Study on Recycled Aggregate Water-Permeable

Concrete
Li Ying, Yang Jian Rong, Li Jing Yi
Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment
(Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture), Ministry of Education,
Beijing, 100044, China
liy@bucea.edu.cn

Abstract—Taking recycled aggregate as object, explores the
change regularity of impact factors such as water reducing agent,
cement consumption, sand ratio, water cement ratio and
aggregate cement ratio under the different compressive strength
when the diameters of the recycled aggregate water-permeable
concrete range from 9.5mm to 16mm. That will provide the theory
foundation for application of the recycled aggregate permeable
concrete with diameters ranging from 9.5mm to 16 mm , when its
strength ranging from 10MPa to 20Mpa , and water-permeable
coefficient up to 2.5mm/s, and also provide good guarantee for
reduction pollution and utilization of construction waste .
Keywords-recycled aggregate; water-permeable concrete;
strength; water-permeable coefficient
I. RECYCLE AGGREGATE 
Recycling aggregate means the process that after crushing,
cleaning and classification, the waste concrete is combined to
produce recycled aggregate concrete by a certain proportion and
gradation[1]. The concrete, in which recycled aggregate partly
or wholly replace natural aggregate such as sand-stock, is called
recycled aggregate concrete[2]. Our country increases
construction area of 30 billions square meters and the
generation of waste of new construction area is 500-600
tons/ten thousand square meters, new construction waste will
range from 1.5 to 1.8 billion tons by 2020.At present, there is a
dramatic increase of construction waste as much as 30%-40% of
the total municipal garbage. In case that And supposed that
there is 13.6 million tons of construction waste from pulling
down old buildings every year, the total amount of construction
waste in the entire country will be 16.36-19.36 tons by 2020.
Dealing with such much construction waste with transporting,
dumping or landfill will consume a large amount of manpower,
material resources and financial resources, and accompanied by
environment pollution.
II. APPLICATION PROSPECTS OF THE WATER-PERMEABLE
CONCRETE
Water-permeable concrete is an environmentally friendly
and ecological concrete with good water permeability and air
permeability, which plays an important role in environmental
construction. The specific advantages are as follows[3][4] [5]:
1. Effectively solves the great rainwater loss caused by the
impermeable pavement, make rainwater quickly infiltrate into
the earth's surface and restore it to groundwater, maintain the
water level of under soil and protect the water resources.
2. Improves the living conditions of urban earth's surface
plants and soil microbes, solve problems as organism’s failing
to grow normally and biodiversity destruction, enhance water
purification of soil filter. Ecological effect is very superior.
3. Effective in reducing storm runoff, preventing standing
water and night reflection, reducing the ground sliding force,
increasing the visibility.
4. Regulates the temperature and humidity of urban land
surface evaporation and airs, ease heat island phenomenon.
5. Reduces the burden of road drainage facilities during
rainfall (especially short-term concentrated rainfall), and
prevents the floods in urban rivers and public water pollution.
6. Absorbs noises from vehicles, reduces dazzle light
interference at night and creates a quiet traffic environment.
In recent years, the exploration and huge consumption of
natural resources and the enormous damage to the environment
have threatened China's requirements of sustainable
development strategy. Therefore, it has great social benefit and
environment benefit to the China's construction waste recycling
and sustainable development to research and explore recycled
aggregate water-permeable concrete from construction waste,
and use it in environment construction, especially in
environment management and environment construction of the
socialist new countryside.
III. EXPERIMENT STUDY ON RECYCLED AGGREGATE
WATER-PERMEABLE CONCRETE
A. The basic characteristics of recycled aggregate
To ensure due strength and good permeability of permeable
concrete, discontinuity e-stone grading aggregates were applied
in the study, the specific property was as shown in Table 1 and
Table 2.
TABLE I. THE PHYSICAL PROPERTY OF RECYCLED FINE AGGREGATES 
Fineness Grain Silt Packing Apparent Water-
module composition content density density absorption
1500 2440
3.0 II 13.4% 7%
kg/m3 kg/m3

The Specific research of Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and

Architecture “Construction of new rural environment in Beijing and the
sustainable use of resources”˄100705403˅˗Science and Technology Plan
of Beijing Education Committee on Projects “Beijing Urban Ecological
Research Evaluation Capacity”˄KM201010016014˅;“Urban drainage
systems and water environment Provincial build the Key Laboratory of
Ministry of Education˄Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and
Architecture ˅ˈBeijingˈ100044”;
978-1-4577-0290-7/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE
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 TABLE II. THE PHYSICAL PROPERTY OF RECYCLED COARSE AGGREGATES

Grain composition Void fraction Close packing density Apparent density 24h water-absorption
4.75~9.5 mm 52% 1250 kg/m3 2614 kg/m3 8.3%
9.5mm~16mm 52% 1275 kg/m3 2638 kg/m3 7.6%
16~19mm 49% 1360 kg/m3 2649 kg/m3 8.0%
Crush index(4.75~19mm) 8%

This study selected aggregate sizes ranging from 9.5 mm to

B. Experiment study on recycled aggregate water-permeable 16 mm, aggregate cement ratio was 4.0, sand ratio was 15%,
concrete with 10MPa compressive strength water cement ratio was 0.33ǃ0.37ǃ0.40 and 0.43 respectively
1) Experiment study on the effect of the water reducing to do experiment study on the strength expected to reach 10MPa.
agent on the strength The specific raw material usage and test data are as shown in
Selected material was as follows: 270 kg/m3 cement, Table5.
0.46/0.38 water cement ratio, 5.0 aggregate cement ratio, 15%
sand, and aggregate sizes ranging from 9.5 mm to 16 mm. To The experiment results showed that the water cement ratio
do the experiment study on the strength expected to reach had not big influence on the strength, but had a complicated
10MPa. The specific amount of test materials and test data were relationship with the water permeation coefficient. When the
as shown in Table3. water cement ratio was 0.33, looking for the reasons in the
terms of molding results, for the high Water absorption of
recycled aggregate lower the available net water cement ratio,
TABLE III. EXPERIMENT OF WATER-REDUCING AGENT ON THE concrete mixture failed to be mixed fully, the cement paste was
STRENGTH
too dry to be fully bonded with recycled aggregate, and then it
Coarse Fine Water 28d would block the gaps among aggregates and failed to form a
Cem Wa
ent ter
aggreg aggre Permeation stre Notes permeable channel which connected the upper and lower, then
ates gates coefficient ngth
124 5.6 No water-
lead to poor permeability. When the water cement ratio rose
270 1148 202 7.7mm/s from 0.33 to 0.40, concrete mixture was fully mixed, moderate
.2 MPa reducing agent
270
102
1148 202 6.8 mm/s
7.8 water-reducing dry cement paste and recycled aggregate were fully bonded. A
.6 MPa agent layer of moderate thickness paste formed on the surface of the
The results showed that in the case of the same amount of recycled aggregate, and connectivity gap formed among
cement, using water-reducing agent could increase the strength aggregates, therefore water permeation coefficient increased
of recycled aggregate water-permeable concrete, and it had little rapidly. But when the water cement ratio rose to 0.43 , In
influence on water permeation coefficient. addition wrapped by a cement paste, recycled aggregate surface
also created fluid slurry on account of the increase of the mixing
2) Experiment study on the effect of cement usage on the
water . After forming compacted, the contract surface of cement
strength paste increased, and the gaps reduced, even at the bottom of the
The cement usage was 309.6 kg/m3, the water cement ratio specimen, it would form a dense layer which was unfavorable to
was 0.33, the aggregate cementratio was4.0, the sand ratio permeability, and also to the improvement of the strength.
was 20%, the aggregate sizes was from 9.5 mm to 16 mm ;
Another set of experiment data :The cement usage was 309.6 4) Experiment study on the effect of aggregate cement
kg/m3, the water cement ratio was 0.40, the aggregate cement ratio on the strength
ratio was 4.0, the sand ratio was 20%, the aggregate diameters The 9.5 mm~16 mm sizes of was selected, water-cement
was 9.5 mm~16 mm, to do experiment study on the strength ratio was 0.35, Sand rate was 20% sand, the aggregate cement
expected to reach 10MPa, the concrete experiment raw material ratio was 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0, respectively. The purpose was to
and test data were as shown in Table 4. study on the strength expected to reach 10MPa .The specific
amount of raw material and test data were as shown in Table 6.
The results showed that when the water cement ratio ranged
from 0.33 to 0.40, as for the molding with water reducing agent,
dense layers did not form at the bottom of the specimen, and TABLE IV. EXPERIMENT OF THE EFFECT OF CEMENT USAGE ON THE
molding effect was fine; as for the assessment index, comparing STRENGTH

with the experiment which the cement usage was 270 kg/m3,
water permeation coefficient decreased slightly but the
compressive strength increased evidently, the 28d compressive Coar Fine Water 28d
strength was up to 10MPa averagely. It was obvious that, within Cem Wat
se aggre permeation stren Notes
ent er
the limits of water cement ratio , in case of ensuring certain aggr gates coefficient gth
water permeation coefficient, as the cement usage increased, so 990. 12.1
water
did the compressive strength. 309.6 81.7 247.7 7.7 mm/s reducing
7 MPa
agent
3) Experiment study on the effect of water cement ratio 978. 10.2
water
on the strength 305.6 97.7 244.6 5.6 mm/s reducing
2 MPa
agent

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 TABLE V. EXPERIMENT ON THE EFFECT OF WATER CEMENT RATIO ON THE STRENGTH

Num Main The material consumption of 1m3 concrete/Kg 28d’ water permeation 28d’compressive
ber factors Cement Water Sand Recycled aggregates Water reducing agent coefficient /mm/s strength/Mpa
1 0.33 337.7 89.2 202.6 1148.2 6.8 4.3 14.3
2 0.37 335.2 99.2 201.1 1139.7 6.7 4.4 15.4
3 0.40 333.3 106.7 200 1133.3 6.6 5.8 15.7
4 0.43 331.5 114.0 198.9 1127.1 6.6 4.6 15.3
TABLE VI. EXPERIMENT ON THE EFFECT OF THE AGGREGATE CEMENT RATIO ON THE STRENGTH

Num Main The material consumption of 1m3 Concrete/Kg 28d’water-permeable 28d’compressive

ber factors Cement Water Sand Recycled Aggregates Water reducing coefficient/mm/s strength/Mpa
1 3.5 336.7 107.7 235.7 942.8 6.7 3.1 16.7
2 4.0 305.6 97.8 244.5 977.9 6.1 4.1 10.2
3 4.5 279.7 89.5 251.7 1006.9 5.6 6.3 8.6
4 5.0 257.8 82.5 257.8 1031.2 5.2 5.9 5.6
The results of the experiment indicated that the aggregate reached 15MPa by increasing the amount of cement on the
cement ratio decided the thickness of mortar layer wrapping the premise of a certain degree of water-permeable coefficient.
surface of the recycled aggregate grain. If the aggregate cement
ratio was small, the mortar layer was thick. Choosing 1) Study on the effects of the water cement ratio and the
appropriate mix ratio and the mixture of concrete well mixed, water-permeable coefficient
the aggregate would be fully wrapped, bonding power between Selected aggregates sizes 9.5 mm ~ 16 mm, 3.5 aggregate
the recycled aggregate and cementing material was very strong, cement ratio, 20% sand rate, water cement ratio was 0.33, 0.37,
embodies the high strength. But when aggregate cement ratio 0.40 and 0.43, respectively. The bulk density of mixture of
became bigger, for the recycled aggregate couldn’t be fully water and cement was 1800 kg/m3. The specific amount of raw
wrapped by the mortar. The bond of the aggregate and cement material and test data were as shown in Table 7.
would be destroyed and the concrete would be destroyed in The results showed that when cement usage ranged from
advance. Known from the Table 6, when the compressive 365 to 371 kg / m3, water cement ratio ranged from 0.33 to 0.43,
strength was up to 10Mpa, the aggregate cement ratio would be the water-permeable coefficient showed an up-trend and then
under 4.0. When the compressive strength was under 10Mpa, went down, the strength was increasing steadily. 28d’
the aggregate cement ratio would be up to 4.0. So when the compressive strength reached 15MPa above. Considering water-
aggregate cement ratio grew bigger the strength of the recycled permeable coefficient, when its 28d’strength reached 15MPa,
aggregate water-permeable concrete showed a downtrend. the best water-cement ratio ranged from 0.33 to 0.40.

C. Experiment study on recycled aggregate water-permeable 2) Study on the effects of the aggregate cement ratio on
concrete with 15MPa compressive strength. the strength
According to experimental research of 10MPa compressive Selected 9.5 mm ~ 16 mm aggregates, 0.4 water cement
strength, the purpose of this experiment was exploring the best ratio, 20% sand rate, aggregate cement ratio was 3.5, 4.0, 4.5,
range of water cement ratio and aggregate cement ratio when 5.0 respectively. The bulk density of mixture of water and
the compressive strength of recycled aggregate water-permeable cement was 1800 kg/m3. The specific amount of raw material
and test data were as shown in Table 8.
TABLE VII. EXPERIMENT ON THE EFFECTS OF THE WATER CEMENT RATIO ON THE STRENGTH
Num Main The material consumption of 1 m3 Concrete/Kg 28d’water-permeable 28d’Compressiv
ber factors Cement Water Sand Recycled Aggregates Water reducing agent coefficient/mm/s e strength/Mpa
1 0.33 371.1 103.9 259.8 1039.1 7.4 2.8 19.5
2 0.37 369.6 109.4 258.7 1035.9 7.3 3.5 19.6
3 0.40 367.3 117.5 257.1 1028.4 7.3 2.9 22.2
4 0.43 365.1 125.6 255.7 1022.8 7.3 2.3 23.5

TABLE VIII. EXPERIMENT ON THE EFFECT OF THE AGGREGATE CEMENT RATIO ON THE STRENGTH

Num Main The material consumption of 1 m3 Concrete/Kg 28d’water-permeable 28d’Compressive

ber factors Cement Water Sand Recycled Aggregates Water reducing agent coefficient/mm/s strength/Mpa
1 3.5 367.3 117.5 257.1 1028.4 7.3 3.1 19.3
2 4.0 333.3 106.7 266.6 1066.6 6.7 4.1 14.2
3 4.5 305.1 97.6 274.6 1098.4 6.1 6.3 10.8
4 5.0 281.2 89.9 281.2 1124.8 5.6 6.7 7.7
The results of the experiment showed that if the cement would range from 14.2MPa to 19.3Mpa. If aggregate cement
usage ranged from 333.3 kg/m³ to 367.3 kg/m³, aggregate ratio ranged from 4.0 to 5.0, the compressive strength would be
cement ratio ranged from 3.5 to 4.0, the 28’d compressive reducing and lower than 15MPa. When the aggregate cement
strength of the recycled aggregate water-permeable concrete

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ratio was fixed, more addition of the cement usage could was unchanged. Drawn from the analysis above, the 28’d
increase the compressive strength. compressive strength was up to 15MPa, the water-permeable
coefficient was up to 3.0mm/s when the best water cement ratio
3) The effects of the cement usage on the compressive ranged from 0.33 to 0.40, the aggregate cement ratio ranged
strength and water-permeable coefficient from 3.5 to 4.0, the cement usage was about 350 km/m3.
In the experiment study about the compressive strength of
15MPa, the effects of different cement usages on the D. Experiment study on recycled aggregate water-permeable
compressive strength and the water-permeable coefficient, as concrete with 20MPa compressive strength
shown in Fig. 1.
Based on the experiments above, this experiment tried to
 improve the strength again by increasing cement usage, in case
28’d compressive
of ensuring good water permeability, and in the best range of
 strength water cement ratio and aggregate cement ratio, selected 9.5 mm
~ 16 mm aggregates, 0.35 water cement ratio, 4.0 aggregate
 cement ratio, 350 kg/m3 and 400 kg/m3 cement usage, 20% sand.
 Water permeable The specific amount of raw material and test data were as
efficient shown in Table 9 and Fig. 3.


    Cemennt

Figure 1. The effects of the cement usage on the compressive strength and
water permeable coefficient

Fig. 1 exhibited that the 28’d compressive strength increased 

and the water-permeable coefficient was on the contrary with Figure 2. Experiment specimen
the increase of the cement usage when the water cement ratio

TABLE IX. EXPERIMENT ON THE 20MPA COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

28’d Water-permeable 28’d compressive
Number cement water Coarse aggregates Fine aggregates Water reducing agent
coefficient /mm/s strength /MPa
1 350 98 1120 280 7.0 2.3 18.5
2 370 104 1184 296 7.4 2.6 29.0
3 400 112 1280 320 8.0 0.0 30.9
The results showed the 28’d compressive strength could 3. As the aggregate cement ratio increases, the compressive
reached 29.0MPa, the water-permeable coefficient could reach strength decreases, and the best aggregate cement ratio ranges
2.6 mm / s, both of them meet expectation of the requirement of from 3.5 to 4.0.
20MPa when the cement usage was 370 kg/m3. So the property
of the recycled aggregate concrete which could reach 20MPa 4. Under certain water cement ratio, the compressive
compressive strength on the premise of good permeability, strength may increase with addition of cement, when cement
provide more space for its application. The 28’d compressive usage increases to 400 kg/m3, cement may fully package
strength could reach 30.9MPa when the cement usage was 400 aggregates and block the gaps.
kg/m3. Owing to the excessive cement, the slurry wrapped the 5. When the water-permeable coefficient is 2.5 mm / s or
aggregate were too much, some of them formed into paste and more, the compressive strength can reach 10~20MPa. Then it
fill the gaps. The outer of test block was dense and non- can be widely used.
permeable under the tap water. Although, it showed the strength
could be enhanced by increasing cement usage under a fixed REFERENCES
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