Abstract
The main aim of this paper is to carry out the environmentally based enhancement of a concrete mixture containing recycled materials whilst considering natural resource consumption as well as mechanical and thermal property levels. The developed concrete is intended to be used in mortarless masonry wall structures. Ten concrete mixtures with different types and replacement rates of recycled masonry aggregate and recycled expanded polystyrene were prepared, and their mechanical and thermal properties were experimentally investigated. It was found that the use of recycled masonry aggregate led to better thermal properties while maintaining sufficient mechanical properties. On the contrary, the addition of recycled expanded polystyrene did not significantly affect the thermal properties of concrete, but the mechanical properties considerably declined. For this reason, the recycled masonry aggregate is suitable to use as an aggregate for concrete masonry blocks for wall structures.
Highlights
The effective use of construction and demolition waste (CDW) and its application in reusable structural elements can simultaneously reduce waste dumping and decrease the need to use primary resources, both of which are important environmental aspects to be considered in responsible sustainability management
The results of this study indicated a significant decline of compressive strength and a reduction of thermal conductivity caused by the increased expanded polystyrene (EPS) content
The density of recycled aggregate concrete declined with the increasing amount of recycled masonry aggregate (RMA) and EPS
Summary
The effective use of construction and demolition waste (CDW) and its application in reusable structural elements can simultaneously reduce waste dumping and decrease the need to use primary resources, both of which are important environmental aspects to be considered in responsible sustainability management This represents an important contribution to the solution of one of the core objectives of the 2030 UN Agenda on Sustainable Development—Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns [1]. The material footprint per capita of developing countries almost doubled in the last eight years, representing a significant and needed improvement in material standards of living [1] Most of this increase is connected with the rising consumption of nonmetallic minerals due to growth in infrastructure and construction. Concrete plays an important role in this process and represents a promising challenge for the future
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