Recycled Aggregates and Its Effect on Concrete

Abstract

An enormous increase in construction activities has resulted in consumption of basic materials of concrete making. Also, there has been an enormous increase in the quantity of demolished waste materials due to natural disaster like earthquakes, reconstructions of buildings and war explosions. With an increase in our environmental consciousness, the concrete industry is coming under intense scrutiny and criticism. This coupled with an increase in demand and decrease in supply of aggregates for the production of concrete has resulted in the need to identify new sources of aggregate. Research in different countries including India has suggested the possibility of reusing the hard inert materials like demolished concrete. The use of recycled aggregate in concrete is gaining momentum these days. The present work explains about the need for the use of recycled aggregate in concrete, effect of recycled aggregates on the properties of concrete, merits and demerits of using recycled aggregates in construction.