Towards sustainable concrete
Structural concrete is used in foundations for homes, office buildings and other structures, and thus must have predictable mechanical properties to comply with structural regulations. Making concrete from recycled concrete holds promise, but more research is needed to ensure that it adheres to these regulations. The EU-funded ENCORE (Environmentally-friendly solutions for concrete with recycled and natural components) initiative investigated the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). ENCORE studied a number of waste materials, industrial by-products and natural fibres for their potential as concrete additives. Materials included demolished concrete, steel fibres from tyres and fly ash. Project partners produced a number of concretes using different combinations of these additives, and tested their durability, strength and other important properties. ENCORE created a standard of production protocols of recycled and natural constituents, and design-oriented rules for the final recycled structural concrete products. Finally, the project developed a number of theoretical models to test and describe the behaviour of RACs created during the project. By using recycled and natural constituents, researchers hope they will soon develop a high-quality suite of 'green concrete' products suitable for use in structural applications.
Keywords
Concrete, building material, recycled aggregate concrete, waste materials, industrial by-products, natural fibres
