Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) 863–870

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Construction and Building Materials

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Review

Dredged marine sand in concrete: An experimental section of a harbor pavement

J. Limeira *, L. Agullo, M. Etxeberria
Department of Construction Engineering, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Jordi Girona, 1-3, C1 Barcelona 08034, Spain

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

Article history: This research work describes three experimental sections of a harbor pavement made with three different
Received 31 July 2009 concretes. The influence of dredged marine sand (DMS) from Port of Sant Carles de la Ràpita (Tarragona,
Received in revised form 26 November 2009 Spain) as a fine aggregate on the production of concretes was analyzed, and its properties were deter-
Accepted 3 December 2009
mined. The three concretes were produced at a homologated plant (UNILAND): C1 (control concrete),
Available online 4 January 2010
C2 (concrete made with DMS as corrective fine sand) and C3 (concrete made with DMS as corrective fine
sand and reinforced with plastic fibers PF). The fresh and hardened properties of concretes made with
Keywords:
DMS approached the results of the control concrete.
Dredged marine sand
Dredging
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Volume of permeable pores
Mechanical properties

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863
2. Materials and experimental program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864
2.1. Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864
2.1.1. Physical and chemical characterization of DMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864
2.2. Experimental program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
2.2.1. Concrete mix composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
2.2.2. Fresh and hardened concrete properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866
3. Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
3.1. Fresh concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
3.2. Hardened concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
3.2.1. Properties of test specimens at 28 days of curing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
3.2.2. Properties of cores extracted from pavements at the age of 150 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
3.3. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
4. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869

1. Introduction etc.) are usually required in order to carry out maintenance activ-
ities in many ports all over the world. Maintenance dredging work
Dredging works (enlarging and deepening access channels, such as removing accumulated sediments from the bottom of
achieving appropriate water depths along waterside facilities, dredged channels is also necessary. During these works possible
environmental impacts related to the extraction process could
happen. Considering the huge volumes of sediments generated
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 93 401 07 95; fax: +34 93 405 41 35.
by dredging, some guidelines developed at the level of national
E-mail addresses: jussara.limeira@upc.edu (J. Limeira), luis.agullo@upc.edu (L.
Agullo), miren.etxeberria@upc.edu (M. Etxeberria). and international policy might guarantee the best performance of

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2009.12.011
864 J. Limeira et al. / Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) 863–870
dredging activities. Many directives and international regulations
are concerned with providing a sustainable use for the sea and
marine ecosystems, such as the Marine Strategy Framework Direc-
tive [1] and the European Water Framework Directive [2], which
seek to achieve a good environmental status in all marine waters
by 2020. Moreover, the OSPAR Convention [3], Barcelona Conven-
tion [4], London LC72 [5] and Helsinki Conventions [6] also have
the aim of protecting the marine environment.
According to Bray [7] the impacts produced by dredging activi-
ties must be evaluated. Positive impact could be considered to be
the use of dredged sediments in several applications such as ero-
sive process control, coastal stabilization, beach replenishment,
production of construction materials (clay, bricks, aggregates) or
construction works (foundation fill, dikes, etc.). Some works [8–
11] revealed the feasibility of dredged marine sand (DMS) in the
construction of base and sub-base harbor pavements. Dubois
et al. [8] incorporated this material into hydraulic binder mixes
(cement or lime) in order to improve the grading of aggregates
and correct the granular skeleton. The analysis of its mechanical
and environmental impact (leaching, concentration of contami-
nants) revealed that the studied material obtained compatible
properties with the usual design requirements. The cement-based
treatment [12] is a well known technique applied to the treatment
of dredged sediments. Its main objective is to improve the packing
and to obtain the compressive properties required for geotechnical
applications.
In the case of contaminated material, some decontamination
techniques [13], like the stabilization of heavy metals and organic
thermal elimination, are often used. Agostini et al. [13] studied
mortars produced with different percentages of treated sediment
aggregate (TSA). Tests results showed that the mortars produced
with high amounts of TSA obtained a high volume of permeable
pores, a high capacity of water absorption and low strength. How-
ever, with the addition of a low and medium content of TSA to ce-
ment-based materials, the results obtained had a similar
permeability and a higher compressive strength than those ob-
tained in the case of materials without addition. The maximum
content of TSA showed the same compressive strength as the con-
trol mix.
This paper illustrates the applicability of DMS as a fine aggre-
gate for concrete production in harbor pavement construction.
Mass concrete exposed to a marine air environment requires dura-
bility parameters which, according to UNE-EN 1744-1 specifica-
tions [14], are defined by the maximum w/c ratio of 0.5 and the
minimum cement amount of 300 kg for 1 m3 of concrete. Chloride
(Cl) and sulfate content (SO3) are also limited to 0.05% and 0.8% of
the aggregates’ weight, respectively. A maximum and a middling
depth of water penetration of 5 cm and 3 cm, respectively, are also
required for this kind of concrete.
About 350,000 m3 of DMS were extracted from the Port of Sant
Carles de la Ràpita (Tarragona, Spain) and stockpiled in the open air
for 3 months. This material was used for concrete production, and
Fig. 1. Pavement execution.
five representative samples of 1 m3 of DMS were obtained from
different areas and submitted to sampling in order to determine
their chemical analysis (contaminants and composition). The phys-
ical properties of DMS (grading, density and absorption) were also
determined.
With the aim of verifying the applicability of DMS as fine aggre-
gate for concrete production, three pavements of the same size
(15 m long, 5 m wide and 25 cm thick; see Fig. 1) were built using
three different concretes (one for each pavement): C1 control con-
crete without DMS and with a 30 MPa design strength for marine
environment exposure; C2 concrete with DMS substituting the fin-
est raw aggregate; and C3 concrete with DMS and plastic fiber (PF).
A slump test (Abrams Cone) as well as mechanical tests (compres-
sive strength, elastic modulus, tensile strength with Barcelona-Test
and flexural tensile strength) were carried out in order to establish
the fresh and hardened properties of concretes at 28 days of moist
curing. Due to the exposure of the structures to the marine envi-
ronment, volume of permeable pores and capillary absorption tests
were also carried out.
Cores were extracted from each pavement 150 days after con-
struction, in order to evaluate their compressive strength and
durability properties (depth of water penetration under pressure,
volume of permeable pores, water absorption and capillary absorp-
tion coefficient) with time. The results obtained for the concrete
made with DMS were compared with those of the control concrete.
2. Materials and experimental program
2.1. Materials
Rapid-hardening type II Portland cement CEM II/A-M 42,5 R was used for mar-
itime environment exposure according to UNE-EN 197-1 [15] specifications. Four
fractions of limestone raw aggregates (fine aggregates FA1 (0–2 mm) and FA2 (0–
5 mm); coarse aggregates CA1 (5–12 mm) and CA2 (12–20 mm)) from the plant
of Amposta–Masdenverge (UNILAND) were used for concrete production. The grad-
ing of the four samples was determined according to UNE-EN 933-1 [16] specifica-
tions (see Fig. 2). The density of raw aggregates was 2.7 kg/dm3. The absorption
capacity of fine raw aggregates FA1 and FA2 was 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively. Coarse
aggregates CA1 and CA2 showed 0.8% and 0.4% of absorption capacity. Polypropyl-
ene fiber (FORTA HIERROÒ, see Table 1) was incorporated into C3 concrete and pol-
icarboxilate plasticizer was incorporated into the three concretes.
DMS was added in substitution of FA1 to C2 and C3 concretes. It was obtained
from a disposal volume of 350,000 m3 extracted by a Josefa Pérez 5A-CA-4-93 dred-
ger, and stockpiled for drying in the open air for 3 months at the Port of Sant Carles
de la Ràpita. No treatment or drying process was carried out. The physical and
chemical characterization of DMS was as follows.
2.1.1. Physical and chemical characterization of DMS
Physical properties: the grading, density and absorption of DMS were obtained
as the average of three values. The three specimens were obtained by sampling the
huge sample according to UNE-EN 932-1 [17]. Fig. 2 illustrates the grading of DMS,
determined according to UNE-EN 933-1 [16] specifications. A density (on a satu-
rated and surface-dried basis) of 2.63 kg/dm3 and an absorption capacity of 1% were
obtained in accordance with the UNE-EN 1097-6 [18] specification.
Chemical analyses of five samples were carried out. The samples for testing were
obtained by sampling 1 m3 of DMS extracted from the stockpile of the harbor site.
Exhaustive sampling was carried out in order to determine possible contaminant
 J. Limeira et al. / Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) 863–870 865

FA1 FA2 DMS Management of Dredged Material in Spanish ports” dictated by the Centre for Stud-
ies and Experimentation of Public Works CEDEX [20] (see Table 3). Levels one to
CA1 CA2
three correspond to the rank of concentration limits of toxic substances, related
100 to authorizations of dredged material landfill in Spain.
90 The content of organic material was determined by thermal analysis. The re-
sults obtained are given in Table 4. Tests based on CEDEX [20] recommendations
80
revealed that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) values (dry sediment <63 lm ex-
70 pressed by ng/g) were lower than the first level action, as shown in Table 5. Chloride

% passing
60 and sulfate concentrations shown in DMS samples were lower than the maximum
values allowed by EHE, the Spanish standard of structural concrete [21] (0.05% and
50 0.8% respectively). Results are expressed in grams of chloride ion by 100 g of dry
40 material as shown in Table 6.
30
20 2.2. Experimental program
10
0 Three experimental sections of pavement were built with three different con-
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 crete mixes (one for each pavement): C1 control concrete made without DMS; C2
concrete made with DMS (in substitution of FA1) and C3 concrete made with
Diameter (mm) DMS (in substitution of FA1) and PF. At the same time of pavement casting, test
specimens of the three concretes were fabricated. The fresh concrete properties
Fig. 2. Grading curves of fine and coarse aggregates. of C2 and C3 concretes were compared with those of C1 concrete, in order to deter-
mine the influence of DMS on that property. The mechanical and durability proper-
ties of the test elements were determined at 28 days of curing, and the mechanical
and durability properties of harbor pavements were analyzed through cores ex-
Table 1
tracted 150 days after casting. The influence of different compacting and curing
Fiber characteristics (FORTA HIERROÒ).
procedures, as well as the concrete age in concrete test specimens and harbor pave-
Physical properties ments (by cores) made with DMS, were analyzed and the results were compared
with those of conventional concrete (C1).
Materials Virgin copolymer/polypropylene
Color Gray
Form Monofilament/fibrillated
2.2.1. Concrete mix composition
Fiber system acid/alkali resistance Excellent
The three concretes were produced at an automatic industrial plant (Amposta–
Absorption Nil
Masdenverge/UNILAND) located next to the construction site, and the mixing and
Tensile strength 620–758 MPa
transportation of the concretes were carried out by concrete-trucks. The mix pro-
Compliance ASTM C-1116
portions used in the production of the concretes(see Table 7) were designed follow-
Length 54 mm
ing the recommendations of the design and construction of port pavements – ROM
Specific gravity 0.91 g/cm3
4.1 – 94 [22] and the chapter 2 of the Spanish standard of structural concrete [21]
regarding marine environment exposure. A minimum amount of cement of 300 kg/
m3 and the maximum total w/c ratio of 0.5 were required by the standard. Fig. 5
components, and was obtained according to the UNE-EN 932-1 [17] specification. illustrates the grading curves of C1, C2 and C3 concrete. The grading distribution
According to the chemical analysis the primary component of DMS was quartz of C2 and C3 concretes presented higher contents of fine aggregates than the control
(SiO2), the second component calcite (CaCO3) and it also had a small amount of silt mix C1, but the three concretes maintained a continuous grading distribution. The
(3.13%) and clay (3.80%), as shown in Table 2. humidity of aggregates was corrected and the w/c ratio used considered the total
The heavy metal content of Cr, Cu, Ni, As and Zn was determined by atomic amount of water present in the mixes. 4 kg/m3 of PF were incorporated into C3 con-
emission spectrometry – ICP. The samples were prepared according to European crete. Values ranging from 2.6 kg/m3 to 5.0 kg/m3 [23] are indicated to guarantee
Union recommendations [19]. The quantity of metals determined were under the crack control in the service stage and to contribute to the bearing capacity of the
limit required by first level action according to the ‘‘Recommendations for the cross-section facing the ultimate loads.

Table 2
Mineralogical identification of DMS samples, by X-ray diffraction.

Mineral 1 2 3 4 5
Calcite CaCO3     
Quartz SiO2     
Halite NaCl  
Dolomite MgCa(CO3)2     
Mica Muscovite KMgAlSi4O10(OH)2     
Albite NaAlSi3O8     
Sanidina (Na, K)AlSi3O8    
Hidrofilita CaCl2  
Orthoclase KAlSi3O8  
Carolinian Al2Si2O5(OH)4     
Silvina KCl 
Relation of maximum intensity picks calcite/quartz 25/100 12/100 25/100 33/100 24/100

Key: , major components; , secondary components; , minority components or possible.

Table 3
Heavy metals (lg/g) in DMS samples.

Samples Cd Cu Zn Cr Ni As Hg Pb
1 0.08 1.85 22.21 30.43 20.98 3.53 nd 60.26
2 0.08 2.49 31.65 18.61 8.73 3.62 0.01 nd
3 0.07 2.88 23.9 29.64 12.17 3.57 0.02 114.28
4 0.07 4.12 27.29 35.93 12.38 3.4 0.02 101.98
5 0.01 8.24 26.3 34.2 8.65 3.4 0.06 89.01
Level of action 1 1 100 500 200 100 80 0.6 120
866 J. Limeira et al. / Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) 863–870

Table 4
Organic matter percentage and total organic carbon in DMS samples.

Samples Total loss Organic matter easily oxidable Total organic matter Organic carbon easily oxidable Total organic carbon Carbonates (%
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) CaCO3)
1 17.68 – 0.79 – 0.46 38.15
2 18.44 – 0.72 – 0.42 39.97
3 18.74 – 0.74 – 0.42 40.66
4 18.14 – 0.7 – 0.4 39.37
5 15.04 – 0.83 – 0.48 31.9

Table 5
PCB’s results (ng/g) in DMS samples.
P
Samples 28 52 101 105 118 138 153 156 180 209 cong.
1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <1.0
2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <1.0
3 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <1.0
4 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <1.0
5 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <1.0

Table 6 Cylinder specimens (C1, C2 and C3) of 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height
Chlorides and sulfates soluble in water. were cast in steel moulds and then compacted by means of a vibrating table. After
casting the specimens were covered with a plastic sheet, cured in air for a period of
Samples CL(PPM) Cl(%) BaSO4 (G) SO3 (%) 24 h and then de-molded. After de-molding the specimens were cured in a humid-
1 6.767 0.0084 0.001 0.034 ity room at 21 ± 1 °C and 95% of humidity until the test age of 28 days. The mechan-
2 2.718 0.0034 0.0011 0.038 ical properties tested are: compressive strength (UNE-EN 12390) [25]; elastic
3 1.775 0.0022 0.0011 0.038 modulus (UNE 83316) [26]; tensile strength with the Barcelona-Test (PrUNE
4 1.22 0.0015 0.0011 0.038 83515) [27]; and flexural tensile strength (UNE-EN-14651) [28].
5 37.053 0.046 0.001 0.034 Tensile strength with the Barcelona-Test is an indirect tensile test based on the
Media 9.91 0.0123 0.0011 0.037 configuration of a double punching test (see Fig. 3) which has been proposed to con-
trol the tensile behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC). This test requires cylin-
drical specimens with a dimension of 150 mm of both diameter and height. It has a
high specific surface of fracture, which allows obtaining representative values of
Table 7 strength and toughness of materials. The Barcelona-Test is the extension to FRC
Concrete mix proportion C1, C2 and C3. of the double punching test (DPT) formerly presented by Chen [29] to measure
the tensile strength of plain concrete. Cracking load Pf and unitary cracking load
Dosage C1 C2 C3 fct, as well as residual tensile strength fctRx referring to a total circumferential strain
Cement II/A-M 42.5 R (kg) 335 345 345 of 2 mm, 2.5 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm, can be obtained by means of expressions (1) and
FA2: fine aggregate (kg) 800 700 700 (2). In this test the load which produces cracking Pf corresponds to the maximum
FA1: fine aggregate (kg) 100 – – value obtained in the diagram load (kN) versus total circumferential strain (mm).
DMS: dredged sand (kg) – 150 150
CA1: coarse aggregate 5/12 (kg) 310 320 320 4Pf
CA2: coarse aggregate 12/20 (kg) 640 670 670 fct ¼ ð1Þ
9paH
Plastic fibers (kg/m3) – – 4
Water (l) 165 165 165
Plasticizer (% by cement weight) 0.74 0.73 0.94
4PRx
fctRx ¼ ð2Þ
9paH
2.2.2. Fresh and hardened concrete properties
The fresh properties with the slump test (Abram’s cone – UNE-EN 12350 [24]) fct is the unitary cracking load (N/mm2), fctRx is residual tensile strength (N/mm2), Pf
were determined in order to analyze the influence of DMS in concrete C2 and C3. is cracking load (N), PRx is load corresponding to total circumferential strain Rx (N), a
Also, the incorporation of PF into concrete production of C3 was investigated. The is diameter of the load application disk (mm), H is the height of specimen (mm).
fresh concrete on harbor pavements was compacted by means of a vibrant ruler. The test of flexural tensile strength according to UNE-EN-14651 [28] analyzes
As regards curing, special care was taken particularly in shrinkage control, with the tensile behavior of fiber concrete in terms of residual flexural tensile strength
wet curing being carried out in the pavement sections once the construction area values. These values are determined from the curve load (FL) versus load-crack
was exposed to high temperature and wind. mouth opening displacement (CMOD in mm), obtained by applying a centre-point

Fig. 3. Barcelona-Test mechanism.

 J. Limeira et al. / Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) 863–870
load on a simply supported notched prism with a nominal size (width and depth) of
150 mm and a length of 600 mm (Fig. 4). Notch mouth width was 2 mm. Residual
flexural tensile strength (fRj) can be obtained by the following expression.
3F j l
fRj ¼ 2
2bhsp
fRj is the residual flexural tensile strength (N/mm2), Fj is load corresponding to CMOD:
CMOD1 is 0.5 mm, CMOD2 is 1.5 mm, CMOD3 is 2.5 mm, CMOD4 is 3.5 mm, l is span
length (mm), b is width of the specimen (mm), hsp is distance between the tip of the
notch and the top of the specimen (mm).
The test considered the rate of increase of deflection equal to 0.0825 mm/min
until CMOD reaches 0.1 mm; after that 0.21 mm/min was taken as the rate of
increase.
Also at the age of 28 days of moist curing the volume of permeable pores and
absorption (ASTM C 642) [30], as well as the capillary absorption coefficient (UNE
83982) [31], were determined using cylindrical specimens with a diameter of
150 mm and a height of 150 mm. In order to determine the capillary absorption
coefficient the specimens were oven-dried at 40 °C, until reaching a constant
weight. When specimens reached room temperature, they were let to stand on rods
in water containers to allow free access of water to the inflow surface. The tests
were carried out considering the bottom face of the molded specimens in contact
with the water flow. The water level was maintained at no more than 5 mm above
the base of the specimen. The lower areas on the sides of the specimens were coated
with paraffin to achieve unidirectional flow. The cumulative water absorbed was re-
corded at different time intervals of up to 5 days, by weighing the specimen after
removing the surface water using a dampened tissue (the steady state was reached
at 5 days). Then the amount of water absorbed was calculated and normalized with
regard to the cross-section area of the specimens. The capillary absorption coeffi-
cient (k) was obtained by using the following formula:
Q pffiffi
¼k t
A possible strength reduction [34].
where Q is the amount of water absorbed in (cm3), A the cross-section of specimen
that was in contact with water (cm2), t the time (h), and k the capillary absorption
coefficient of the specimen (cm/h1/2).
At the age of 150 days, five cores of each pavement were extracted according to
UNE-EN 12504-1 [32] specifications. Cylindrical cores with a diameter of 100 mm
and a height of 200 mm were submitted to the compressive strength test UNE-EN
12504-1 [32]. The depth of water penetration under pressure (UNE-EN 12390-8)
[33] was determined on cylindrical cores with a diameter of 100 mm and a height
of 100 mm. The volume of permeable pores and absorption (ASTM C 642) [30], as
well as the capillary absorption coefficient (UNE 83982) [31], were obtained on
cylindrical cores with a diameter of 100 mm and a height of 50 mm. Depth of water
penetration under pressure and capillary absorption coefficient tests were carried
out considering the cut face of the specimens in contact with the water. Cores were
named T1, T2, and T3, and correspond to the average of the data from five cores ex-
tracted from the C1, C2 and C3 pavement concretes, respectively.
3. Results
3.1. Fresh concrete
The slump test (by Abrams Cone) for C1, C2 and C3 concretes
was carried out at casting time of the pavements sections with
Fig. 4. Prismatic specimen of flexural tensile strength test.
867
respective values of 17 cm, 22 cm and 19 cm. The results do not
specify the influence of DMS in the consistence of fresh concrete,
since the higher fluidity of C2 and C3 concretes as compared to
the control mix may probably be related to their higher plasticizer
ð3Þ
content (see Table 7). Due to the presence of finer particles in DMS
than in FA1 material (DMS had a higher specific surface and water
absorption than FA1), extra plasticizer content was used in C2 and
C3 concretes. The incorporation of 4 kg/m3 of PF into C3 also con-
tributed to a higher content of plasticizer in this mix.
3.2. Hardened concrete
3.2.1. Properties of test specimens at 28 days of curing
3.2.1.1. Mechanical characteristics. The compressive strength of the
three concrete mixes C1, C2 and C3 at 28 days was 39 MPa, 36 MPa
and 33 MPa, respectively. They satisfied the minimum of 30 MPa
compressive strength defined for this project. The compressive
strength of each type of concrete was determined with the average
of three specimens. C3 concrete presented a slightly lower com-
pressive strength than concrete C1, probably due to the extra plas-
ticizer incorporation (thus increasing w/c). Also, the lower
compressive strength of C3 could be attributed to the influence
of fiber characteristics (type, shape, volume), which play an impor-
tant role in the behavior of the concrete mix. In addition, the spec-
imen’s geometry (cube or cylinder) as well as casting direction
modify the compression behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete with
ð4Þ
With reference to the modulus of elasticity, concretes C1 and C2
obtained similar values. C3 concrete obtained the lowest value (see
Table 8), probably due to the extra content of plasticizer added in
concrete production and the presence of PF. Experimental studies
[35] about the effect of polypropylene fibers in the fracture proper-
ties of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) reveal a similar decrease on
the elastic modulus. This effect was observed in FRC using PF with
a smaller size and an inferior content (concrete with 0.3% volume
fraction of PF and a length of 19 mm).
The tensile strength of C1, C2 and C3 concretes determined by
the Barcelona-Test [27] showed results around 2.5 MPa. The negli-
gible variation of the results revealed a slight influence of DMS on
the tensile strength of the concretes studied.
Flexural tensile strength [28] for C1 presented 4 MPa followed
by C2 and C3 concretes with respective values of 3.7 MPa and
3.5 MPa. Each presented value is the average of three measure-
ments. All concrete mixes achieved the concrete design strength
of 3 MPa at 28 days. As regards fiber influence, residual flexural
tensile strength (fR1) of C3 concrete for CMOD (cracking open
mouth) of 1 mm was 1.2 MPa at the age of 28 days (see Table 8).
Experimental studies reveal [34] similar results of residual flexural
C1 C2 C3
100
90
80
70
% passing
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
100 10 1 0.1 0.01
Diameter (mm)
Fig. 5. Grading curves of granular skeleton of concretes C1, C2 and C3.
868 J. Limeira et al. / Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) 863–870

tensile strength for fiber-reinforced concretes fabricated with an 0.70 C1 C2 C3

equivalent mix proportion and using ordinary aggregates.
0.60 T1 T2 T3

Absorbed water (g/cm )

2
3.2.1.2. Durability characteristics. Table 9 illustrates the permeable 0.50
pore volume and capillary absorption coefficient of the test speci- 0.40
mens of C1, C2 and C3 concretes. As shown in the table, the control
concrete C1 obtained the lowest volume of permeable pores and 0.30
the lowest capillary absorption coefficient, followed by C2 (con- 0.20
crete using DMS in substitution of FA1) and C3 (concrete using
DMS and PF). This effect can be attributed to the higher effective 0.10
w/c ratio of C2 and C3 concretes once the water absorption capac- 0.00
ity of DMS was lower than FA1. Additionally, due to the presence of 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
PF in C3 concrete its porosity matrix is increased [36]. Fig. 6 illus- Time (h )
1/2

trates the capillary suction curves of C1, C2 and C3 test specimens.

The steady state of the three concretes was reached after 5 days of Fig. 6. Capillary suction curves for specimens C1, C2, C3 and cores T1, T2, T3.
test.

3.2.2. Properties of cores extracted from pavements at the age of
150 days
3.2.2.1. Mechanical characteristics. The cylindrical concrete cores T1,
T2 and T3 with a diameter of 100 mm and a height of 200 mm
obtained a compressive strength of 40 MPa, 45 MPa and 41 MPa,
respectively. Environmental conditions in the work field (curing,
temperature, confinement) influenced concrete strength evolution,
so it behaved differently than in the laboratory. The compressive
strength of pavement concretes made with DMS, determined by
the extracted cores T2 and T3, obtained a similar value to that of
conventional concrete pavement at the age of 150 days.
3.2.2.2. Durability characteristics. Tests results for the permeable
pore volume on cores T1, T2 and T3 were 13.4%, 12.7% and 12.9%
respectively. As shown in Table 9, a slight deviation among the
measurements of different cores of the same type of concretes
was observed. The absorption capacity of T1, T2 and T3 pavement
cores was 5.9%, 5.5% and 5.6%, respectively.
The water penetration depth (under pressure) values of T1, T2
and T3 pavement cores are illustrated in Table 9. Two cores were
tested for each pavement concrete. All resulting values were lower
than the maximum value (5 cm) required by the Spanish standard
of structural concrete [21] for mass concrete exposed to air marine
environment.
The capillary suction curves of T1, T2 and T3 are illustrated in
Fig. 6 and the corresponding absorption coefficients are summa-
rized in Table 9.
3.3. Discussion
Due to different environmental conditions, production and cur-
ing process, different properties of concrete test specimens and
pavement cores were observed. However, considering the individ-
ual analysis of each of the three concrete groups at the ages of 28
and 150 days, a consistent comparison can be made among them.
The volume of permeable pores in cores is higher than in test
specimens, probably due to the evaporation of free water and the
lack of curing time in pavement maintaining process. The test
specimens were cured in a humidity room for 28 days.
With regard to absorptivity, concrete at 150 days presented a
smaller capillary absorption coefficient (0.024 cm/h1/2) than con-
crete at 28 days (0.054 cm/h1/2) (Table 9). According to Neville
[37], absorptivity values obtained in the first 4 h can be correlated
with concrete w/c ratios. The values of 0.09 mm/min1/2 and
0.17 mm/min1/2 correspond to concretes with w/c of 0.4 and 0.6,
respectively. In this study (Fig. 7) absorptivity on cores T1, T2
and T3 achieved values around 0.08 mm/min1/2, while specimens
C1, C2 and C3 presented values around 0.12 mm/min1/2.
It must be noted that the external face of the cores was com-
posed of coarse aggregates and mortar, which were in contact with
the water flow. However the test specimens had an external
molded face (mortar) in contact with water. The water flow was
submitted only by gravity; no pressure was used in the test proce-
dure. It can be concluded that the pore structures of the concretes
presented considerable differences, probably related to the vari-
ability of environment and cure condition (laboratory and work

Table 8
Mechanical properties in specimens at 28 days with respective coefficient of variation.

Concrete Compressive strength (MPa) Elastic modulus (MPa) Tensile strength (MPa) Flexural-tensile strength (MPa) Residual flex-tensile strength fR1 (MPa)
C1 39 (5%) 28,500 (2.2%) 2.56 (7%) 4.02 (10%) –
C2 36 (4%) 26,500 (1.2%) 2.53 (3%) 3.67 (10%) –
C3 33 (5%) 24,500 (0.2%) 2.41 (12%) 3.47 (10%) 1.25 (10%)

Table 9
Durability characteristics in specimens C1, C2 and C3 at 28 days and cores T1, T2 and T3 at 150 days.

Concrete Volume of permeable pores (%) Capillary absorption coefficient (cm/h1/2) Absorption (%) Water penetration (cm)
C1 8.97 0.0441 n.a.* n.a.*
C2 10.05 0.0558 n.a.* n.a.*
C3 11.57 0.0632 n.a.* n.a.*
T1 13.4 (4) 0.0274 5.9 (5) 2.03 1.14
T2 12.7 (1) 0.023 5.5 (3) 0.90 1.60
T3 12.9 (4) 0.0236 5.6 (4) – 0.92
*
Not available: () the deviation between the result of three measurements.
 J. Limeira et al. / Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) 863–870
2.5 C1 C2 C3
T1 T2 T3
Absorptivity (mm /mm )
2
2.0
3
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
0.5
Time (min )
Fig. 7. Capillary suction curves in the first 4 h for C1, C2, C3, T1, T2 and T3.
field), and consequently the test specimens obtained a lower per-
meable pore volume. The capillary absorption capacity on cores
presented a reduced effective area for flow due to the presence
of aggregate in the external face, when compared to the test spec-
imens. This could justify the considerable difference observed be-
tween the test results found at 28 and 150 days with regard to
compressive strength, permeable pore volume and water suction
(capillary absorption coefficient).
4. Conclusions
According to the experimental program performed in this study
some conclusions are exposed:
– Regarding physical characterization, the DMS used in this
research work presented a considerable content of high fine par-
ticles with more than 95% of the material passing through #
0.25 mm according to the sieve analysis. The chemical analysis
indicated a negligible contaminant level with values found
below normative limits.
– The properties of fresh concrete using DMS in substitution of
fine sand (0–2 mm), C2 and C3, were similar to those of control
concrete C1. An acceptable fresh concrete consistency was
achieved in both cases.
– The mechanical properties (compressive strength, elastic modu-
lus, tensile strength with Barcelona-Test and flexural tensile
strength) of concretes made with DMS in substitution of fine
sand (0–2 mm) were similar to those in the control concrete.
– Concrete C3 made with DMS in substitution of fine sand (0–
2 mm) and PF incorporation obtained lower mechanical proper-
ties than the control concrete at 28 days of curing. This effect
can be attributed to the higher plasticizer content and the pres-
ence of polypropylene fibers.
– The control concrete obtained the lowest volume of permeable
pores and absorptivity. Concrete C3 made with DMS and PF
obtained the highest values of volume of permeable pores and
absorptivity probably due to: higher effective water (higher
plasticizer content) and the presence of PF, which increases its
porosity matrix.
– An increase of permeable pore volume was observed on cores at
150 days when compared to molded test specimens at 28 days,
probably due to the lack of curing and to higher free water evap-
oration of harbor pavements at early ages. However, cores pre-
sented a smaller absorptivity in comparison to the molded
specimens, probably due to the presence of aggregates in the
external surface and a consequently lower effective area.
– Concrete harbor pavements produced with DMS obtained ade-
quate properties according to water penetration depth under
pressure.
869
– Due to the variability of laboratory and work field conditions
C3 = 0.1266x + 0.1504
(temperature, cure, confinement) the pore system and cement
C2 = 0.1174x + 0.1526
hydration of pavement concrete and test specimens are differ-
C1 = 0.094x + 0.1394
ent. The compressive strength of pavement cores was higher
than that of test specimens. However they were more vulnera-
ble than test specimens.
T1 = 0.0794x + 0.0481 – The experimental results show that the fine dredged sediment
T3 = 0.0782x + 0.0567 studied can be successfully used as a fine aggregate for concrete
T2 = 0.0734x + 0.0525 production. It is an acceptable material for construction of a har-
bor road pavement with concrete of 30 MPa.
12 14 16
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the laboratory of the Institute
of Concrete Science and Technology as well as the Chemistry
Department from the Polytechnic University of Valence – UPV. Also
thanks to the personnel from the homologated plant Uniland and
FCC Company.
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