Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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

Permeability of recycled aggregate concrete containing fly ash and

clay brick waste
Lan Zong a, Zhengyue Fei b, Shiping Zhang a, *
a
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211167, PR China
b
Nanjing Haihua Concrete Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210038, PR China

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

Article history: The quantity of construction and demolition waste is continually increasing throughout the world, and
Received 17 October 2013 recycling this waste is beneficial and necessary for environmental preservation. Because the permeability
Received in revised form of concrete materials is closely related to their durability, this paper predominately discusses the
19 January 2014
permeability of recycled concretes composed of fly ash and clay brick waste. Various proportions of
Accepted 15 February 2014
Available online 24 February 2014
recycled coarse aggregates obtained from clay brick waste were used to replace natural coarse aggre-
gates. The properties of natural aggregates and recycled aggregates were studied, and recycled aggre-
gates exhibited a higher porosity. Additionally, the strength of the recycled concrete decreased because of
Keywords:
Recycled concrete
the incorporation of recycled coarse aggregates. The permeability of water, air and chloride ions was
Clay brick waste evaluated through water absorption, water permeability, air permeability and chloride ion diffusion tests.
Porosity The results indicated that the permeability of water, air and chloride ions increased when recycled coarse
Permeability aggregates were used. Additionally, the recycled concrete containing clay brick waste had increased
porosity and exhibited a loose paste matrix, which may be the reason for the increased permeability.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction it is important to evaluate the possible reuse of clay bricks (Poon

Waste reuse and recycling are among modern society’s envi-
ronmental priorities, and considerable effort is being devoted to
achieve these objectives (Martínez-Lage et al., 2012). Green con-
struction materials play an important role in the sustainable
development of the construction industry. Concrete, the most
widely used construction material, absorbs natural mineral re-
sources and should be considered to reduce energy consumption
during construction. A sustainable concrete design includes mini-
mizing both the quantity of global CO2 released and the energy
consumed to produce concrete and the various components
required (Limbachiya et al., 2012). The preparation of concrete
consumes many natural aggregates, and the use of recycled
aggregate concrete (RAC) is one technique that resolves problems
associated with the utilization of natural aggregates. Large quan-
tities of clay brick waste generated from construction and demo-
lition sites are predominately delivered to landfills or reclamation
sites for disposal. With limited landfill space and reclamation areas,
* Corresponding author. Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering,
Nanjing Institute of Technology, 1# Hongjing Road, Nanjing 211167, China. Tel./
fax: þ86 (0)25 86118438.
E-mail address: zhangshiping1982@gmail.com (S. Zhang).
and Chan, 2006a,b).
Sustainability benefits the environment by reducing the con-
sumption of non-renewable natural resources and increasing waste
recycling (Arezoumandi and Volz, 2013). Concrete, which is the
most consumed man-made material in the world, uses a significant
amount of non-renewable resources. The feasibility of producing
concrete with mixed recycled aggregates has been addressed in the
literature (Khalaf and DeVenny, 2004; Senthamarai and Devadas,
2005; Chen et al., 2003; De Brito et al., 2005). Chen et al. (2003)
reported that the decline in compressive strength of concrete
containing 100% mixed recycled material as the coarse aggregate
ranged from 25% to 40% depending on the water to cement ratio. De
Brito et al. (2005) reported a decline in compressive strength and
bending strength of such concrete on the order of 45% and 26%,
respectively, which confirms that concrete could be manufactured
with mixed recycled aggregates. Furthermore, Cachim (2009)
observed no significant changes in the mechanical properties of
concrete, however, a reduction of approximately 30% was observed
for concrete containing 30% mixed recycled aggregates by volume.
Poon and Chan (2006a,b) concluded that using 100% recycled
concrete aggregates increased the optimum moisture content and
decreased the maximum dry density of subbase materials when
compared with natural subbase materials. Xiao and Falkner (2007)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.02.040
0959-6526/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
176 L. Zong et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182
Table 1
Chemical compositions of cement.
Sample Chemical composition (wt%)
CaO MgO Fe2O3 Al2O3 SiO2 SO3
Cement 64.43 1.57 3.26 4.76 20.85 1.47
Fly ash 4.10 1.30 9.60 26.10 51.21 0.40
studied the bond between recycled aggregate concrete and steel
rebars and observed a reduced bond strength between the recycle
aggregate concrete and the plain rebar with increasing replacement
percentages of recycled aggregate (RA). Additionally, Marie and
Quiasrawi (2012) discovered that recycled concrete had a lower
workability (slump) compared with normal concrete. Various
waste materials have been utilized as recycled aggregates. Medina
et al. (2013) explored the durability of concrete made with aggre-
gates containing 20e25% ceramic sanitary ware industrial waste,
and their findings showed enhanced concrete freeze-thaw resis-
tance with increasing recycled aggregate content. Zhao et al. (2013)
prepared concrete using cathode ray tube funnel glass sand as
recycled fine aggregates and concluded that cathode ray tube
funnel glass can be treated, processed and reutilized for the pro-
duction of high-density concrete.
Most existing research compares the mechanical properties of
recycled concrete with conventional concrete (Akhtaruzzaman
and Hasnat, 1988). According to research achievements, the me-
chanical performance of RAC nearly satisfies the requirements
that are imposed for conventional concrete. However, there are
fewer studies on the permeability of RAC. The service life of
concrete structures depends on the durability of the concrete
materials. Furthermore, permeability is the most important factor
that affects concrete durability. The economic impact of concrete
durability has motivated over two decades of extensive research.
The mechanism that controls permeability depends on the fluid
or chemical species of interest. For example, in concrete, the
permeation of air affects carbonation action, whereas the
permeation of chloride ions affects steel corrosion. Many dura-
bility test methods consider the penetration of deleterious sub-
stances into concrete as a rate-controlling step in the degradation
process. Highly permeable concrete facilitates the penetration of
water and harmful substances, which results in the deterioration
of either the concrete or the steel reinforcements embedded in
the concrete (Chia and Zhang, 2002). The transport of gases,
liquids and ions through concrete is important because their in-
teractions with concrete constituents or pore water can directly
or indirectly alter the integrity of the concrete and deteriorate the
structure, as mentioned above (Basheer et al., 2001). Experi-
mental evidence exists that illustrates a correlation between
relevant transport properties and either the penetration of
different aggressive substances or mechanisms of deterioration
(Dhir et al., 1994).
Fly ash, a type of industrial waste, has been widely applied in
concrete materials. The use of fly ash as a partial replacement for
cement in concrete has numerous benefits; it reduces greenhouse
gas emissions, demonstrates good long term strength and
Table 2
Physical properties of NAs and RAs.
Sample Apparent density Bulk density (Kg/m3) Grading (mm)
(kg/m3)
NA 2860 1580 5e20
RA 1650 830 5e20
durability, reduces the demand for water, consumes less energy
and decreases the pressure on natural resources (Mehta and
Monteiro, 2006; Bagheri et al., 2013). Moreover, fly ash is
Loss
economical, and there are numerous fly ash resources. In this
paper, recycled concretes made with fly ash were studied. Clay
2.65
brick waste was treated and used as a recycled aggregate. The
6.19
permeability of RAC under different permeation medium was also
investigated and compared with the permeability of natural
concrete.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Samples were prepared using ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
and grade I fly ash. The chemical composition of the cement and
fly ash are provided in table 1. Crushed stones with a maximum
size of 25 mm were used as the natural coarse aggregate, and
quartz sand with a fineness modulus of 2.48 was used as the fine
aggregate. It has been proven that concrete admixtures are
beneficial for material performance, therefore a high perfor-
mance polycarboxylate water-reducing admixture (PCA) was
used in this study (Barbudo et al., 2013). A recycled coarse
aggregate was prepared from clay bricks, which were collected
from a construction site. The strength of the waste bricks was
measured according to the National Standard of Fired Common
Brick GB5101-2003, and the strength was determined to be MU10
(the compressive strength exceeded 10 MPa). The clay bricks
were crushed and washed before use. The basic performance of
the RA was evaluated, and the grade, density and crush index
were determined. The physical properties of natural aggregates
(NAs) and recycled aggregates (RAs) made from clay bricks are
given in Table 2. Fig. 1 illustrates the RA preparation process,
which includes crushing, sieving and grading. Fig. 2 shows the
grading curve of the RAs and NAs. The standard error calculated
from the experimental data was less than 1. According to GB/T
14685-2001, the national standard on the use of pebble and
crushed stone for buildings, and based on grading, the crushed
RAs collected from the demolition plant were qualified for use in
concrete.
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Preparation of concrete samples
All concrete mixtures were prepared in the laboratory. Concrete
samples with sizes of 100 mm  100 mm  100 mm,
100 mm  100 mm  400 mm, 200 mm  200 mm  200 mm and
F100 mm  200 mm were prepared. The proportions of the con-
crete mixtures are presented in detail in Table 3. The following RA
levels were used to replace coarse aggregates: 0%, 30%, 40% and 50%
by volume fraction. Additionally, 15% by weight fly ash was used as
a replacement for cement. Because the RAs have a high saturated
surface dry absorption, similar to recycled aggregates made with
old concrete (Mefteh et al., 2013), additional water was used to
prepare the recycled concrete. Therefore, the water content in the
Elongated particle Saturated surface dry Moisture Crush index (%)
content (%) absorption (%) content (%)
4 1.45 1.0 8.8
9 16.58 0.6 29.5
 L. Zong et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182 177

Table 3
Mix proportions of concrete.

No. Composition (kg/m3)

Cement Sand NA RA Fly ash Admixture Water Dw

R0F15 414.37 631 1149 0 73.13 7.31 145 0
R30F15 414.37 631 804.3 344.7 73.13 7.31 145 53.5
R40F15 414.37 631 689.4 459.6 73.13 7.31 145 71.4
R50F15 414.37 631 574.5 574.5 73.13 7.31 145 89.2

Material mixing was performed according to the design pro-

portions. All specimens were demolded after 24 h of casting and
cured at 20  3  C and 95% relative humidity. After 28 days, the
samples were subjected to different tests including water absorp-
tion, water permeability, air permeability and chloride ion pene-
tration tests.

2.2.2. Tests of permeability

Fig. 1. Preparation process of RAs from clay bricks: (a) Crushing, (b) sieving and (c)
grading.
recycled concrete was composed of two parts: the standard amount
of water required for conventional concrete and additional water
based on the increased water absorption of the RA, Dw. The addi-
tional water, Dw, was calculated by Eq. (1):
Dw ¼ mRCA  ½ðPRCA  WRCA Þ  ðPNCA  WNCA Þ
where mRA is the mass of RA, (kg), PRA is the saturated surface dry
absorption of RA (%), WRA is the moisture content of RA (%), PNA is
the saturated surface dry absorption of NA, (%) and WNA is the
moisture content of NA (%).
All of the performance tests were performed after the concrete
samples were cured for 28 days. The mechanical properties of the
concrete were determined according to Chinese National Standard
GB/T50081-2002. Compressive and flexural strength tests were
performed with a JYE-2000 compression testing machine and JYE-
300 flexural testing machine, respectively. For strength tests, the
samples were measured after being cured for 28 days at room
temperature. Samples with a size of 100 mm  100 mm  100 mm
were used for the compressive strength test, and samples with a
size of 100 mm  100 mm  400 mm were used for the flexural
strength test. Apparent density is the mass per unit volume of loose
material. Fresh concrete was poured into a cylinder of known vol-
ume, and excess concrete was scraped off the top of the cylinder.
Both the empty cylinder and the cylinder filled with fresh concrete
were weighed, and the apparent density was calculated according
to Eq. (2):
W2  W1
r¼  1000 (2)
V
(1)
where r is the apparent density (kg m3), W1 is the weight of the
empty cylinder (kg), W2 is the weight of the cylinder filled with
fresh concrete (kg) and V is the volume of the cylinder (L).
To determine water absorption, a group of cubic samples with a
length of 100 mm was dried at 60  C for 4 days to minimize damage
to the microstructure caused by excessive drying. Then a 3e5 mm
surface section of the sample was placed in contact with water at
room temperature, as shown in Fig. 3. The four sides of each
specimen were sealed by epoxy resin after cooling. The specimens
were removed from the water at regular time intervals according to
the Standard Test Method for the Measurement of the Rate of Ab-
sorption of Water by Hydraulic-Cement Concretes described in
ASTM C1585-04. The mass was determined by an electronic scale to
identify the amount of absorbed water. The mass of absorbed water
was plotted against the square root of time.
Air permeability methods are available in several forms. The
Torrent method, as shown in Fig. 4, is a new method that

Fig. 2. Grading curves of RA and NA. Fig. 3. Water absorption testing.

178 L. Zong et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182

assessing color changes. Thus, the carbonation depth was measured

Fig. 4. Air permeability testing.
determines the air permeability of concrete. To determine air
permeability, cubic specimens with dimensions of
200 mm  200 mm  200 mm were cast. During the test, the initial
pressure, pressure difference and penetration depth were
measured at room temperature, and the gas permeability coeffi-
cient, D, was calculated using the following equation:
8  92

2 pa þp pa p0
Vc m <ln pa p pa þp0
=
D ¼ pffiffi pffiffiffiffi
A 2εpa : t  t0 ; days. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (JSM 5900, made in
where D is the gas permeability coefficient (m2), Vc is the volume of
the lumen (m3), A is the surface area (m2), m is the viscosity coef-
ficient of gas (s N m2), ε is the porosity of concrete (%), pa is the
atmospheric pressure (N m2), p0 is the initial pressure of the
lumen (N m2) and p is the final pressure of the lumen (N m2).
Carbonation testing was performed according to Chinese Na-
tional Standard GB/T50082-2009. During the carbonation test, the
temperature was maintained at room temperature, 20  C  3  C,
and the humidity was set to 70  5%. The concentration of carbon
dioxide was 20  3%. After a specified time of carbonation, the
samples were broken perpendicular to the surface, and the freshly
broken surface was sprayed with a 1e2% phenolphthalein solution.
The phenolphthalein solution remains clear when the pH is less
than 9 but changes to magenta when the pH is greater than 9. This
method measures the penetration of complete carbonation by
after a specified time.
Chloride ion penetration was evaluated using the rapid migra-
tion test, which is a non-steady state migration test that uses an
external electrical field to accelerate chloride penetration. The
chloride penetrability of concrete was determined using a 50 mm
thick  100F mm concrete disc cut from a F100 mm  200 mm
concrete cylinder. A 30 V external potential was imposed across the
specimen for a specified duration of time, during which the test
surface was exposed to a 10% NaCl solution and the opposite surface
was subjected to a 0.3 M NaOH solution. Then the specimen was
split, and the penetration depth of chloride ions was measured
using a colorimetric method. Silver nitrate, AgNO3, was sprayed
onto the freshly fractured concrete surface. A white precipitate of
silver chloride appeared after 10 min to reveal the chloride pene-
tration depth. The chloride ion penetrability coefficient was
calculated according to the chloride penetration depth using the
following formula:
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi!
0:0239ð273 þ TÞL ð273 þ TÞLXd
D ¼ Xd  0:0238 (4)
ðU  2Þt U2
where U is the magnitude of the applied voltage (V), T is the tem-
perature in the anolyte solution ( C), L is the thickness of the
specimen (mm), Xd is the average chloride penetration depth (mm)
and t is the test duration (h).
The resistance of concrete to chloride ions is represented by the
chloride ion penetrability coefficient, which is deduced by the
chloride ion penetration depth. In this study, the chloride ion
penetrability test was performed on concrete specimens aged 28
(3)
Japan) was used to analyze the concrete microstructure. Samples
for SEM were obtained from the concrete, and the detailed proce-
dure is shown in Fig. 5.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Properties of RAC
The addition of RAs affected the density of the entire concrete
specimen. The density of hardened concrete increased from
2170 kg/m3 for concrete with 50% RA to 2478 kg/m3 for concrete
with 0% RA, as shown in Fig. 6. Because of the low density of the RA,
the density of the concrete samples decreased as RA content

Fig. 5. Procedure for SEM. Fig. 6. Density of concrete samples.

 L. Zong et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182 179

Fig. 8. Mechanical performance of samples.

on the mechanical results, the use of RAC produced with 100% RAs
made from clay bricks is not practical.

3.2. Water permeability

The permeation of water is critical in pavement design because

the presence of water causes a number of durability concerns.
Sorptivity, which is an index of moisture transport into unsaturated
specimens, has been recognized as an important index of concrete
durability (Dias, 2000). The average increase in concrete mass due
to water absorption with time is presented in Fig. 9. The standard
error was determined to be between 0.05 and 0.08, which was
difficult to display in the figure. The water absorption of recycled
concrete was higher than that of normal concrete and varied be-
tween 5.1% and 14.5% depending on the replacement level of NAs
by RAs. As shown in Table 2, RAs have a higher saturated surface dry
absorption, which is why a higher water absorption was observed
for concretes containing RAs. The geometrical and physical prop-
erties of the aggregates also affect the properties of concrete
(Pacheco-Torgal and Castro-Gomes, 2006).

Fig. 7. Concrete produced with varying RA content: (a) RA30%, (b) RA40% and (c)
RA50%.

increased. Cross sectional images of concrete specimens produced

with different replacement ratios of RA are shown in Fig. 7. The
mechanical performance of RAC was also investigated. Fig. 8 shows
the compressive and flexural strength of samples after being cured
for 28 days. Both the compressive strength and flexural strength of
RAC were lower than those of natural aggregate concrete (NAC),
and a greater loss in strength was observed when more RA was
incorporated in the concrete. The compressive strength and flexural
strength declined by 16%, 27% and 44% and 16%, 22% and 33% when
the RA content was 30%, 40% and 50%, respectively. The reduction in
compressive strength was more significantly observed in recycled
concrete produced with a 50% RA replacement ratio; the
compressive strength decreased by as much as 44% after 28 days.
During strength testing, broken RAC sections that contained more
RA content were found to be smoother than sections containing
less RA. Because clay bricks are not as strong as natural stones, RAs
obtained from clay bricks are weaker than NAs. During flexural
testing, the RAs fragmented at the same time. Furthermore, based Fig. 9. Water absorption of samples.
180 L. Zong et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182
Fig. 10. Water permeability coefficients for concrete.
The concrete permeability coefficients are given in Fig. 10, and
the data indicate a significant increase in the permeability coeffi-
cient of RAC that is cured for 28 days. Concrete mixtures with 50%
RA exhibited the highest water permeability and showed an
approximately two-fold increase compared with the water
permeability of NAC. Additionally, increased water penetration was
observed when a higher replacement rate of RA was used. This is
attributed to the more porous characteristic of RAs made from clay
brick waste. As previously mentioned, water plays an extremely
important role in the durability of concrete structures and is
essential for many damaging actions that reduce the performance
of concrete materials. Therefore, the application of RAC made with
clay brick waste should be limited in coastal or subsurface
structures.
3.3. Air permeability
The air permeability coefficients for the four different mix-
tures are given in Fig. 11. The replacement of natural aggregates
with recycled aggregates increased the air permeability of
Fig. 11. Air permeability coefficients for concrete.
Fig. 12. Carbonation depths of the samples.
concrete. The greatest increase in the air permeability coefficient
was approximately three-fold. Concrete mixes were designed
with varying proportions of RA content (0%, 30%, 40% and 50%) by
mass, and the mix with 30% RA exhibited the smallest increase in
air permeability. However, the air permeability of RAC is still
within the accepted range for conventional concrete that is not
exposed to aggressive environments (1018e1017 m2) (Perraton
et al., 1988). The carbonation depth of the concrete samples
was determined to evaluate the permeation of air. The carbon-
ation behavior of RAC is not only determined by the quality of
new mortar but also by the quality and quantity of RA. The results
of the carbonation test for different concrete mixes are shown in
Fig. 12. The RAC also exhibited a greater carbonation depth.
Furthermore, the carbonation depth increased with increasing RA
replacement percentages. After being cured in a CO2 environment
for 28 days, the carbonation depth of NC was approximately
8.9 mm. Moreover, the carbonation depths of the RCs were
10.5 mm, 13.7 mm and 14.5 mm, respectively. Therefore, it can be
concluded that RAC produced with crushed clay bricks has a
lower carbonation resistance than conventional concrete.
Because carbonation can accelerate the corrosion of steel bars in
Fig. 13. Chloride ion permeability of concrete.
 L. Zong et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182 181

concrete, protective measures should be taken to reinforce con-

crete if RAC is used.

3.4. Chloride ion permeability

Evaluating chloride diffusion in concrete by considering the

diffusion, permeation and binding capacity of chloride ions is an
emerging field of research (Nagesh and Bishwajit, 1998; Tang, 1996;
Tang and Nilsson, 1993). Fig. 13 shows the results corresponding to
the chloride ion permeability test for concrete materials containing
varying contents of crushed clay bricks as a partial replacement for
NAs. As expected, the results show that the chloride ion diffusion
coefficient of RAC is higher than NAC and increases with RA con-
tent. The NAC had the lowest chloride ion diffusion coefficient,
8.9  1012 m2/s. The chloride ion diffusion coefficient of the
sample containing 30% RA was determined to be 6.2  1012 m2/s,
which is only slightly higher than the chloride ion diffusion coef-
ficient of NAC. However, the chloride ion diffusion coefficient of
concrete containing 50% RA was determined to be 14.5  1012 m2/
s, which is 63% higher than the chloride ion diffusion coefficient of
NAC. The increased chloride ion permeability of RACs containing
various proportions of RA could be attributed to the high porosity of
clay bricks. Decreased chloride ion permeability resistance was
observed because of the usage of RAs. Therefore, it can be
concluded that recycled concretes produced with crushed clay
brick RAs should be designed according to specific environmental
conditions. The RA replacement level should be determined after
considering all of the factors, such as the strength, water perme-
ation, carbonation and chloride ion penetration of the concrete.
According to results in this study, a RA content of 30% may be op-
timum. However, further research is required to determine the
practical applications of recycled concrete.

3.5. Microstructure

Concrete is a composite material containing coarse and fine

aggregates embedded in a cement paste matrix (Chia and Zhang,
2002). Concrete performance depends not only on the aggregates
but also the cement paste. Generally, the microstructure is essential
to evaluate material permeability. Fig. 14 shows the microstructure
of RACs produced with different RA contents. From these figures, it
can be observed that the addition of RAs affected the concrete
microstructure. The formation of a dense paste structure is
observed in Fig. 14(a); no apparent cracking is detected. However,
from Fig. 14(b)e(d), a loose structure is observed that contains
several pores and spaces in the paste. This indicates that incorpo-
rating RAs not only increased the porosity of all aggregates but also
Fig. 14. Microstructure of concrete samples with different RA replacement levels: (a)
affected the microstructure of the paste matrix, which may be the
R0, (b) R30, (c) R40 and (d) R50.
reason RAC is highly permeable.

4. Conclusions
Aggregates are a major component of concrete and signifi-
cantly affect the engineering properties of concrete mixtures. On
one hand, the supply of natural resources is diminishing; how-
ever, on the other hand, construction waste is increasing, which
is producing significant environmental pollution. Reusing waste
bricks as recycled aggregates not only solves the problem
regarding the shortage of natural stones but also effectively
utilizes construction waste. According to results of this study, the
density of concrete samples decreased as the content of RA
increased. Both the compressive and flexural strength also
decreased when RAs were used. Furthermore, the durability of
concrete materials depends on their permeability. Therefore, this
study also determined the permeability of RAC produced with
clay brick waste and fly ash. The results indicated that the water
absorption of recycled concrete was higher than that of normal
concrete. The permeability of water, air and chloride ions was
enhanced when recycled coarse aggregates were used, and
higher RA contents further increased concrete permeability.
Recycled concrete containing crushed clay bricks demonstrated
poor impermeability. The addition of RAs formed a loose paste
matrix that contained pores and voids, which can increase
permeability. Based on the combined results in this study, it was
possible to blend crushed clay bricks to produce RAC, and the
concrete mix containing 30% RA was more economical and per-
formed the best. However, further research is required to
determine the practical applications of using recycled concrete
containing RAs from crushed clay bricks, especially in severe
environmental conditions.
182 L. Zong et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 70 (2014) 175e182
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (No. 51108231) and is a Science and Technol-
ogy Planned Project for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural
Development of China (No. 2013-K4-20).
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