Evaluation on the mechanical, thermal insulation and durability properties of wood recycled ecological concrete

Abstract

As a non-renewable resource, the extraction of natural aggregates not only consumes a large amount of resources, but also causes serious damage to the environment. In this study, wood recycled ecological concrete (WREC) was prepared using wood aggregate (WA) and sawdust as coarse and fine aggregates, respectively, with the aim of exploring its potential application in construction. The results showed that the use of WA and sawdust reduced the mechanical properties and carbonation resistance of WREC, but improved its toughness and thermal insulation properties, as well as acted as an internal curing and retardation of self-shrinkage. The dry density of WREC was as low as 1646 kg/m3, and the maximum 28-day compressive and flexural strengths were 26.4 MPa and 4.8 MPa, respectively, which were close to those of conventional C30 concrete. The flexural-compressive ratio was in the range of 0.179–0.269, which was better than that of natural aggregate concrete (NAC), and the thermal conductivity of some WREC was less than 0.23 W/(m·K), which can meet the engineering requirements of thermal insulation materials. It is suitable for preparing green thermal insulation wall materials and prefabricated wall panels.