting of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% replacement (by weight) of NCA with RCA were prepared. The same concrete mixes were prepared again but with the addition of an air entraining admixtures (AEA). All specimens were tested for compressive strength after a curing period of 7, 14, and 28 days. The compressive strength of the concrete made with different percentage of RCA decreases as the percentage of RCA increases. After 28 days of curing, samples with 0, 40, and 100% replacement of NCA with RCA were placed in the freeze-thaw chamber along with 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% NCA replacement containing AEA. After several cycles of freezing and thawing; the RDM, change in weight and change in length were measured. In this study loss of RDM and weight loss were noticed, as the cyclic freeze-thaw increases. It has also been observed that concrete mixes containing AEA were still durable after 300 cycles of freezing and thawing; however, the specimens without AEA failed before 150 cycles.
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