Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Properties of concrete incorporating fine recycled aggregates

from crushed concrete wastes
Cheng-Chih Fan a, Ran Huang b,⇑, Howard Hwang c, Sao-Jeng Chao d
a
Institute of Materials Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan
b
Department of Harbor and River Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan
c
Graduate Institute of Architecture and Sustainable Planning, National Ilan University, Ilan 26047, Taiwan
d
Department of Civil Engineering, National Ilan University, Ilan 26047, Taiwan

h i g h l i g h t s

 Two types of FRAs (R1 and R2) from crushing concrete wastes were used in the study.
 Crushing processes have significantly influence on the quality of FRAs.
 FRA replacement ratio is an important factor affecting the properties of the resulting concrete.
 Concrete specimens containing R2 have a superior quality than that containing same amount of R1.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Fine recycled aggregates produced by crushing concrete wastes can be used as a replacement for fine nat-
Received 16 October 2015 ural aggregates for manufacturing concrete. Two methods were adopted for production of fine recycled
Received in revised form 23 January 2016 aggregates from crushed concrete wastes: first, produces coarse as well as fine aggregates (R1); second,
Accepted 22 February 2016
produces only fine aggregate (R2). Test results demonstrate that the fine recycled aggregate replacement
Available online 5 March 2016
ratio is an important factor affecting the physical, mechanical and durability of resulting concrete.
Furthermore, concrete specimens containing R2 have a superior quality than concrete specimens contain-
Keywords:
ing same amount of R1.
Fine recycled aggregate
Compressive strength
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Ultrasonic pulse velocity
Initial surface absorption
Resistivity
Recycled concrete

1. Introduction natural aggregate (FNA) was replaced by FRA, which resulted in a

Aggregate produced by crushing concrete waste can be used as
a replacement for natural aggregate in the manufacture of con-
crete. This can help to conserve natural resources and promote a
more sustainable infrastructure. Numerous studies have detailed
the use of coarse recycled aggregate (CRA) from crushed concrete
waste as a replacement for coarse natural aggregate (CNA) in the
manufacture of structural material [1–6]. The properties of con-
crete produced from CRA have been thoroughly investigated and
a number of researchers have begun exploring the use of fine recy-
cled aggregate (FRA) from crushed concrete waste. Khatib [7] con-
ducted experiments in which 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of fine
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ranhuang1121@gmail.com (R. Huang).
density of 2340 kg/m3 and water absorption of 6.25%. At replace-
ment ratios of 25% and 100%, compressive strength of concrete
was reduced by 15% and 30%, respectively. Evangelista and de Brito
[8] tested the mechanical properties of concrete in which 0%, 10%,
20%, 30%, 50%, and 100% of FNA was replaced by FRA, which
resulted in a density of 2165 kg/m3 and water absorption of
13.1%. Based on the above findings, it is reasonable to assume that
the use of FRA does not jeopardize the mechanical properties of
concrete, at replacement ratios of up to 30%.
Pereira et al. [9] added two types of superplasticizer to concrete,
in which 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, or 100% of FNA was replaced by FRA,
which resulted in a density of 2230 kg/m3 and water absorption
of 10.9%. Experiment results demonstrate that the mechanical per-
formance of the concrete produced using recycled aggregate in
conjunction with superplasticizer exceeded that of the reference

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.154
0950-0618/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 C.-C. Fan et al. / Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715
concrete with no admixture and of conventional concrete with
lower performance superplasticizer.
Khoshkenari et al. [10] produced concrete using CRA or FRA,
which resulted in materials with a density of 2310 and 1970 kg/
m3 and water absorption of 6.87% and 14.05%, respectively. They
discovered that concrete produced from CRA or FRA has lower
compressive and splitting tensile strength than the control group.
Furthermore, they found that the negative effect on splitting ten-
sile strength was more pronounced. Nonetheless, strength could
be improved by incorporating FNA of 0–2 mm size. The positive
effect of the FNA was particularly evident on compressive strength
of normal-strength concrete and on splitting tensile strength of
high-strength concrete.
Cement paste adhering to the surface of FRA has been shown
to affect the properties of concrete. Thus, recent researches have
been conducted to investigate the effect of production process
of FRA on the properties of concrete. Sim and Park [11] applied
an advanced recycling process employing water floatation and
air blowing in production of FRA. Concrete specimens with vari-
ous proportions of FNA were tested. Increase in FRA replacement
ratio would reduce compressive strength of concrete. Song and
Ryou [12] also introduced a washing process to produce FRA.
The washing process was shown to enhance the physical proper-
ties of the resulting FRA. Koshiro and Ichise [13] demonstrated
the effectiveness of heat grinder system for processing concrete
waste from a demolished building to produce high-quality FRA.
Lee [14] used a jaw crusher or an impact crusher to produce
two types of FRA, RF-A and RF-B, with specific gravity of 2.39
and 2.28 and absorption of 6.59% and 10.35%, respectively.
Various combinations of FNA and FRA were used to produce
specimens for testing. Specimens with FNA replaced entirely by
RF-A presented higher density and better compressive strength
in comparison with specimens made from RF-B. Test results also
indicated that absorption of FRA influences the properties of spec-
imens with higher replacement ratios.
Florea et al. [15] investigated the influence of crushing
method on particle size distribution and the density of recycled
concrete aggregate. Concrete with compressive strength of
60 MPa were crushed by applying three methods: RC-1, recycled
concrete aggregate from concrete waste by one-time jaw-
crushing before being screened; RC-2, recycled concrete aggre-
gate by ten-time jaw-crushing before being screened and RC-3,
recycled concrete aggregate produced from three consecutive
crushing processes using a Smart Crusher. RC-3 presented parti-
cle size distribution between 125 and 200 lm, with a density of
2500 kg/m3. Optimal crushing process was concluded to enhance
the quality of the resulting concrete. Ulsen et al. [16] produced a
variety of FRAs using a jaw crusher in conjunction with a vertical
shaft impact (VSI) crusher with various rotational speeds. The
resulting aggregates were as follows: CDW-sand, FRA produced
using a jaw crusher; VSI-55VSI-75, FRA produced using a jaw
crusher followed by a VSI crusher with various rotation speeds
prior to screening. Test results indicated that the rotational
speed of VSI crusher had no effect on particle shape or particle
size distribution of FRA, however, absorption and porosity were
affected.
Fan et al. [17] investigated the effects of two types of FRA
(R1 and R2) from crushed concrete waste on the properties of
mortar. Mortar specimens with various proportions of FRA were
tested. Test results revealed that R2 has lower porosity, higher
density and lower absorption than R1, which indicating the supe-
rior quality of R2 and demonstrating the effect of crushing process
on quality of resulting concrete. Current study was aimed to
explore how the properties of concrete are affected when FNA is
replaced by various percentages of FRA produced from same con-
crete waste.
709
2. Experimental design
2.1. Materials
Type I Portland cement and natural river aggregate comprising clay slate were
used. Two types of fine recycled aggregates (FRA: R1, R2) were produced as shown
in Fig. 1. Fine recycled aggregate (R1) was produced simultaneously with recycled
coarse aggregate production by crushing concrete waste. Fine recycled aggregate
(R2) was produced by repeating crushing process until required particle size. Table 1
lists the physical properties of used materials.
2.2. Mix proportions
Table 2 lists the mix proportions of concrete in this study. The water/cement
ratios were set at 0.35 and 0.55. Concrete from former trial mix displayed poor
workability; therefore, type G superplasticizer (1% weight of the cement) was added
to improve workability. The replacement levels of FNA by R1 and R2 were set at vol-
ume fractions of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 100%. Only FNA was used in control concrete. The
cement/FNA weight ratio of control mix was 1:2 and the FNA/aggregate ratio was
set at 0.5. The details of mix proportions are listed in Table 2.
2.3. Fabrication of specimens
The FRA used in this study has higher water absorption than does FNA. We
therefore applied pre-wetting to all aggregates for 24 h. Surface moisture (ASTM
C70 [20]) was measured and water was adjusted prior to mixing in order to achieve
saturated-surface-dry (SSD) condition. Mixing was performed according to the
designed proportion and the resulting concrete from each mixture was used in
the production of the following specimens: nine cylindrical specimens with a diam-
eter of 100 mm and height of 50 mm, and fifteen cylindrical specimens with a diam-
eter of 100 mm and height of 200 mm. After casting, the specimens were covered
with plastic sheeting to prevent evaporation. The specimens were held in the labo-
ratory for 24 h before being de-molded and immersed in saturated lime water for
curing at an average temperature of 23 ± 2 °C until testing.
2.4. Testing
The following tests were performed to characterize the attributes of the con-
crete: slump tests, density tests, absorption tests, compressive strength tests, ultra-
sonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests, resistivity tests, and initial surface absorption tests.
Slump testing was performed in accordance with ASTM C143 [21]. We then mea-
sured slump by determining the vertical difference between the top of the mold
and the displaced original center at the top surface of the specimen. Density testing
was performed using cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 100 mm and height
of 50 mm, in accordance with ASTM C642 [22]. The specimens were weighed at
28 days in SSD conditions. The specimens were weighed after being suspended in
boiling water for 5 h and again after being removed from the water that had cooled
to 25 °C. Absorption testing was performed using cylindrical specimens with a
diameter of 100 mm and height of 50 mm, in accordance with ASTM C642 [22].
Specimens at 28 days were first placed in an oven at 105 ± 5 °C and dried until they
achieved constant weight. They were then soaked in water to achieve SSD condi-
tions before being weighed. Compressive strength testing was performed using
cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 100 mm and height of 200 mm, in accor-
dance with ASTM C39 [23]. Specimens were retrieved, dried, and tested at 7 days,
14 days, and 28 days. UPV testing was performed using cylindrical specimens with
a diameter of 100 mm and height of 200 mm, in accordance with ASTM C597 [24].
The measurement device used in this test was the Pundit Plus, manufactured by
CNS Farnell Limited. Converters were placed at both ends of the specimens at
7 days, 14 days, and 28 days, with the ultrasonic frequency was set to 54 kHz. Wave
velocities were measured twice and averaged to obtain the UPV. Resistivity testing
was performed using cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 100 mm and height
of 200 mm. The specimens were dried and tested using the Proceq resistivity meter
at 7, 14, and 28 days after production. The four electrodes were equi-spaced as per
the Wenner arrangement. The cylinders were measured with the probe centered
along the longitudinal direction, with the specimen rotated 90° with each measure-
ment for a total of four readings in each round of measurements. The resistivity of
each specimen was calculated as the average of the results from four rounds of test-
ing. Initial surface absorption testing was performed using cylindrical specimens
with a diameter of 100 mm and height of 50 mm, in accordance with BS 1881-
208 [25]. Specimens at 28 days were first placed in an oven at 105 ± 5 °C and dried
until they achieved a constant weight. This test is intended to measure the perme-
ability of concrete and its ability to absorb water in a prescribed period of time
(ranging between 10 min and 2 h) under a head of 200 mm (8 in.). The rates of
absorption of water at 10, 30, 60 and 120 min from the start of test were recorded.
The rate of initial surface absorption is expressed in milliliters per square meter per
second (ml/m2 s).
710 C.-C. Fan et al. / Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715

Fig. 1. Production processes of fine recycled aggregates (R1 and R2).

3. Results and discussion

Table 1
Physical properties of CNA, FNA, R1 and R2.
3.1. Properties of fine recycled aggregates
Physical properties CNA FNA R1 R2
Maximum grain size (mm) (ASTM C136 [18]) 19 4.75 4.75 4.75 Fig. 2 illustrates the appearance of FNA, R1, and R2. Clearly, par-
Saturated surface dry density (kg/m3) (ASTM 2668 2653 2347 2404
ticles in R1 are rougher in shape and more angular than those in R2
C128 [19])
Absorption (%) (ASTM C128 [19]) 1.2 1.3 8.9 6.6
as well as more grayish in color. The difference in shape can be
Fineness modulus (ASTM C136 [18]) 6.9 2.9 3.3 3.1 attributed to the repeated crushing and lack of coarse aggregate
in the production of R2, such that it contains a higher percentage

Table 2
Mix proportions of concrete.

Mixture notation W/C ratio FRA content (%) Water (kg) Cement (kg) CNA (kg) FNA (kg) R1 (kg) R2 (kg) Superplasticizer (kg)
AC 0.35 0 157 449 898 898 4.5
A25R1 0.35 25 157 449 898 673 199 4.5
A50R1 0.35 50 157 449 898 449 397 4.5
A100R1 0.35 100 157 449 898 794 4.5
A25R2 0.35 25 157 449 898 673 203 4.5
A50R2 0.35 50 157 449 898 449 406 4.5
A100R2 0.35 100 157 449 898 822 813 4.5
BC 0.55 0 226 411 822 822 –
B25R1 0.55 25 226 411 822 616 182 –
B50R1 0.55 50 226 411 822 411 363 –
B100R1 0.55 100 226 411 822 727 –
B25R2 0.55 25 226 411 822 616 186 –
B50R2 0.55 50 226 411 822 411 372 –
B100R2 0.55 100 226 411 822 744 –
 C.-C. Fan et al. / Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715 711

Fig. 2. Comparison of appearances and particle size distributions of FNA, R1 and R2.

of natural aggregate. With regard to color, both materials were
produced from concrete waste and thus had cement paste adhered
to the larger fragments, as shown in Fig. 3. We can therefore
assume that the difference in color is due to a higher percentage
of cement paste in R1 (more grayish in color) than that found in R2.
The attributes in Table 1 show that FRAs (R1 and R2) have a
lower density and a higher water absorption than does FNA. In
addition, R1 has lower density and higher water absorption than
does R2. The porosity of cement paste in FRAs is higher than that
of FNA; therefore, FRAs the density is lower, and water absorption
is higher [9,10,14–16,26]. As mentioned above, R1 contains a larger
amount of cement paste than does R2 and therefore has lower den-
sity and higher water absorption. These findings clearly demon-
strate how the production process can influence the basic
physical properties of FRA.
3.2. Workability
This study conducted slump tests on concrete with various FRA
replacement ratios. As shown in Fig. 4, slump declined with an
increase in replacement ratio. This finding is in agreement with
the obtained in previous study [7]. The specimen containing R1
presented less slump than did R2 when the two specimens shared
identical replacement ratios. This can be attributed to the fact that
FRA has a rougher surface texture and greater angularity, which
increases the friction among the particles. Thus, as the FRA replace-
ment ratio was increased, the higher concentration of fine aggre-
gate in the cement paste produced more friction between the
particles, thereby reducing slump in the concrete. R1 was less
prone to slump than was R2 because its rougher surface texture

Fig. 3. Microscopic observation of fine recycled concrete aggregates. Fig. 4. Slump of concrete mixes.
712 C.-C. Fan et al. / Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715

also produces more friction. The workability of fresh concrete can

be measured by slump in which a higher slump indicates better
workability. The workability of the concrete in this study was
shown to decline with an increase in FRA replacement ratio. The
workability of concrete produced using R1 was less than that of
R2, when the two specimens shared the identical replacement
ratio.

3.3. Density

Fig. 5 illustrates the average density from three specimens of

concrete at 28 days. As shown in the figure, density dropped as
the replacement ratio was increased. This finding is in agreement
with those obtained in previous studies [7,9,17]. Concrete with
R2 was denser than concrete containing R1, when the two speci-
mens shared the identical replacement ratio. As shown in Table 1,
the density of FRA was lower than that of FNA; therefore, increas-
ing the ratio of FRA to FNA reduced the density of the resulting
Fig. 6. Absorption of concrete specimens.
concrete mixture. Furthermore, the fact that R2 is denser than R1
means that concrete produced using R2 is denser than concrete
produced using R1, when the two specimens shared the identical Table 3
replacement ratio. Compressive strength of concrete specimens.

Mixture notation Compressive strength Loss of strength (%)

3.4. Absorption (MPa)
7 days 14 days 28 days 7 days 14 days 28 days
Fig. 6 presents the average water absorption from three speci-
AC 48.06 53.12 56.28 0.00 0.00 0.00
mens of concrete at 28 days. As shown in the figure, water absorp- A25R1 45.66 48.34 51.44 4.99 9.00 8.60
tion increased with an increase in replacement ratio. This finding is A50R1 38.19 41.97 47.44 20.54 20.99 15.71
in agreement with those obtained in previous studies [17,26]. A100R1 30.91 34.75 37.77 35.68 34.58 32.89
A25R2 47.53 49.64 53.27 1.10 6.55 5.35
Specimens containing R1 absorbed more water than did specimens
A50R2 42.86 48.52 51.34 10.82 8.66 8.78
containing R2, when the two specimens shared the identical A100R2 41.12 46.73 49.63 14.44 12.03 11.82
replacement ratio. As shown in Table 1, FRA has a higher water
BC 26.11 29.00 34.10 0.00 0.00 0.00
absorption rate than does FNA; therefore, a higher concentration B25R1 22.03 24.72 28.58 15.63 14.76 16.19
of FRA will tend to increase the water absorption of the resulting B50R1 17.71 21.51 24.60 32.17 25.83 27.86
concrete. Furthermore, the water absorption rate of R1 is higher B100R1 12.75 15.64 17.76 51.17 46.07 47.92
than that of R2, which means that using R1 in concrete results in B25R2 23.76 26.71 31.31 9.00 7.90 8.18
B50R2 22.77 25.32 29.09 12.79 12.69 14.69
greater water absorption than that obtained when using R2, when
B100R2 20.66 23.78 27.26 20.87 18.00 20.06
the two specimens shared the identical replacement ratio.

3.5. Compressive strength

We tested the compressive strength of concrete specimens at 7,

14, and 28 days. Table 3 lists the average compressive strength of
the three specimens, as well as the percentage loss of compressive
strength in comparison with the control specimen.

Fig. 7. Compressive strength of concrete specimens at 28 days.

Fig. 7 lists the compressive strength obtained from concrete

Fig. 5. Density of concrete at 28 days.
specimens at 28 days. Compressive strength was shown to decline
with an increase in replacement ratio. This finding is in agreement
with those obtained in previous studies [7–9,11,17]. As shown in
Table 3, the percentage loss of compressive strength increased
with an increase in replacement ratio. With W/C = 0.35, concrete
 C.-C. Fan et al. / Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715 713

containing R1 lost 8.60% and 32.89% of its compressive strength at Table 4

a replacement ratio of 25 and 100%, respectively. Specimens con- UPV of concrete specimens.

taining R2 had greater compressive strength than did specimens Mixture UPV (m/s) Loss of UPV (%)
containing R1, when the two specimens shared the identical notation
7 days 14 days 28 days 7 days 14 days 28 days
replacement ratio. As indicated by Fan et al. [17], R1 and R2 are
AC 4352.67 4370.00 4467.67 0.00 0.00 0.00
more porous than FNA; therefore, higher concentrations of R1 A25R1 4221.00 4237.00 4294.67 3.03 3.04 3.87
and R2 will tend to reduce the compressive strength of the result- A50R1 4146.33 4195.33 4215.33 4.74 4.00 5.65
ing concrete. Furthermore, R1 is more porous than R2, which A100R1 3878.67 3891.00 3924.33 10.89 10.96 12.16
means that the concrete produced using R1 has less compressive A25R2 4309.67 4320.00 4381.67 0.99 1.14 1.92
A50R2 4171.33 4182.00 4291.00 4.17 4.30 3.95
strength than does concrete produced using R2.
A100R2 4107.33 4116.67 4195.33 5.64 5.80 6.10
Fig. 8 shows the regression analysis of compressive strength of
BC 3933.33 3963.00 3963.33 0.00 0.00 0.00
concrete specimens containing R1 and R2. In the figure, the hori-
B25R1 3785.00 3785.00 3785.00 3.77 4.49 4.50
zontal axis x represents the compressive strength of concrete spec- B50R1 3638.67 3642.67 3643.00 7.49 8.08 8.08
imens containing R1, while the vertical axis y represents the B100R1 3340.67 3340.67 3340.67 15.07 15.70 15.71
compressive strength of concrete specimens containing R2. The B25R2 3841.33 3860.00 3868.00 2.34 2.60 2.41
B50R2 3791.33 3794.67 3795.33 3.61 4.25 4.24
data in the figure were obtained under the same condition of
B100R2 3630.33 3633.67 3644.67 7.70 8.31 8.04
replacement ratio, water cement ratio, and curing period. The
regression analysis result is y = 0.9228x + 7.9374 delineated by a
solid line, a dotted line representing y = x is also shown in the fig-
ure. The regression line is above the dotted line; thus the compres-
sive strength of concrete specimens containing R2 is higher than
the compressive strength of concrete specimens containing R1
under the same condition of replacement ratio, water cement ratio,
and curing period.
Whether recycled concrete can be used as structural material
depends on the compressive strength requirements. For example,
when the required compressive strength is 27.58 MPa, then recy-
cled concrete with W/C = 0.35 could be used as a structural mate-
rial, regardless of the replacement ratio. However, if W/C = 0.55
were required, then the maximum replacement ratios would be
25% for R1 or 50% for R2. With a required compressive strength
of 20.68 MPa, all replacement ratios would be acceptable, except
for the scenario in which 100% of the FNA is replaced by R1.

3.6. UPV

Fig. 9. UPV of concrete specimens at 28.

We tested the UPV of concrete specimens at 7, 14, and 28 days.
Table 4 lists the average UPV of the three specimens, as well as the
percentage loss of UPV. The UPV of the specimens at Day 28 are
presented in Fig.9. The UPV of concrete declined with an increase
in replacement ratio; i.e., the percentage loss of UPV increased.
This finding is in agreement with those obtained in previous
Fig. 8. Comparison of compressive strength of concrete specimens.
studies [7,17]. With W/C = 0.35 and a replacement ratio of 25%
and 100%, concrete produced using R1 lost 3.87% and 12.16% of
its UPV, respectively. Concrete produced using R2 had higher
UPV than did specimens using R1, when the two specimens shared
the identical replacement ratio. As indicated by Fan et al. [17], R1
and R2 are more porous than FNA; therefore, higher concentrations
of R1 or R2 increase the porosity of concrete, which in turn reduce
UPV. Furthermore, R1 is more porous than R2; therefore, using R1
in the production of concrete results in lower UPV than that
obtained when using R2.
Fig. 10 shows the regression analysis of UPV of concrete speci-
mens containing R1 and R2. In the figure, the horizontal axis x rep-
resents UPV of concrete specimens containing R1, while the
vertical axis y represents UPV of concrete specimens containing
R2. The data in the figure were obtained under the same condition
of replacement ratio, water cement ratio, and curing period. The
regression analysis result is y = 0.777x + 1004.9 delineated by a
solid line, a dotted line representing y = x is also shown in the fig-
ure. The regression line is above the dotted line; thus UPV of con-
crete specimens containing R2 is higher than UPV of concrete
specimens containing R1 under the same condition of replacement
ratio, water cement ratio, and curing period.
Fig. 11 presents the results of regression analysis of the UPV and
compressive strength of concrete specimens. We employed the fol-
lowing regression equation: y = 0.0397x 122.18, where x = UPV
and y = compressive strength. The results of R2 = 0.9121 indicate
that compressive strength and UPV are strongly correlated, such
714 C.-C. Fan et al. / Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715

Table 5
Resistivity of concrete specimens.

Mixture notation Resistivity (kX-cm) Loss of resistivity (%)

7 days 14 days 28 days 7 days 14 days 28 days
AC 8.93 12.25 18.42 0.00 0.00 0.00
A25R1 7.26 10.06 14.50 18.70 17.88 21.28
A50R1 6.53 9.27 11.58 26.88 24.33 37.13
A100R1 6.30 9.02 9.79 29.45 26.37 46.85
A25R2 8.26 11.33 17.08 7.50 7.51 7.27
A50R2 6.82 9.36 14.08 23.63 23.59 23.56
A100R2 6.43 9.02 12.75 28.00 26.37 30.78
BC 5.69 5.78 7.41 0.00 0.00 0.00
B25R1 5.05 5.13 6.53 11.25 11.25 11.88
B50R1 4.83 4.85 6.15 15.11 16.09 17.00
B100R1 4.60 4.75 5.72 19.16 17.82 22.81
B25R2 4.95 5.09 6.64 13.01 11.91 10.39
B50R2 4.82 4.83 6.39 15.29 16.44 13.77
B100R2 4.72 4.73 5.89 17.05 18.17 20.51

Fig. 10. Comparison of UPV of concrete specimens.

Fig. 12. Resistivity of concrete specimens at 28 days.

which is consistent with the findings of Su et al. [27]. The resistiv-

Fig. 11. Correlation between UPV and compressive strength of concrete specimens.
that an increase in UPV leads to an increase in compressive
strength. This finding is in agreement with those obtained in pre-
vious studies [7,17].
ity of concrete can be used as an index for the water content and
the connectivity of the micro-pores inside concrete and thus it
can be also used as an index for the quality and durability of con-
crete. High resistivity means that micro-pores are less, making the
concrete more durable [28].

3.8. Initial surface absorption

3.7. Resistivity
We tested the resistivity of the concrete specimens at 7, 14, and
28 days. Table 5 lists the average resistivity of the three specimens
as well as the percentage loss of resistivity. The resistivity of con-
crete specimens on Day 28 is presented in Fig. 12. An increase in
the replacement ratio led to a reduction in the resistivity of the
resulting concrete; i.e., the percentage loss of resistivity increased.
By Day 28, concrete with W/C = 0.35 R1 and replacement ratios of
25% and 100% had lost 21.28% and 46.85% of its resistivity. As
shown in Table 1, R1 and R2 have higher water absorption than
does FNA; therefore, higher concentrations of R1 and R2 tend to
increase the water absorption in the resulting concrete, which in
turn reduces resistivity. Specimens produced using R2 had higher
resistivity than did specimens produced using R1, when the two
specimens shared the identical replacement ratio. This can be
attributed to the lower water absorption of R2. Changes in resistiv-
ity were less pronounced when W/C = 0.55 than when W/C = 0.35,
We tested the initial surface absorption of the concrete speci-
mens at 10, 30, 60, and 120 min. The average surface absorption
rates of three specimens with W/C = 0.35 and W/C = 0.55 are pre-
sented in Fig.13. As illustrated, the initial surface absorption of all
specimens decreased with testing time. The initial surface absorp-
tion dropped sharply in the first 30 min and then slowed after
one hour. These findings are in agreement with those obtained in
previous studies [29,30]. The initial surface absorption of concrete
also increased with an increase in replacement ratio. As previously
explained, this can be attributed to the higher water absorption rate
of FRA compared to that of FNA. A higher concentration of FRA
results in greater initial surface absorption. Specimens produced
using R1 showed greater initial surface absorption than did speci-
mens containing R2, when the two specimens shared the identical
replacement ratio. This is because the water absorption of R1 is
greater than that of R2, thereby increasing the initial surface
absorption rate. According to Kumar and Bhattacharjee [31], the
 C.-C. Fan et al. / Construction and Building Materials 112 (2016) 708–715
Fig. 13. Initial surface absorption of concrete specimens: (a) W/C = 0.35, and (b) W/C = 0.55.
results of initial surface absorption tests can be used to classify the
durability of concrete in terms of low, average, or high permeabil-
ity/absorption, based on the value of the permeation index. Aside
from AC, A25R1, A25R2, and A50R2, which were classified as med-
ium permeability, all other specimens were shown to have high
permeability.
4. Conclusions
This study investigated the use of two types of fine recycled
aggregate (R1 and R2) obtained from different production pro-
cesses. Concrete specimens with various proportions of FRA were
tested. Based on the test results, the conclusions are as follows.
1. R2 has a superior quality than R1. This demonstrates that the
crushing process can significantly influence the quality of the
resulting FRA.
2. FRA can be used as a replacement for FNA in the production of
concrete. The FRA replacement ratio is an important factor
affecting the physical, mechanical and durability of resulting
concrete.
3. Concrete specimens containing R1 has lower slump, lower den-
sity, higher absorption, lower compressive strength, lower UPV,
lower resistivity and higher initial surface absorption than the
specimens containing same amount of R2. This indicates that
the quality of concrete specimens containing R2 is better than
the quality of concrete specimens containing same amount of R1.
5. Abbreviations
CRA, coarse recycled aggregate; CNA, coarse natural aggregate;
FRA, fine recycled aggregate; FNA, fine natural aggregate; SSD,
saturated-surface-dry; UPV, ultrasonic pulse velocity.
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