EnCoRe

Objective

The proposed Research Programme is intended at investigating the physical, chemical and
mechanical performance of concretes made out of recycled components.

This subject is of topical interest in the fields of both buildings technology and structural
engineering. Thus, it is clearly multi-disciplinary in nature and can be better approached by
settling a Partnership which gather researchers with different and complementary scientific
backgrounds. Six Research Units (RUs) are involved in this IRSES-Partnership.
Although several possible solutions to improve both environmental compatibility and
sustainability of concrete production in building industry have been already proposed, further
research is still needed for addressing various issues related to the compatibility of recycled
materials with the traditional ones employed in the common concrete production. In particular,
this collaborative research project focuses on the three following objectives:
Objective 1) investigating the physical and mechanical performance of concrete with recycled
aggregates;
Objective 2) investigating the possible contribution of recycled fibers on concretes with recycled
concrete aggregates;
Objective 3) investingating the feasibility and the possible applications of concrete with natural
fibers.
This research is characterised by a huge potential impact on both the building industry and the
management of wastes in urban areas and industrial districts. Moreover, some of the relevant
market drivers demanding innovative solutions for buildings and waste management are briefly
listed below:
- strong demand for residential and commercial buildings as a result of both demographic
changes and urbanisation processes currently ongoing worldwide;
- demand for sustainable buildings, renewable materials and reduced CO2 emissions;
- emerging need for optimising the disposal procedures of wastes deriving by both the building
technology and other industrial processes.