Project Details
RESEARCHERS
Hui Zhao, Wencui Yang, Yong Ge, Penghuan Liu, Dachuan Zhang
KEYWORDS
Aggregates, Base course (Pavements), Compressive strength, Moisture content, Recycled materials, Road materials
Project description
The utilization of recycled aggregates in civil engineering is an effective way to deal with construction waste and conserve natural resource. This paper presents a study on the effect of recycled aggregate obtained from waste concrete on the properties of road base materials. The gradations of both natural aggregate and recycled aggregate were designed according to the upper limit, median value, and lower limit of standard gradation, respectively. The natural aggregate was replaced by recycled aggregate with the replacement of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% by volume, respectively. The maximum dry density, optimal moisture content, unconfined compressive strength, and drying shrinkage were investigated for road base materials. It was shown that aggregate prepared with upper limit gradation exhibited the better optimal moisture content, while the road base material prepared with median gradation aggregate showed the best 7-day unconfined compressive strength. The optimal moisture content and the maximum dry density of road base material would be both increased with increasing the replacement level of recycled aggregate. Recycled aggregate can improve the 7-day unconfined compressive strength of the road base material within a certain replacement percent.
