Abstract
Fine-grained cement-based composites used in civil engineering and construction industry are usually made of cement-based matrix and natural aggregate (such as sand, gravel, crushed stone, etc.). Red ceramic waste aggregate is considered as a perspective replacement of a part of natural aggregate in modern environmentally oriented building materials. Fine-grained cement composite with natural aggregate partially replaced by ceramic waste aggregate usually show different mechanical fracture characteristics from ordinary fine-grained concrete. The specimens were tested at six different ages. This was the reason for conducting the research programme. Altogether, 6 fine-grained cement mixtures with various proportions of natural and red ceramic waste aggregate were prepared. The aim of this paper is to present and compare mechanical fracture properties obtained from static and fatigue tests. Bulk density, flexural and compressive cube strength, fracture toughness and fatigue properties (S−N − Wöhler curve) were of special interest. All of these tests are important for a practical application of concrete with ceramic aggregate for structures. All the results were statistically analysed and they showed that the fatigue and mechanical fracture properties were improved or at least kept up with the increasing levels of red ceramic waste aggregate. Environmental impact of application in construction industry of composites in question is discussed.
Highlights
Concrete is considered the second most utilized material in the world
Fine-grained cement-based composites used in civil engineering and construction industry are usually made of cement-based matrix and natural aggregate
Red ceramic waste aggregate is considered as a perspective replacement of a part of natural aggregate in modern environmentally oriented building materials
Summary
Concrete is considered the second (after water) most utilized material in the world. It was estimated that the world uses twenty-five billion tonnes of concrete every year [1, 2]. Concrete is the mixture of cement, aggregate and water in which the aggregate constitutes 65–80 % of total volume. It is justified to affirm that the use of recycled aggregate is a way to reduce the impact concrete production may cause to the environment [4, 5]. Incorporating the maximum possible amount of recycled material in concrete would contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases emission as well as to minimize the amount of energy spent in concrete production. Kumar Sharma et al [6] mentioned that for the concrete containing polished granite waste, concrete with up to 20 % of
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