Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033

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Construction and Building Materials

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Effect of recycled coarse aggregate on the new interfacial transition zone

concrete
Assia Djerbi
Université Paris-Est, MAST, FM2D, IFSTTAR, 14-20 Boulevard Newton, Cité Descartes, Champs sur Marne, F-77447 Marne la Vallée Cedex 2, France

h i g h l i g h t s

 The microstructure of the new ITZ depends on the w/c ratio of the new paste.
 The water in the RCA can be released into the new paste, affects its properties.
 T he water released from the RCA participates in the hydration of the cement.

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

Article history: Due to its high water absorption, recycled aggregate (RA) disrupts the microstructure of concrete, mainly
Received 18 January 2018 within the interfacial transition zone (ITZ). The objective of the present study is to examine the effect of
Received in revised form 21 September Recycled Coarse Aggregate (RCA) on the microstructure of the ITZ of three different strength classes of
2018
concrete (C25, C35 and C45) with varying w/c ratios. The RA was used in SSD condition in order to check
Accepted 27 September 2018
Available online 3 October 2018
for interactions between it and the new paste, with the parameters for characterization and comparison
being the porosity and anhydrous profiles which were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
observation. The microstructure of the ITZ depends very much on the w/c ratio of the new paste, and
Keywords:
Interfacial transition zone (ITZ)
despite the reduction in the w/c ratio the ITZ of the RA C25 and C35 concretes exhibit the same tendency,
Recycled aggregate (RA) namely a higher porosity profile and lower anhydrous profile compared to the reference concretes (made
Microstructure with New Aggregate - NA). In addition to the ‘‘wall effect”, the ITZ of the recycled aggregate concrete is
SEM influenced by presaturation water which can be released into the new paste, disrupting its microstruc-
Image analysis ture (the new ITZ and the bulk paste). C45 RA concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.41 has lower porosity and
anhydrous profiles than the reference concrete (w/c of 0.43), the water released from the RA participates
in the hydration of the cement, which generates less anhydrous and less porous.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The reuse of construction and demolition waste (CDW) such as
recycled aggregates (RA) in new concrete can be worthwhile from
the environmental perspective in the construction industry as it
reduces the consumption of natural aggregate resources and trans-
forms CDW into resources.
The mechanical and durability properties of cementitious mate-
rials depend strongly on their microstructure; the presence of
aggregate particles in a cement paste disrupts its microstructure
at the interface with the aggregate. This region is known as the
interface transition zone (ITZ) and it is structurally and mechani-
cally different from both the matrix and the aggregate [1–7]. It is
essentially composed of three phases, namely: a water film, a layer
E-mail address: assia.djerbi@ifsttar.fr
of Ca(OH)2 (CH) crystals and a porous paste matrix layer [5–7]. This
is due to the ‘‘wall effect” caused by the packing of cement grains
against the larger aggregate particles [1], which leads to a low con-
centration of cement grains, a greater volume of voids and hence
an increase in the local w/c ratio resulting in higher porosity [5].
The microstructure of the ITZ provides a preferential path for the
ingress of aggressive ions [5,8–10]. Many studies have shown that
ITZ is affected by mix properties such as aggregate size [11,12],
aggregate content [13], water/cement ratio [11,13], mineral
admixtures [14], and curing age [13].
The microstructure of RA concrete appears to possess two inter-
facial transition zones [15,16] (Fig. 1). These consist of an old inter-
facial transition zone adjacent to the recycled aggregate, since the
RA consists of the old paste and the original aggregate, and a sec-
ond ITZ (which is the most studied) between the old paste and
the new paste which constitutes a bridge between the old paste
and the new paste of the new concrete. Most studies report that

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.09.180
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1024 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033

2. Research objective
Old ITZ
The main objective of this research is to investigate the influ-
Old paste New ITZ ence of RCA on the microstructure of the new ITZ. The RCA was
used in SSD condition in order to check the possible interactions
between the RA particle and the new paste for three different
strength classes of concrete (C25, C35 and C45), the coarse natural
Natural aggregate aggregate being replaced by recycled coarse aggregate in propor-
tions of 30% and 100% in the RA concretes. SEM observation was
used to examine the porosity and anhydrous profiles of the ITZ
New Paste microstructure. Additionally, a comparative analysis of the
microstructure of new paste with a different w/c ratio was
Fig. 1. ITZ in RAC. conducted.

3. Mix compositions and specimens

the ITZ is a weak region due to its poor properties (high porosity
and the presence of microcracks) that are responsible for the
3.1. Mix compositions
mechanical and durability properties of concrete containing RA
[15–17]. The properties of the ITZ in RA concrete depend on vari-
9 sets of concrete specimens were prepared:
ous parameters such as the properties of the RA which include
its moisture condition, water-to-binder ratio (w/b) ratio, and min-
- 3 reference concretes made with natural aggregates (NA)
eral additions to the mixture. Poon et al. [15], have shown that the
corresponding to three strength classes (C25/30, C35/45
origin of the old paste (RA prepared from normal strength concrete
and C45/55 according to the specifications in the standard
as opposed to RA prepared from high-performance concrete)
EN 206), named RC.
affects the new ITZ. SEM observations have shown that the aggre-
- 3 concretes for which 30% of the coarse natural aggregate
gate–cement interfacial zone in the normal strength concrete con-
(CNA) was replaced by recycled coarse aggregate (RCA),
sists mainly of loose and porous hydrates whereas the aggregate–
named C30.
cement interfacial zone in high performance concrete consists
- 3 concretes for which 100% of the coarse natural aggregate
mainly of dense hydrates. This finding is similar to that obtained
(CNA) was replaced by recycled coarse aggregates (RCA),
by Otsuki et al. [16], namely that the quality of the old ITZ determi-
named C100.
nes the strength of recycled aggregate concrete. In the case of con-
crete with a high w/c ratio, where the old ITZ is stronger than the
The binder consisted of CEM II/A-L 42.5 Portland cement and
new ITZ, the strength of the recycled aggregate concrete is equal to
limestone filler. The quantity of filler was varied between the
that of concrete made using normal aggregate. On the other hand,
mixes in order to improve the packing density of the granular
in the case of a low water-to-binder ratio, where the old ITZ is
skeleton. Crushed limestone aggregate was used as the natural
weaker than the new ITZ, the recycled aggregate concrete is
aggregate and the recycled aggregate was sourced from construc-
weaker than the normal aggregate concrete.
tion and demolition wastes (CDW). The main properties of the
Many studies have therefore focused on the improvement of the
NA and RA concretes are displayed in Table 1.
microstructure of RA concrete by coating the RA with cement or
The mix designs of the concretes are shown in Table 2. The mix
pozzalanic materials during mixing [18–21]. Tam et al. [18] pro-
was firstly designed for the reference concrete (RC) containing only
pose strengthening the weak bond in RA concrete, which is located
natural aggregates. It was then modified for the remaining mixes,
at the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) of the RA, by two-stage mix-
taking into account the different water to cement ratios and super-
ing approaches. Such approaches allow the cement slurry to gel up
plasticizer contents in order to keep the workability constant
the RA, providing a stronger ITZ by filling up the cracks and pores
(slump of 20 ± 1 cm).
within the RA, and these authors’ findings have been confirmed by
Due to the higher water absorption capacity of RA (see Table 1),
other researchers [19,20]. In addition to the two-stage mixing
the RA was oversaturated by 1% by which we mean that the water
approach, a novel triple mixing method [21] has been developed
content of the recycled aggregate for mixing was equal to its water
to coat the surface of the aggregate with pozzalanic materials in
absorption plus 1%. The RA and the required amount of water were
order to further improve the microstructure of the ITZ and the
placed in a hermetically sealed barrel. The homogeneity of the dis-
properties of the RA concrete. SEM observation has revealed that
tribution of the water in the RA was improved by rolling the barrel
the coated pozzalanic particles can consume CH which has accu-
on the floor for 10 min. Then the barrel was allowed to rest for two
mulated in the pores and on the surface of the attached mortar
hours before mixing.
to form new hydration products, which not only further improve
the microstructure of the ITZ, but also strengthen the RA in situ,
thus further enhancing the strength and durability of the RA con-
crete. These new mixing approaches for RCA can be related to Table 1
the moisture condition of the RA. Some research suggests that Properties of the aggregates.
pre-saturation of the RA improves the workability and mechanical
Aggregate size (mm) Dr (g/cm3) A (%) P (%) LA (%)
properties of the new concrete [19,22–25]. Leite et al. [25] have
Fine RA (0/4) 2.08 8.9 16.9 –
studied the effect of the initial moisture condition of the RA on
RCA (4/10) 2.29 5.6 12.14 –
the microstructure of the recycled concrete. In this study, the con- RCA (10/20) 2.26 5.8 12.38 37
crete mixtures were produced using the two-stage mixing Fine NA (0/4) 2.58 0.8 2.04 –
approach: it was found that the mixtures cast with dry RA devel- CNA (4/10) 2.71 0.51 1.37 –
oped a marked macropore network encountering the RA particle CNA (6.3/20) 2.71 0.46 1.24 16

that was not observed in the mixtures using RCA in the SSD where Dr is the relative density of the particles (g/cm3), A is the water absorption
condition. (%), P is the porosity (%) and LA is the Los Angeles Index (%).
 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033 1025

Table 2
Mix composition of the concretes, per cubic meter.

C25/30 C35/45 C45/55

3
Constituent (kg/m ) RC C30 C100 RC C30 C100 RC C30 C100
Effective water 178 179 184 174 171 181 166 152 158
CEM II/A-L 42.5 N 267 282 279 299 324 336 390 371 369
Filler 45 70 70 58 53 53 100 65 73
Fine NA (0/4) 772 794 794 769 782 782 732 775 775
NCA (4/10) 264 167 0 264 169 0 250 164 0
RCA (4/10) 0 151 161 0 143 158 0 148 157
NCA (6.3/20) 811 539 0 808 546 0 769 529 0
RCA (10/20) 0 167 691 0 164 682 0 162 676
Superplasticizer (%) 0.14 0.09 0.08 0.29 0.24 0.25 1.23 0.95 0.92
(w/c)eff 0.67 0.63 0.66 0.58 0.53 0.54 0.43 0.41 0.43
Rc (MPa) 28 days 32 32,5 29,5 40,5 46,5 40 61,5 59 51,5

3.2. Specimen casting and curing 5. Results

For each composition, cylindrical specimens measuring
11  22 cm were cast in steel molds and compacted using a
vibrating table. All the specimens were demolded 24 h after casting
and immersed in water. After curing for one year, small samples
measuring 35  35  10 mm were taken from these specimens
and subjected to vacuum drying in the presence of silica gel at
45 °C for 14 days to remove the free water. Drying at this temper-
ature did not appear to cause cracking [26]. The dry samples were
impregnated with epoxy resin, then subjected to several polishing
steps to create a smooth, plane surface for SEM imaging. Since our
samples were not conductive we had to add a very thin metallic
coat.
4. SEM observations of the microstructure of the concretes
The microstructure of the ITZ is often studied by Scanning
Electron Microscopy. The sample surface must be polished to
produce images using the backscattered electron (BSE) mode in
order to identify the different phases of the microstructure, such
as the porosity and anhydrous profiles [1–3,11]. This makes it
possible to evaluate the thickness of the ITZ [11,13]. Alterna-
tively, the SEM can be used in secondary electron (SE) mode
to examine the paste/aggregate bond (presence or absence of
microcracks and pores) [7]. The backscattered electron (BSE)
imaging technique was applied to evaluate the properties of
the microstructure of the ITZ for the reference concrete and
recycled aggregate concrete. Image analysis was then performed
to quantify the different phases of the microstructure. The main
focus of this study was twofold: the porosity and the unhydrated
cement. The image acquisition protocol was carried out near the
aggregate particles; it consisted of obtaining BSE images for the
whole ITZ around the selected aggregate. To begin with, low-
magnification images were captured in order to locate the RA
and the ITZ, and then high magnification images (500) were
taken to quantify the porosity and anhydrous profiles. These
were evaluated on 10 mm-wide strips starting at the aggregate
particle surface (or the old paste for recycled aggregate), up to
100 mm away from the aggregate. Strip segmentation and thresh-
olding were performed by the Olympus Stream Software in order
to quantify the different phases of the microstructure. The per-
centage area corresponding to porosity or unhydrated cement
was determined for each strip. In this paper the porosity is
shown in red and the anhydrous in blue as illustrated in
Fig. 2. It took approximately 20 images to cover the ITZ around
the aggregate in three samples of each type of concrete.
5.1. ITZ of the reference concretes
Fig. 2 shows the microstructure of the ITZ in the reference con-
cretes (C25-RC, C35-RC and C45-RC). The porosity and anhydrous
profiles of the reference concretes are shown in Fig. 3. It is well
established that the microstructure of cementitious paste depends
on mix parameters such as the w/c ratio. The increase in the poros-
ity profile was more marked when the w/c ratio increased from
0.58 to 0.67 than when it increased from 0.43 to 0.58. A higher
w/c ratio can result in better hydration of the cement, which leads
to an increase in porosity and a decrease in anhydrous grains.
Higher porosity was observed in the first 10 mm-wide strip:
23.3% for C25-RC, 16.7% for C35-RC and 12.6% for C45-RC. The
anhydrous fraction was of the order of 2.8% for C25-RC, 6.5% for
C35-RC and 12.6% for C45-RC.
It was also observed that the porosity profiles exhibit the same
trend for the three concretes: the porosity increases at the aggre-
gate interface and falls with distance from the aggregate, while
the opposite trend is observed for the anhydrous. This tendency
can be explained by a number of factors, for example the ‘‘wall
effect” [1] caused by the aggregate particles, which appear locally
flat to the cement grains and disrupt their packing [2]. This packing
phenomenon occurs in fresh concrete and means the concentration
of anhydrous clinker grains is lower in the vicinity of larger aggre-
gate particles. There will also be a higher concentration of smaller
clinker grains close to the aggregate than in the bulk of the paste.
The less dense packing will result in a higher w/c ratio and thus a
more porous paste. Other possible factors are micro-bleeding,
which leads to the accumulation of mix water beneath the aggre-
gate particles during vibration [27] and the precipitation and
nucleation of hydration products. In fresh cement, the clinker
grains dissolve during hydration. The silica component of dissolv-
ing clinker grains will precipitate very quickly close to the clinker
grains while many of the calcium, sulfate and some of the alumi-
nate ions will go into solution and precipitate as portlandite and
ettringite at the aggregate surface [28].
5.2. The ITZ of the C25 RA concretes
To carry out a comparative study of different recycled aggregate
concretes (C30 and C100), we studied the microstructure of the ITZ
on the coarse aggregate fraction (about 10–16 mm). The only
parameter we used in this comparison was the w/c ratio. The com-
parison was made when the concretes were approximately one
year old. In spite of this age it was possible to distinguish between
1026 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033

C25-RC C35-RC

C45-RC
Fig. 2. Image analysis of the reference concretes.

Fig. 3. Porosity and anhydrous profiles of reference concretes.

the old and the new cement paste. The new paste was slightly por-
ous and has anhydrous while the old paste appears to be more
compact and contains cracks (Fig. 4) which were probably gener-
ated by the crushing process. But unlike in the study conducted
by Medina et al. [29], greater porosity and micro-cracking were
observed in the ITZ between the new paste and the old paste.
The profiles shown in Fig. 5 were obtained from the analysis of
high magnification images on the left part of Fig. 4. The studied
concretes had differing w/c ratios: 0.67 for the C25-RC, 0.63 for
the C25-C30 and 0.66 for the C25-C100. The RA was presaturated
before it was added. Despite the reduction in the w/c ratio, the
porosity profile of the RA concretes exhibited higher values than
the reference concretes (Fig. 5) and the slope of the porosity profile
was greater for the RA concretes than that for the NA concretes.
The ratio between the interface porosity and the bulk paste was
2.3 for the C25-C30 and 1.6 for the C25-C100 whereas it was 1.2
for the C25-RC. This may be explained by factors other than the
wall effect, such as a probable release of water from the wet RA
(the old mortar paste) into the new mortar paste. This mechanism,
by which the hydration of cement occurs because of the availabil-
ity of additional internal water that is not part of the mixing water,
has already been observed by [30] in the case of a low w/c ratio and
is called ‘‘internal curing”. Additional internal curing is typically
the outcome of using saturated lightweight aggregate or
 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033 1027

C25-C30

C25-C100
Fig. 4. Image analysis of the C25 RA concretes.

Fig. 5. Porosity and anhydrous profiles of the C25 RA concretes.

superabsorbent polymer, however in this study the w/c ratio was
higher for the C25 concrete (about 0.66 and 0.63).
The observed porosity and anhydrous profiles can be inter-
preted as follows:
- The moisture content of the RA can lead to a release of water
from the wet RA during the setting of the concrete, which
will increase the local w/c ratio at the interface of the new
paste, resulting in more porosity compared to the reference
concrete. The highest porosity was observed in the first
10 mm-wide strip, 53% for the C25-C30, 48% for the C25-
C100 and 23.3% for the C25-RC. The higher average porosity
profile of the recycled aggregate concrete than the reference
C25-RC concrete was more marked at distances of less than
40 lm from the surface of the RA, with a maximum level of
110%. Beyond this distance, the difference between the aver-
age porosity profile of the reference concrete and the
recycled aggregate concrete decreased, with a minimum level
of 23% for the C25-C30 concrete and 61% for the C25-C100
concrete.
1028 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033
- The porosity profile of the recycled aggregate concrete goes
through two phases. In the first phase, up to a distance of
40 lm from the surface of RA, the porosity profiles are fairly
close, but above this distance the difference between the two
porosity profiles increases, with a maximum level of 38%. We
can assume that in addition to the release of water from the
wet RA (the old mortar paste) into the new mortar paste, it is
the w/c ratio that controls the percentage of porosity of the
new mortar paste at distances of over 40 lm from the surface
of the RA particles.
- Our results show that reducing the w/c ratio for the RA con-
cretes does not reduce the porosity up to a distance of
100 lm from the surface of the RA particles.
- It appears that the effect of the release of water from the wet RA
into the new mortar paste is more marked for the C25-C30 con-
crete with a w/c ratio of 0.63. The increase in the average anhy-
drous profile between the reference C25-RC concrete and the
C25-C100 is lower than that observed between the C25-RC and
the C25-C30 concrete. The anhydrous percentage of C25-C30
with a w/c ratio of 0.63 is 75% lower than for the C25-RC concrete
10 lm from the surface of the RA particles, and at a distance of
above 60 lm the anhydrous percentage increases sharply with
a maximum value of 150% higher than for the C25-RC at a dis-
tance of 100 lm from the surface of the RA particles.
5.3. The ITZ of the C35 RA concretes
The profiles shown in Fig. 7 were obtained from the image anal-
ysis of the high magnification images on the left part of Fig. 6. As
C35-C30
C35-C100
Fig. 6. Image analysis of C35 RA concretes.
with the C25 concretes, the porosity and anhydrous profile depend
on the nature of the aggregate and the w/c ratio of the new paste.
An increase in the porosity profile compared to the reference con-
cretes was observed, despite the reduction in the w/c ratio: 0.58 for
the C35-RC, 0.53 for the C35-C30 and 0.54 for the C35-C100. This
result can be explained by the fact that the RA was used in the
saturated state that causes water to be released from the wet RA,
creating more pores. The highest porosity was obtained in the first
10 mm-wide strip with 28% for the C35-C100, 24.5% for the
C35-C30 and 16.7% for the C35-RC. This release of water from
the RA causes an increase in the porosity 100 mm away from the
surface of the RA particles. The porosity profile for the recycled
aggregate concrete is higher than that for the reference concrete
C35-RC. This difference is more marked in the case of the
C35-C100 concrete for which it can reach 110%, than for the
C35-C30 concrete for which it was 86%.
The porosity profile of the RA concretes depends on the w/c
ratio, and the average porosity can be as much as 24% higher for
a C35-C30 than a C35-C100 concrete. This increase is due to the
release of water from the RA and the increase in the w/c ratio of
the new paste, which is about 0.53 for the C35-C30 and 0.54 for
the C35-C100 concrete. The porosity of the C35-C100 concrete sta-
bilizes beyond 60 lm from the interface with the old paste while it
continues to decrease for C35-C30 concrete.
The type of aggregate affects the anhydrous content of the con-
crete: despite the reduction in the w/c ratio; the anhydrous profile
of the reference concrete is higher than that of the recycled con-
crete. The percentage of anhydrous in the first 10 mm-wide strip
was about 6.5% for the C35-RC, 4.7% for the C35-C30 and 3.1% for
 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033 1029

Fig. 7. Porosity and anhydrous profiles of C35 RA concretes.

the C35-C100 concrete. The water present in the recycled aggre-
gate can be released into the new paste and participates in cement
hydration. According to Li et al. [31], the kinetics of cement hydra-
tion are faster at the interface with the new paste, which can gen-
erate less anhydrous. The percentage of anhydrous increases up to
a distance of 100 lm from the interface with the RA, and can reach
12% for the C35-RC, 7.5% for the C35-30 and 6.7% for the C35-C100
concrete. The increase in the anhydrous profile between the C35-
RC reference concrete and the recycled aggregate concrete was
greater for the C35-100 concrete reaching a maximum of 175%,
compared with 83% for the C35-C30 concrete.
Comparing different RA concretes shows that the anhydrous
content depends on the w/c ratio. The increase in the w/c ratio
from 0.53 to 0.54 in RA concretes leads to a higher average anhy-
drous profile for the C35-C100 that can be as much as 50% higher
than for the C35-C30 at a distance of 40 lm from the interface with
the RA. This disparity decreases with distance, falling to 16%
100 lm away from the interface with the RA.

C45-C30

C45-C100
Fig. 8. Image analysis of C45 RA concretes.
1030 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033
Fig. 9. High magnification image of C45-C30 concrete.
5.4. ITZ of C45 RA concretes
The profiles shown in Fig. 10 were obtained from the image
analysis of the high magnification images on the left part of
Fig. 8. These concretes have different w/b ratios: 0.34 for C45-RC,
0.35 for the C45-C30 and 0.36 for the C45-C100 concrete while
the w/c ratio is constant, 0.43 for the C45-RC and C45-C100 con-
cretes, and fairly close to 0.41 for the C45-C30.
Fig. 10. Porosity and anhydrous profiles of C45 RA concretes.
Fig. 11. Effect of the w/c ratio on porosity and anhydrous profiles of RA concretes.
Although it has the same w/c ratio (0.43), the C45-C100 con-
crete has a higher porosity profile than the reference C45-RC con-
crete, while its anhydrous profile is lower. This can be explained by
the release of water from the RA which participates in cement
hydration but can also generate a microstructure that is more por-
ous than in the reference concrete. The porosity profile of the C45-
C100 concrete decreases further away from the aggregate particles,
by about 153%, and stabilizes above 60 mm from the RA.
The porosity profile of the C45-C30 concrete is lower than that
of the reference concrete and the C45-C100, the maximum
decrease in the average porosity profile being 57%. A possible
mechanism for this is that the reduction in the amount of water
in the paste reduces the amount of free water which in turn lowers
the w/c ratio in the new ITZ during early hydration and the water
released by the RA participates in the hydration of the cement,
which generates less anhydrous and less porosity. The use of satu-
rated RA in concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.41 assists the internal
curing of the cement. As has been shown by Geiker [32], Internal
curing is especially beneficial in concrete with a low w/c ratio
because of the chemical shrinkage that accompanies portland
cement hydration and the low permeability of the calcium silicate
hydrates. Because the chemically-bound water adsorbed by the
cement hydration products has a lower specific volume than bulk
water, a hydrating cement paste will absorb water (about 0.07 g
water/g cement when a source is available). When the w/c ratio
decreases from 0.43 to 0.41, good bonding between the two pastes
(old and new) has been observed with the presence of anhydrous
cement in the old paste (Fig. 9), probably to a filling mechanism.
 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033 1031

As observed by Li et al. [31]; the calcium–Silicate–Hydrate (C–S–H)
generated in the new ITZ extends to the pores of the old cement
paste. When this C–S–H connects with the C–S–H generated in
old cement paste it may strengthen the bonding in the new ITZ.
Li et al. [31] concluded that the new ITZ has a fast hydration rate
and lower porosity than the ITZ between the gravel and the cement
paste. Because the old paste in the new ITZ can provide additional
active ingredients such as dissolved Ca(OH)2, which provides a bet-
ter hydration environment, more C–S–H particles can be gener-
ated, which results in a higher degree of hydration. The results of
these authors’ simulations of concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.4 show
that the degree of hydration of the ITZ between the gravel and the
cement paste, and that of the new ITZ is about 49.23% and 72.56%,
respectively. The behavior is different in the case of C45-C100 con-
crete: the w/c ratio of 0.43 is not compatible with the saturation
ratio of the RA, and the release of water then generates an increase
in porosity up to a distance of 100 lm and a decrease of anhydrous
up to 50 lm. The porosity of the RA concrete stabilizes beyond
60 lm (Fig. 10).
5.5. Comparative analysis of RA concretes
The effect of the w/c ratio on the porosity and anhydrous profiles
of the RA concretes is shown in Fig. 11. The increase of the w/c ratio
of the new paste causes an increase in the porosity profile. This ten-
dency has already been observed by Li et al. [31], who developed a
model for the ITZ formed by new and old cement paste, in which the
selected w/c ratios were 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6. The simulation results
of sixteen new ITZ models showed that the increase in the water–
cement ratio of the new water–cement paste leads to a monotonic

Fig. 12. Comparison between the porosity of the new ITZ of RA concretes and the porosity of the ITZ of reference concretes.

Fig. 13. Ratio between the porosity of the ITZ (RAC/RC).

1032 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033
Fig. 14. Relationship between w/c ratio and porosity of the new ITZ for RA concretes.
increase in the porosity. In our study, we observed that the differ-
ence in the porosity profile between the concrete with a w/c ratio
of 0.41, concretes with w/c ratios of 0.43, 0.53 and 0.54 and the con-
cretes with a w/c ratio of 0.63 and 0.66 is greater at a distance of less
than 50 lm from the interface with the RA. We observed that the
porosity profiles stabilize above a distance of 50 or 60 lm from
the interface with the RA. The reduction of the w/c ratio improves
the porosity profile: at distance of 80 lm from the RA the porosity
falls from 31% for the concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.66 to 4% for the
concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.41.
The percentage of anhydrous depends on the w/c ratio of the
new paste and the water released from the RA. For w/c ratios of
0.66 and 0.41, the anhydrous profiles increase the lower the
strength class of the concrete and exhibit a variable trend. The pro-
file can be stable at a distance of 100 lm from the RA interface
while it exhibits a sudden variation for the w/c ratios of 0.43 and
0.63 40 lm and 60 lm from the RA interface.
Fig. 12 shows a comparison between the porosity of the new
ITZ for RA concretes and that of the C25-RC, C35-RC and C45-RC
reference concretes. One can see that the replacement of natural
aggregates by recycled aggregates for the C25 and C35 concretes
does not improve the porosity of the ITZ despite the reduction of
the w/c ratio; the porosities of the ITZ of RA concrete are higher
than for the reference concretes. This may be due to the use of
saturated RA, which subsequently releases water which increases
the porosity. This is also apparent for the C45-C100 concretes
with the same w/c ratio (0.43) as the reference concrete. The
porosity of the new ITZ of RA concretes is roughly between 1.6
and 1.9 times higher than for the reference concretes, except
for the C45-C30 concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.41 which differs
by a factor of about 0.7 (Fig. 13). Probably the water released
by the aggregates improves the hydration and reduces the
porosity as explained in the previous section. This ratio can be
considered as a threshold below which the porosity of the new
ITZ is reduced.
A reduction in the w/c ratio has been found to improve the
porosity in the new ITZ of RA concretes. These two parameters
have a linear correlation (Fig. 14). The porosity varies from 39%
for C25-C100 with a w/c ratio of 0.66 to 7% for the C45-C30 con-
crete with a w/c ratio of 0.41.
6. Conclusions
In this study we have investigated the influence of recycled
coarse aggregate on the properties of the ITZ for different con-
cretes. Based on the experimental results (image analysis), the fol-
lowing conclusions may be drawn:
 In addition to the ‘‘wall effect”, the ITZ of the recycled aggregate
concrete is influenced by presaturation water; this water can be
released into the new paste disrupting its microstructure (new
ITZ). This mechanism generates additional porosity in RA
concrete.
 The trend for C25, C35 and C45-C100 RA concretes is the same:
they have a higher porosity profile and a lower anhydrous pro-
file than the reference concretes (NA). This is due to the release
of water from the RA into the new paste which can participate
in cement hydration (leading to less anhydrous) but locally
increases the w/c ratio. The ratio between the porosity of the
new ITZ porosity in the RA concretes and the porosity of the
ITZ in the reference concretes varies between approximately
1.6 and 1.9.
 The reduction of the w/c ratio of C25, C35 and C45 RA concretes
improves the porosity profile. A linear correlation was obtained
between the porosity of the new ITZ of RA concrete and the w/c
ratio: the porosity falls from 39% for the C25-C100 concrete
with a w/c ratio of 0.66 to 7% for the C45-C30 concrete with a
w/c ratio of 0.41.
 C45 RA concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.41 has lower porosity and
anhydrous profiles than the reference concrete (w/c of 0.43):
the water released from the RA participates in the hydration
of the cement, which generates less anhydrous and less porous.
This ratio can probably be considered as a critical level below
which an improvement of the microstructure at the RA interface
can be achieved. The ratio between the porosity of the new ITZ
of C45-C30 cement and the porosity of the ITZ of the reference
concretes was 0.7.
Conflict of interest
This paper does not present a conflict of interest.
 A. Djerbi / Construction and Building Materials 190 (2018) 1023–1033
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the ANR (French National Research
Agency) and ECOREB (ECOconstruction par le REcyclage du Béton)
for providing funding support, the national RecyBeton project
(RECYclage complet des BETONs) for providing the materials and
the associated partners who have given strong support to this
French collective research project.
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