Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960

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Construction and Building Materials

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Treatment of recycled concrete aggregate to enhance concrete performance

Ali S. Alqarni , Husain Abbas , Khattab M. Al-Shwikh , Yousef A. Al-Salloum *
Chair of Research and Studies in Strengthening and Rehabilitation of Structures, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh
11421, Saudi Arabia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) have received the attention of several researchers over the last few decades
Concrete to overcome aggregate shortages and to push towards sustainable and environmental-friendly concrete.
Recycled concrete aggregate Nevertheless, utilizing recycled aggregates at a full replacement level may cause a reduction in its fresh, me­
Aggregate treatment
chanical, and durability characteristics compared to concrete produced with normal coarse aggregates (NCA).
Cement-silica fume slurry
Sodium silicate solution
This study aims at investigating the following influencing parameters: (a) four replacement levels of 0%, 33%,
LA abrasion 67%, and 100% of recycled aggregate, (b) two maximum aggregate sizes of 10 and 20 mm, and (c) three
treatment methods of (i) cement-silica fume slurry treatment (T1), (ii) sodium silicate solution treatment (T2),
and (iii) Los Angeles (LA) abrasion treatment (T3). The test results revealed that the fresh properties of concrete
were negatively impacted by the utilization of the untreated RCA, especially at higher replacement levels,
irrespective of maximum aggregate sizes. The treated RCA with T1, T2, and T3 enhanced the concrete slump by
15%-35% compared to the untreated RCA. While the reduction in compressive strength for the untreated
specimens was noticeable compared to the control specimens. The enhancement in the compressive strength for
the treated RCA by T1, T2, and T3 was more pronounced regardless of the maximum aggregate size. The
reduction in the water absorption for the treated RCA was clearly noticeable for the bigger aggregate size (20
mm) than that of 10 mm.

1. Introduction aggregate (NCA). Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is distinguished

Aggregates are vital ingredients and bulk constituents of Portland
cement concrete and asphalt concrete. In a typical concrete mixture, ag­
gregates constitute 60% to 75% by volume. The global annual production
of cement is estimated to be 4.7 and 5 billion tons in 2016 and 2020,
respectively, which is expected to grow to 8 billion tons by 2027 [1,2]. It is
worth mentioning here that the cement is mainly used in the production of
concrete. It is reported that approximately 25 billion tons of concrete is
estimated to be annually produced worldwide [3]. Increased use of nat­
ural resources of aggregates and depletion of good quality aggregates
have led to the shortages in good-quality aggregate and higher costs due
to the hauling of aggregates from distant locations [4-7].
Recycled construction materials, especially aggregates, have been
given attention over the last few decades to overcome aggregate short­
ages and to push towards sustainable and environmental-friendly con­
crete. Nevertheless, utilizing recycled aggregates at a full replacement
level may cause a reduction in its fresh, mechanical, and durability
characteristics compared to concrete produced with normal coarse
from NCA by the presence of adhered mortar [7,8]. This adhered mortar
consists of hydrated and unhydrated hardened cement paste attached to
the surface of virgin aggregates and tend to have higher volume of
porous materials, lower density, lower resistance to mechanical and
chemical resistance, significant water absorption, lower specific gravity,
lower aggregate crushing value, higher Los Angeles abrasion, and lower
10% fines value [9-16]. While there is no global consensus on a specific
standard test method to determine the amount of adhered mortar,
several researchers have proposed the following: nitric acid dissolution
method [7,17], freeze–thaw method [7,18], thermal expansion method
[7,19,20], and a hydrochloric acid dissolution method [21]. Butler et al.
[7] reported that the amount of the adhered mortar removed by the
thermal treatment method was on average 102.5% and 45% higher than
those of the nitric acid dissolution method and freeze–thaw method,
respectively. The specific gravity, absorption capacity, and abrasion
resistance may provide qualitative insight into the quality of adhered
mortar. The water absorption of NCA typically varied from 1 to 5%
whereas higher water absorption ranging from 3 to 12% is reported for

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ysalloum@ksu.edu.sa (Y.A. Al-Salloum).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.124960
Received 4 July 2021; Received in revised form 6 September 2021; Accepted 14 September 2021
Available online 23 September 2021
0950-0618/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A.S. Alqarni et al.
RCA [23]. It is worth mentioning that the adhered mortar reported in the
literature by several researchers varied from 20% to 56% [7,22-24].
Numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the character­
istics of RCA on the fresh and hardened properties [9,25-35]. Tabsh and
Abdelfatah [25] indicated that when RCA was utilized, additional water
of 10% was needed to produce the same slump of concrete mixed with
NCA. While the reduction in mechanical properties are inversely corre­
lated with increasing the replacement level of RCA, the degree of degra­
dation is influenced by concrete porosity, adhered mortar–aggregate
bonding [27], mortar-aggregate interface or interfacial transition zone
(ITZ) between the new mortar and the RCA [7], and properties of original
aggregates [34,35], and crushing process [14,15]. While the utilization of
high levels of RCA in concrete appeared to have an adverse effect on the
mechanical performance compared to control specimens, a replacement
level of 30% of RCA resulted in comparable mechanical characteristics to
that of NCA. At higher levels of RCA, it was suggested to make adjust­
ments in the w/c ratio to overcome the reduction in the performance of
RCA [36]. The quality of RCA plays an important role in the performance
of hardened concrete. Duan and Poon [32] indicated that the mechanical
properties of concrete created with good quality RCA, which had less
amount of adhered mortar, low water absorption, and high 10% fines
value, were comparable to concrete created with NCA. Moreover, the
strength performance of concrete from which the RCA is derived appears
to have a significant effect on the overall performance of concrete. Even
though the performance of concrete created from RCA whose original
compressive strengths were 30 MPa and 40 MPa, respectively, were lower
than the NCA, similar to slightly higher compressive strength results
compared to the control specimens were achieved for concrete with RCA
obtained from high-strength concrete (80 and 100 MPa) [37]. While the
stress-strain behavior of confined RCA is composed of three regions: linear
region, nonlinear region, and plateau region, the strength and deforma­
tion of the confined concrete by steel tube was not significantly affected
by the replacement level of RCA [38].
Several experimental studies have been carried out to improve the
characteristics of RCA and enhance the mechanical and durability per­
formance of concrete [39-42]. These treatment methods of RCA gener­
ally involve either enhancement of adhered mortar or removal of
adhered mortar. Enhancement of adhered mortar includes various
techniques, such as adjustment of concrete mixture proportions, incor­
poration of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), coating of
RCA with organic or inorganic admixtures, cementitious solutions
[40,43], carbonation method, and lime immersion with carbonation
[39], polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) impregnation [44]. On the other hand, the
removal of adhered mortar was performed by various means including
calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation on the surface of RCA, pre­
soaking of RCA in water and acidic solutions [45,46], crushing mills
[47], heat grinding [48,49], acetic acid immersion, acetic acid immer­
sion with mechanical rubbing, and acetic acid immersion with carbon­
ation [39], ultrasonic cleaning method [46], ball milling, heating-
rubbing technique [50,51], mechanical scrubbing, and heating-
scrubbing, hydrochloric acid (HCl), and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) [52].
Some researchers [53-56] reported that proper adjustment to the con­
crete mixing procedure resulted in compressive strength improvement
by 17%. Coating of RCA with silica fume and fly ash is considered the
most effective in terms of compressive strength growth [56]. In addition,
the utilization of inorganic admixtures [41] enhanced the compressive
strength by 15%. The incorporation of mineral admixture in the form of
fly ash and volcanic ash has been reported to improve the durability
properties of RCA [57]. When RCA is immersed in or sprayed with
cement, silica fume, or pozzolan slurry, the slurry penetrates into the
pores of the porous medium of adhered mortar of RCA until the voids are
completely filled. As a result, the microstructure of ITZ and concrete is
improved due the formation of C-S-H gel [8,46]. A thinner layer of
cement slurry on the surface of RCA was formed when a two-stage
mixing approach (TSMA) was adopted. Hence, the old ITZ-new mortar
bonding was greatly improved. Additionally, when the TSMA approach
2
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
was used, the durability and mechanical performance of concrete was
comparable to the normal mixing approach [58]. The premixing pro­
cedure of RCA with 2% of silica fume of the total cement resulted in
improved microstructure and ITZs [55]. Based on the promising results
of the TSMA approach, Kong et al. [59] suggested a triple mixing
approach for further improvement of the microstructure and ITZs. It
should be indicated that the particle size, amount of OH, alkalinity of
pore solution, and chemical reaction of supplementary cementitious
materials plays a significant role in the cement and/or pozzolan slurry. A
study by Singh et al. [60] revealed that due to the small particle size and
high reactivity of the nano-silica, the properties of RCA and concrete
were greatly enhanced. Sodium silicate solution penetrates through the
pores of the adhered mortar of RCA and reacts with the calcium hy­
droxide to form C-S-H gel. While there are limited studies on the effec­
tiveness of such treatment, Chen et al. [61] investigated a range of
sodium silicate solutions of 5%-40% and revealed that the soaking time
of RCA in the solution and the concentration of the solution appeared to
have significant impact on the RCA. It was shown that there is an opti­
mum level of concentration (5%) and soaking time (1 h) beyond which
the compressive strength started to decrease. Another study suggested
that the sodium silicate solution may create a layer on the surface of RCA
and may increase the risk of alkali-silica reaction due to the introduction
of alkalis into the system [62]. The carbonation treatment was found to
improve the physical properties of RCA as well as the mechanical
properties of the old ITZ adhered on the surface of RCA through the
conversion of Ca(OH)2 to CaCO3. While the rate of improvement is
proportionally related to exposure time, the 24 h carbonation treatment
resulted in the enhanced compressive strength, elastic modulus, and
microstructure of the ITZ of treated aggregates compared to that of
untreated aggregates [63]. Another study showed that the carbonation
treatment of the modeled recycled coarse aggregate (MRCA) resulted in
enhanced micro-hardness of the old ITZ and old mortar, compressive
strength, and modulus of elasticity in the modeled recycled aggregate
concrete (MRAC). The level of enhancement in micro-hardness was
more noticeable in the old ITZ than that of the old mortar and was
significantly noticed in the MRCA of a higher w/c ratio and the nu­
merical analysis validated the findings of the experimental results [64].
In addition, the push-out results revealed that the ITZ characteristics,
peak load, stiffness of both old hardened mortar (OHM) and new
hardened mortar (NHM) was improved for the carbonated MRAC
compared to the untreated ones. However, the carbonated MRAC
resulted in a lower ultimate displacement compared to untreated one
[65]. Kazmi et al. [42] indicated treatments of RCA with lime immersion
with carbonation and acetic acid immersion coupled with mechanical
rubbing had comparable stress-strain behavior to that of the control
concrete. The quality of recycled aggregates as well as the performance
of concrete appeared to have improved by heating-scrubbing treatment
[55]. Çakır and Dilbas [66] investigated the effect of the dual the opti­
mized Ball Mill Method (oBMM) and with silica fume (SF) and/or basalt
fiber (BF) at various replacement levels on durability properties of RCA.
The findings revealed that similar mechanical properties to the control
specimens can be achieved when up to 60% treated RCA with oBMM, 5-
10% SF, and 20% untreated RCA were used. Moreover, the abrasion
resistance, water absorption, and chloride migration exhibited signifi­
cant improvement for treated RCA compared to untreated RCA and were
comparable to the control concrete.
Although several studies have been conducted on RCA to investigate
the influence of the RCA on fresh, mechanical, and durability properties,
this research work explores, characterizes, and investigates the utiliza­
tion RCA produced from low-quality concrete of known constituents
considering two maximum aggregate sizes of 10 and 20 mm used at
various replacement levels on concrete performances. Additional
objective of this study was to investigate the effect of various RCA
treatment methods on the performance of concrete. The novelty of this
study lies in the fact that the majority of studies considered RCA of good
quality whose performance is comparable or slightly less than the
A.S. Alqarni et al. Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960

natural aggregate. Therefore, conflicting results are seen in the literature
with respect to the overall performance, maximum replacement level,
effect of maximum aggregate size, and effectiveness of treatment
methods. However, the objective of the present study was to utilize
substantial quantities of RCA obtained from low-quality concrete in
producing concrete of acceptable performance level. In addition, the
treatment methods were optimized by varying the parameters involved
in the methods adopted. The outcomes of this research will enable the
concrete industry in Saudi Arabia and globally to better make a
reasonable judgment on the use of RCA, especially that obtained from
low quality demolition concrete, and the type of treatment required to
meet the technical requirements of such concrete organizations. More­
over, this will increase the utilization of RCA to produce adequate per­
formance of concrete and to will push towards sustainable and green
concrete.
2. Experimental program
2.1. Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA)
Several trial concrete specimens produced with RCA collected from
both different sources and strength grades were tested and the results
showed both variation in the performance and high level of uncertainty.
In order to achieve consistency in the test results, reduce the variability,
and better characterize RCA, concrete blocks of 1000×1000×250 mm in
size were produced. The concrete mixture utilized for the blocks was
designed to produce a low-strength concrete in the range of 15–20 MPa,
which is most likely to have higher volume of voids and greater water
absorption demand. Following the casting and curing of the concrete
blocks, they were broken into smaller sizes and were then placed into the
jaw crusher feed of an onsite aggregate crusher. While the crushing
process resulted in RCA of combined various sizes, additional effort was
made to separate the RCA into three categories: (i) small size (>4.75
mm), (ii) medium size (4.75–25 mm), and (iii) large size (>25 mm). The
small and large sizes of RCA were discarded and only the medium size
RCA was only considered. The medium size RCA was then sieved for the
segregation of RCA of different size fractions of 25, 19.0, 9.51, and 4.75
mm in accordance with the ASTM C33 [67]. The physical properties
including specific gravity and water absorption of individual size frac­
tions of RCA obtained in accordance with the ASTM C127 [68] are
illustrated in Table 1.
2.2. Treatment methods of RCA
Three methods of treatment of RCA were employed: (i) cement-silica
fume slurry treatment (T1), (ii) sodium silicate solution treatment (T2),
and (iii) Los Angeles (LA) abrasion treatment (T3). The objective of the
first two treatment methods was to strengthen the adhered mortar by
filling pores in the adhered mortar, whereas the third method was
intended to remove the adhered mortar by abrasion.
In the cement-silica fume slurry treatment (T1), the RCA was dried in
oven at 100 ◦ C for 24 h and then was removed from the oven and kept at
25 ◦ C to cool down. While the ratio of cement to silica fume was kept
fixed, various weight percentages of cement-silica fume slurry of 20%,
30%, 40%, and 50% were investigated. Because the average particle size
of silica fume is about 100 to 150 times smaller than the average particle
size of Portland cement and much smaller than any other supplementary
cementitious materials (SCMs), it was hypothesized that the silica fume
could enhance the penetration of slurry into the pores of adhered mortar
of RCA. The cement-silica fume slurry solution was prepared by mixing
the cement and silica fume in different percentages with water by
weight. The RCA was then immersed in the cement-silica fume slurry
solution and mixed for 30 min. After mixing, RCA was removed and
allowed to dry out for 24 h before it was subsequently cured using wet
gunny bags for 7 days. It was observed that increasing the amounts of
cement and silica fume resulted in thicker coat covering the RCA ag­
gregates, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Although full hydration of cement
cannot be achieved in 7 days, this duration was good enough for keeping
the thin coat of cement intact during the mixing process in the pro­
duction of concrete and the remaining unhydrated portion of cement
were hydrated with the hydration of concrete after casting.
Similarly, in the sodium silicate solution treatment (T2), the RCA
was dried in oven at 100 ◦ C for 24 h and then was removed from oven
and kept at 25 ◦ C to cool down. Additional effort was put into ensuring
that a clean and dust-free RCA was achieved. The sodium silicate solu­
tion was diluted with water and various weight percentages for the so­
dium silicate of 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% were examined. Sodium
silicate reacts with calcium hydroxide in adhered mortar at the surface
of RCA to form calcium silicate in the pores. It was hypothesized that the
sodium silicate solution could increase surface hardness of RCA. The
RCA was then immersed in the sodium silicate solution and mixed for 30
min until the solution ceased to absorb. After mixing, RCA was removed
and allowed to dry out for 24 h. It was observed that RCA exhibited
perceptible discoloration upon the immersion in sodium-silicate solu­
tion. The degree of discoloration increased as the sodium-silicate per­
centages were increased, as illustrated in Fig. 2.
However, the Los Angeles (LA) abrasion treatment (T3) was
employed to remove the adhered mortar on RCA. In order to optimize
the treatment method, two diameters of steel balls as well as different
duration of operations were considered. Besides using the standard LA
abrasion in which eight steel balls of 46 mm are used (ASTM C131 /
C131 M [69] and ASTM C535 [70]), eight steel balls of a bigger diameter
of 60 mm were also used, as presented in Fig. 3. The purpose of using
large size balls was to accelerate the process of abrasion and removal of
the adhered mortar. It should be indicated that the standard ball size is
used only for assessing the quality or competence of aggregate, whereas

Table 1
Physical properties of NCA and RCA of various size fractions.
Particle size (mm) Bulk dry specific gravity Bulk SSD specific gravity Apparent specific gravity Water absorption (%) LA abrasion (%)

Normal coarse aggregates (NCA)

4.75–9.5 2.596 2.622 2.660 1.03 22.0
9.5–12.7 2.514 2.569 2.643 1.22
12.7–19 2.546 2.566 2.630 1.70
19–25 2.514 2.564 2.633 1.19
Range 2.514–2.596 2.564–2.622 2.630–2.660 1.03–1.70
Average 2.543 2.580 2.642 1.28

Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA)

4.75–9.5 2.017 2.236 2.584 10.89 38.6
9.5–12.7 2.161 2.329 2.597 7.77
12.7–19 2.231 2.377 2.613 6.55
19–25 2.161 2.325 2.587 7.63
Range 2.017–2.231 2.236–2.377 2.584–2.613 6.55–10.89
Average 2.143 2.317 2.595 8.21
RCA/NCA (Average) 0.84 0.90 0.98 6.40 1.76

3
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 1. RCA treated with cement-silica fume slurry solution (a) 20%, (b) 30%, (c) 40%, and (d) 50%.
the proposed LA abrasion treatment in this study is utilized to remove
adhered mortar without causing any damage to aggregates to which
mortar is adhered. Moreover, three durations of LA abrasion: were
investigated: (i) 5 min @ 33 rotations/min (equivalent to about 150
rotations), (ii) 10 min (equivalent to approximately 300 rotations), (iii)
15 min (≈ 450 rotations). It can be inferred from Fig. 4 that this treat­
ment resulted in noticeable removal of adhered mortar except small
increase in the fine fraction due to the minor abrasion of aggregate.
2.3. Concrete mixture proportions
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) conforming to ASTM C150 [71]
obtained from Riyadh Cement Co. was used in all concrete mixtures. A
blend of both white fine sand (70%) and crushed sand (30%) were used
as fine aggregates whereas NCA and RCA with two maximum sizes of 10
and 20 mm were utilized as coarse aggregates. The gradations for the
fine and coarse aggregates adopted in this study were chosen to satisfy
the requirement of the ASTM C33 [67].
The concrete mixtures were designed with the consideration of four
influencing parameters, including maximum size of aggregates, treat­
ment methods of RCA, and replacement levels of RCA. Concrete mix­
tures with a target compressive strength of 30 MPa were designed and
considered two maximum aggregate sizes of 10 and 20 mm, as illus­
trated in Table 2. The mix proportion was the same for the two sizes of
aggregates. While the control mixtures contained 100% of crushed
limestone coarse aggregates, referred throughout the paper as NCA,
serving as reference mixtures. The RCA mixtures had various replace­
ment levels of 33%, 67%, and 100%. As for the treatment methods (T1,
T2, and T3), the concrete mixtures used the aforementioned parameters
adopted for the untreated concrete specimens. The concrete mixtures
proportions shown in Table 2 were employed under laboratory
controlled environment and the mixing procedure was in accordance
4
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
with ACI 211 [72]. It is worth mentioning here that the same cement and
coarse aggregate (i.e., crushed limestone aggregate) were used in the
preparation of concrete blocks prepared for obtaining RCA.
2.4. Specimens and testing
Standard concrete cylinder specimens of 100×200 mm were used for
each concrete mixture and were kept in their molds for 24 h and
following demolding, the concrete specimens were then labeled and
cured in well-controlled environment of fog room (20 ± 2 ◦ C, 95%
relative humidity) for 28 days. The concrete specimens were split into
two groups: untreated and treated specimens. The physical and me­
chanical properties were determined for each concrete mix. The aggre­
gates testing performed in accordance with the ASTM standard test
methods in this study included specific gravity, water absorption, and
abrasion resistance [67-72]. The fresh and hardened concrete properties
determined in this study included slump, compressive strength, splitting
tensile strength, and water absorption, for the specimens of untreated
and treated coarse aggregates of the two maximum sizes of 10 and 20
mm.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Untreated RCA
3.1.1. Characteristics of RCA
The characteristics of RCA in terms of specific gravity, water ab­
sorption [59], and LA abrasion resistance [69,70] are summarized in
Table 1. While the specific gravity values for RCA were approximately
18.7% higher than that of NCA, the water absorption demand for RCA
was substantially higher than that of NCA, with a RCA to NCA ratio of
6.5. In addition, the LA abrasion resistance of RCA appeared to have a
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 2. RCA treated with sodium-silicate solution (a) 50%, (b) close-up 50%, (c) close-up 40%, (d) close-up 30%, (e) close-up 20%, and (f) untreated RCA.
significant mass loss (38.6%) compared to that of NCA (22.0%). The
significant reduction in abrasion resistance and substantial increase in
water absorption demand was attributed to the poor quality of RCA due
to the presence of porous volume of adhered mortar on RCA surface.
3.1.2. Fresh concrete properties
The fresh properties of concrete specimens in terms of flowability of
concrete were determined using the slump test according to ASTM C143
[73]. The reduction in the slump results as illustrated in Table 3
generally increased as the replacement levels for RCA was increased
relative to NCA, which is consistent with the findings of the past studies
[37,74]. The reduction in the slump for the concrete with RCA
replacement levels of 33%, 67%, and 100% compared to the control
mixtures varied from 20% to 40 %.
5
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
3.1.3. Compressive strength
The compressive strength of concrete obtained in accordance with
the ASTM C39/C39M-20 [75] for two maximum aggregate sizes of 10
and 20 mm are shown in Fig. 5(a). The reduction in the compressive
strength was more pronounced for the 20-mm aggregate size than that of
the 10-mm aggregate size. The concrete specimens with 10-mm aggre­
gate size exhibited gradual reduction in the compressive strength as the
replacement levels increased with up to 67% after which the reduction
rate started to become very significant. The reduction in the compressive
strength for the specimens at 33% and 67% replacement level was 15%
and 30%, respectively, whereas 62% reduction was recorded at 100%
replacement level. Nevertheless, the reduction in the compressive
strength for the concrete specimens with 20-mm aggregate size was
significantly noticeable up to a replacement level of 33% followed by
A.S. Alqarni et al. Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960

Fig. 3. Two diameters of steel balls used in the treatment: (a) standard (46 mm diameter), and (b) 60 mm diameter.

Fig. 4. (a) Untreated RCA, (b) Close-up of untreated RCA, (c) Treated RCA by LA abrasion, and (d) Close-up of treated RCA.

minor reduction until 100% replacement level. The reduction in
strength at 33%, 67%, and 100% replacement levels relative to the
control specimens were 44%, 47%, and 55%, respectively. The findings
of the compressive strength reduction with increasing replacement
levels are in agreement with the trends of Kwan et al. [10] and Andreu
and Miren [34]. The commonality of this study with the previous studies
[10,34] is that low-quality of original concrete from which RCA was
obtained and the presence of high porous adhered mortar on the surface
of RCA. The failure planes of the normal strength concrete created with
NCA typically occurs around the aggregate which is attributed to either
the interface between mortar and aggregate or interfacial transition
zone (ITZ), whereas the failure planes for concrete produced using
recycled aggregate is mainly influenced by either the adhered mortar,
sometimes referred to as old ITZ and new ITZ [7]. The reduction in the
compressive in this study can be explained as follows: the quality of RCA
was very poor and had high volume of porous material which was the
limiting factor. It is hypothesized that the bigger size (20 mm) of recy­
cled concrete aggregate had higher volume of the poor-quality adhered

6
A.S. Alqarni et al. Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960

Table 2 size of aggregate. The rate of increase in water absorption at 33%

Concrete mixture proportions for the concrete specimens for two maximum replacement level was very significant (3 times higher than the control
aggregate sizes of 10 and 20 mm. concrete). Beyond the 33% replacement level, the rate of increase in
Materials RCA replacement levels of RCA relative to normal water absorption was slightly increasing (less than 19% at 100
coarse aggregate (NCA)* replacement level). The effect of the maximum size of aggregate did not
0% 33% 66% 100% follow a definite trend. The 20-mm maximum aggregate size resulted in
a higher water absorption at 0% and 100% replacement levels whereas
W/C 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Cement (kg/m3) 300 300 300 300 the water absorption was higher for the 10-mm maximum aggregate size
Water (kg/m3) 159 177 195 213 at 33% and 67% replacement levels. This increase in the water ab­
Crushed limestone (kg/m3) 1016 681 345 0 sorption was attributed to the low-quality of RCA and the high volume of
Recycled aggregate (kg/m3) 0 335 671 1016 porosity in the adhered mortar.
Fine aggregate (kg/m3) 940 940 940 940
Target compressive strength 30 30 30 30
(MPa) 3.2. Treated RCA
Maximum size of aggregate** 10 (or 10 (or 10 (or 10 (or
(mm) 20) 20) 20) 20) 3.2.1. Characteristics of treated RCA
*
0% is the control mixture, which served as the reference mixture. It is evident that the fresh and hardened properties of concrete de­
**
Mixes were prepared using 10 as well as 20 mm size of aggregates. creases when RCA was utilized, especially at higher replacement levels.
In order to utilize higher volumes of RCA in concrete without signifi­
cantly causing negative impacts on performance of concrete, it was very
Table 3 essential to improve the characteristics of RCA. Three methods of
Slump test results for concrete produced using treated and untreated concrete treatment of RCA were employed: (i) cement-silica fume slurry treat­
specimens at various replacement levels.
ment (T1), (ii) sodium silicate solution treatment (T2), and (iii) Los
Concrete mixture designation Replacement level of RCA Angeles (LA) abrasion treatment (T3). The objective of the first two
0% 33% 66% 100% methods was to strengthen the adhered mortar by filling pores in the
mortar, whereas the third treatment method was based on the concept of
Untreated RCA (mm) 140 112 94 84
Cement-silica fume slurry treatment (T1) (mm) 140 128 110 93 removing the adhered mortar by abrasion. The aggregate characteristics
Sodium silicate solution treatment (T2) (mm) 140 140 113 102 were evaluated based on water absorption, LA abrasion, and visual in­
Los Angeles (LA) abrasion treatment (T3) (mm) 140 148 126 113 spection to determine the optimum performance.

3.2.2. Treatment method T1 using cement-silica fume slurry immersion

mortar compared to that of the 10 mm and led to ineffective bonding
The water absorption and LA abrasion of RCA treated with cement-
between the new ITZ and RCA which resulted in lower compressive
silica fume slurry (T1) are presented in Fig. 7. The primary objective
strength.
of this treatment was to enable the cement-silica fume solution to
penetrate in and fill the porous material of adhered mortar whose ab­
3.1.4. Splitting tensile strength
sorption capacity and permeability were high. The results indicated that
The splitting tensile strength of concrete obtained in accordance with
as the cement-silica fume concentrations increased, the water absorp­
the ASTM C496/C496M-17 [76] for two maximum aggregate sizes of 10
tion and LA abrasion decreased up to 40% after which no further
and 20 mm are shown in Fig. 5(b). The splitting tensile strength results
improvement in the water absorption was achieved and worst abrasion
followed the same trends observed in the compressive strength results.
resistance was noticed. In addition, the treated RCA with 20% and 30%
The concrete specimens with 10-mm aggregate size showed generally
concentrations of cement-silica fume solution showed partial coating,
higher tensile strength up to a replacement level of 67% compared to
whereas the 50% concentration resulted in excessively thick coating on
that of 20-mm aggregate size. Nevertheless, at a replacement level
RCA surfaces, which could cause an increase in aggregate size or could
beyond 67%, specimens with 20-mm aggregate size had better perfor­
result in inferior aggregate interlocking, as shown in Fig. 1. The visual
mance. While the splitting tensile strength decreased as the amount of
inspection indicated that at 50% concentration of cement-silica fume
RCA was increased, the rate of the reduction compared to the rate of the
slurry, the slurry was not as flowable as the lower percentages. Moreover
reduction in compressive strength was less pronounced. For the three
at 50% concentration, not all porous medium of adhered mortar of RCA
replacement levels of NCA by RCA (i.e., 33%, 66%, and 100%), the
was filled with the slurry. Instead, it coated the RCA particle with a thick
reduction in the tensile strength compared to the control specimens was
layer. Therefore, it was evident from the results that the optimum
3%, 20%, and 52% for the specimens of 10-mm aggregate size, respec­
cement-silica fume solution was 40%.
tively, and 22%, 29%, and 39% for specimens with 20-mm aggregate
size, respectively. The reduction was due to the excessive amounts of
3.2.3. Treatment method T2 using sodium silicate immersion
porous adhered mortar on RCA [34]. Moreover, the ratios of the splitting
The water absorption and LA abrasion of RCA treated with sodium
tensile strength to the compressive strength ranged from 14.6% to
silicate solution (T2) are presented in Fig. 7. Likewise, the main objec­
18.0%. Silva et al. [77] indicated that several factors, such as crushing
tive of this treatment was to enable sodium silicate solution to react with
process, mixing procedure, water reducing admixtures, supplementary
calcium hydroxide in adhered mortar at the surface of RCA to form
cementitious materials, caused reduction in splitting tensile strength
calcium silicate in the pores and ultimately densify the adhered mortar.
when RCA was used at higher replacement levels compared to the NCA.
The aggregates treated with 20% and 30% concentration of sodium
silicate solution show partial treatment and discoloration of RCA started
3.1.5. Water absorption
to become visible, whereas the RCA treated with 50% concentration
The water absorption results of concrete conducted in accordance
shows thick coating of sodium silicate and resulted in noticeable
with the ASTM C1585-20 [78] for two maximum aggregate sizes of 10
yellowish surface coloration of RCA, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The results
and 20 mm are shown in Fig. 6. The water absorption provides an insight
showed that the water absorption significantly reduced with increasing
into the durability of concrete. The lower the water absorption, the
the concentration from 0% to 40%. Nevertheless, an additional increase
better the permeability, which ultimately indicates enhanced durability.
in the concentration beyond 40% caused insignificant reduction in water
Generally, the water absorption of concrete was increased as the
absorption. Moreover, the LA abrasion results appeared to follow the
replacement level of RCA was increased, irrespective of the maximum
same trend observed in (T1) that a 40% concentration of the sodium

7
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 5. Strength results of RCA at various replacement levels for two maximum sizes of aggregates of 10 and 20 mm: (a) compressive strength, and (b) splitting
tensile strength.
silicate solution resulted in the highest abrasion resistance. Therefore, it
is evident from the results that the optimum concentration of sodium
silicate solution was 40%.
Although the trends of variation of water absorption and LA abrasion
of the two treatment methods (T1 and T2) are comparable, the water
absorption and LA abrasion for T2 was lower than that of T1. This in­
crease in water absorption in T1 can be attributed to the additional
water needed for the newly hardened cement-silica fume paste inside
the porous material of adhered mortar. Likewise, for the abrasion
resistance, the newly hardened cement-silica fume paste filling and the
porous material adhered mortar and partially coating the surface of RCA
may result in increase in weight and some part of this coating is likely to
be lost after some revolutions of LA abrasion test.
8
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
3.2.4. Treatment method T3 using LA abrasion simulation
Unlike the previous two treatments, this mechanical-based treatment
involves removing the adhered mortar of RCA using LA abrasion. In
order to assess the performance of the methods, two weights of steel
balls with diameters (D1 and D2) of 46 mm and 60 mm, respectively, and
three durations (T1, T2, and T3) of 5, 10, and 15 min, respectively, were
investigated. Since the RCA was produced from concrete specimens of a
known aggregate source, the optimum weight and duration was deter­
mined such that the adhered mortar was only removed and no damage
occurred in the virgin aggregates of RCA. The effects of weights and
durations on the size distribution for NCA and RCA are shown in Fig. 8
(a) and 8(b), respectively. Fig. 8(b) indicates that the aggregates parti­
cles in range of 19 to 25 mm reduced to less than 19 mm due to the
removal of adhered mortar after L.A. abrasion.
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 6. Water absorption in concrete produced using NCA and RCA for two
maximum sizes of aggregates of 10 and 20 mm.
Fig. 7. LA abrasion and water absorption of RCA treated using different con­
centrations of cement-silica fume slurry (treatment T1), and sodium silicate
solution (treatment T2).
The results indicated that LA abrasion using a steel ball diameter of 48
mm for 5 and 10 min had almost no effect on the NCA grading, which
implied no damage occurred in NCA, except small increase in the fine
fraction. However, increasing the duration to 15 min with the same
diameter caused abrasion and minor damage to NCA resulting in a
reduction in aggregate sizes. Additionally, increasing the steel ball di­
ameters from 48 mm to 60 mm generally caused more abrasion to NCA,
especially at higher durations. The gradation curves of NCA for a steel ball
dimeter of 46 mm and a duration of 10 min were very identical to that of a
steel ball diameter of 60 mm and a duration of 5 min, indicating that NCA
were still intact. The longer duration of 15 min caused significant abrasion
of NCA, irrespective of steel ball diameters. Therefore, the optimal steel
ball diameter and duration were 60 mm and 5 min, respectively.
The same procedure was also carried out on RCA to determine the
degree of adhered mortar removal. Unlike NCA, even at smaller steel
ball diameter and lesser duration the LA abrasion of RCA was significant
which resulted in significant aggregate gradation curves. This was
attributed to loss of adhered mortar on the surface of RCA. The differ­
ences in the gradation results between utilizing a steel ball dimeter of 46
mm and a duration of 10 min and utilizing a steel ball diameter of 60 mm
and a duration of 5 min were insignificant, implying both schemes
caused the same removal of adhered mortar.
It can be seen from Fig. 8(a) that the gradation curves of NCA after
LA abrasion using different steel ball diameters (46 and 60 mm) and
9
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
operating times or revolutions (5, 10, and 15 min.) caused increasing
shift in the gradation curve from the gradation curve of original NCA
with the increase in the operating time and increase in the diameter of
steel balls. However, the optimal steel ball diameter of 60 mm and
duration of 5 min had almost no effect on the gradation curve of NCA.
Thus, based on the gradation curves and the visual inspection, it was
possible to determine the optimum parameters in terms of ball dimeter
and revolutions that would cause removal of adhered mortar without
causing significant damage to virgin aggregate of RCA.
3.2.5. Fresh concrete properties
The flowability of concrete improved for the concrete produced using
treated RCA compared to those of produced using untreated RCA, as
shown in Table 3. Despite the improvement in the flowability of concrete
following the treatment of RCA, this improvement seemed to decrease as
the replacement level was increased. The LA abrasion treatment pro­
duced the optimum flowability of concrete followed by the sodium sili­
cate treatment and to less extent the cement-silica fume treatment. The
improvement in the slump for the treated specimens ranged from 15% to
35% compared to the untreated specimens. The improvement in slump
for T1 at various replacement level of 33%, 67%, and 100% compared to
the untreated specimens was 14.3%, 11.7%, and 11.1%, respectively.
Also, T2 resulted in the improvement in the slump relative to the un­
treated concrete by 25% for a replacement level of 33% and by 20% for a
replacement level of 67%, and 100%. The increase in the slump for T2
compared to T1 can be attributed to the high water absorption of the
cement-silica fume slurry than the sodium silicate solution. The charac­
teristics of treated RCA in Fig. 7 revealed that the water absorption of
RCA treated with T1 had higher water absorption of 33.3% than that of
treated with T2, which explains the reduction in slump for T1. The
removal of adhered mortar attached on the surface of RCA for T3 enabled
the concrete mixture to achieve the highest slump compared to the other
treatment methods (i.e., T1 and T2). The increase in slump for T3
compared to the untreated concrete at various replacement levels ranged
from 32.1% to 34.5%.
3.2.6. Compressive strength
The compressive strength obtained in accordance with the ASTM
C39/C39M-20 [75] at various replacement levels for the three schemes
of treatments: T1, T2, and T3 are illustrated in Fig. 9(a and b) for the two
aggregate sizes, respectively. All treatment methods enhanced the
compressive strength regardless of the maximum aggregate size. The
degree of improvement in compressive strength for all employed treat­
ments was more pronounced in the 20-mm aggregate size specimens for
replacement levels of up to 67%, whereas at 100% replacement level,
the 10-mm aggregate size specimens exhibited better performance, as
indicated in Fig. 9(a and b). The sodium silicate treatment was found to
have a superior performance in terms of compressive strength compared
to that of cement-silica fume treatment for the two maximum sizes of
aggregates, even though both treatment mechanisms involve densifying
and hardening the adhered mortar. The increase in compressive strength
for T1 and T2 varied between 0% and 70%. It is hypothesized that the
treated RCA with cement-silica fume slurry resulted in partially to
excessively thick coating on the surface of RCA, which caused an in­
crease in aggregate size, negatively impacted surface texture and
roughness, reduced RCA interlocking with new ITZ. These factors led to
inferior concrete performance. On the other hand, the sodium silicate
solution reacts with calcium hydroxide in adhered mortar on the surface
of RCA to form calcium silicate in the pores and ultimately densifies the
adhered mortar. However, the LA abrasion treatment (T3), which in­
volves removing the adhered mortar, produced the highest compressive
strength results compared to the other treatments for both aggregate
sizes. The level of improvement for this treatment relative to the un­
treated RCA ranged from 20% to 120%. This increase in strength
compared to the other treatment methods can be attributed to the partial
to full removal of porous adhered mortar, the weakest element of RCA,
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 8. Effect of weight and duration on LA Abrasion of: (a) NCA, and (b) RCA.
and to improvement in bonding between RCA and new ITZ, and
enhancement in roughened surface texture. The effect of maximum
aggregate size appeared to play a role in the treated RCA and the
compressive strength of concrete. While the compressive strength of
concrete produced with a maximum aggregate size of 10 mm resulted in
a higher strength than that of the 20 mm-maximum aggregate size, all
treatment methods (i.e., T1, T2, and T3) exhibited better compressive
strength performance by 10%. This improvement in the compressive
strength for the bigger size of aggregate was due to having higher
exposed porous adhered mortar on the surface of RCA particles. This
enabled the treatments to effectively work and ultimately improve RCA-
new ITZ bond.
3.2.7. Splitting tensile strength
The splitting-tensile strength results obtained in accordance with the
ASTM C496/C496M-17 [76] at various replacement levels for three
schemes of treatment: T1, T2, and T3 are presented in Fig. 10(a and b),
10
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
respectively. Unlike the compressive strength results, the improvement
in the splitting strength did not follow a specific trend with respect to
maximum aggregate sizes, as seen from Fig. 10(a and b). The cement-
silica fume treatment resulted in an insignificant improvement (less
than 8%) in the tensile strength, whereas an increase up to 22% in the
tensile strength was noticed for the sodium silicate treatment. The me­
chanical treatment by LA abrasion appeared to achieve comparable
performance with that of the cement-silica fume treatment. Moreover,
the ratios of the splitting tensile strength to the compressive strength for
the treated specimens ranged from 12.8% to 15.6%. These findings were
consistent with the observed results in the compressive strength. The
effect of maximum aggregate size of the treated RCA was more notice­
able in the bigger aggregate size for replacement levels of 33% and 67%.
However, at 100% replacement level, the 10-mm aggregate size showed
better performance. It was observed that the differences in tensile
strength of concrete for T2 and T3 between the two sizes (i.e., 10 and 20
mm) were comparable at all replacement levels. However, the splitting
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 9. Compressive strength results of treated RCA at various replacement levels for maximum size of aggregate of: (a) 10 mm, and (b) 20 mm.
tensile strength of concrete with RCA treated with T1 didn’t follow a
definite trend with respect to the maximum aggregate size.
3.2.8. Water absorption
The water absorption results of concrete obtained in accordance
with the ASTM C1585-20 [78] for the three treatments T1, T2, and T3
and different replacement levels of RCA are shown in Fig. 11. The
reduction in the water absorption was clearly noticeable for the bigger
aggregate size (20 mm) than that of 10 mm. Generally, the water ab­
sorption of concrete was increased as the replacement level of RCA
was increased. The reduction in water absorption was more pro­
nounced in the 20-mm maximum aggregate size than that of the 10-
mm maximum aggregate size, regardless of the treatment method
employed. Moreover, the increase in water absorption at 33% and 67%
for the bigger aggregate size was insignificant compared to smaller
aggregate size. The reduction in the water absorption for the cement-
silica fume treatment at 100% replacement level was insignificant
(<4%) compared to the untreated RCA, whereas the reduction was
substantially higher for the sodium silicate treatment at the full
11
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
replacement level, ranging from 14.3% to 28.8% for 10- and 20-mm
maximum aggregate sizes, respectively. The optimum performance
of water absorption was achieved with the LA abrasion treatment,
resulting in considerably great reduction in water absorption of 35.6%
for the 10-mm maximum aggregate size and 48.5% for the 20-mm
maximum aggregate size when 100% replacement level was used.
This significant reduction can be attributed to the removal of the
adhered mortar of RCA which had high volume of porous materials
and high water absorption demand. The findings of this study are in
agreement with the findings of Dilbas et al. [79] that the water ab­
sorption of RCA treated with Ball Milling Method (BMM) was reduced
from 8.95% to 0.84% with a combination of 10 steel balls and 500
revolutions.
4. Conclusions
The effect of the following influencing parameters was investigated:
(i) four replacement levels of 0%, 33%, 67%, and 100% of NCA by RCA,
(ii) two maximum aggregate sizes of 10 and 20 mm, and (iii) three
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 10. Splitting tensile strength results of treated RCA at various replacement levels for maximum aggregate size of: (a) 10 mm, and (b) 20 mm.
methods of treating RCA (T1: cement-silica fume slurry treatment, T2:
sodium silicate solution treatment, and T3: LA abrasion treatment). The
aggregates were characterized by physical and mechanical properties
while the fresh and hardened properties of concrete including slump
test, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and water absorp­
tion were used to investigate the performance of concrete.
Based on the experimental test results, the following conclusions can
be drawn:
1. Due to the poor quality of RCA, the water absorption by RCA was 6.5
times the NCA and LA abrasion of RCA was also significantly higher
(38.6%) as compared to NCA (22.0%).
2. The fresh properties of concrete were negatively impacted by the
utilization of the untreated RCA, especially at higher replacement
levels, irrespective of maximum aggregate size. The compressive and
tensile strengths decreased with the increase in the replacement
levels but the variation in strength against replacement levels was
not linear. The splitting tensile strength followed almost the same
trend as observed in the compressive strength results. The ratio of the
12
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
splitting tensile strength to the compressive strength ranged from
14.6% to 18.0%.
3. Based on the results of physical properties and abrasion resistance of
RCA, the optimal concentration of cement-silica fume slurry and
sodium silicate solution for treating the RCA was 40%. For the
treatment method T3, the optimal steel ball diameter and duration
were 60 mm and 5 min., respectively.
4. The LA abrasion treatment produced the optimum flowability of
concrete followed by the sodium silicate treatment and to less extent
the cement-silica fume treatment. The improvement in the slump of
concrete produced using treated RCA ranged from 15% to 35%
compared to the untreated RCA.
5. The RCA treated using the adopted treatment methods enhanced the
performance of concrete, especially for the 20-mm aggregate size.
The LA abrasion treatment produced the highest compressive
strength results followed by sodium silicate solution treatment, and
then cement-silica fume for both maximum aggregate sizes. Unlike
the compressive strength, the sodium silicate solution and LA abra­
sion treatments had comparable splitting tensile strength.
A.S. Alqarni et al.
Fig. 11. Water absorption of treated to untreated RCA at various replacement
levels for maximum aggregate size of: (a) 10 mm, and (b) 20 mm.
6. The reduction in the water absorption by concrete produced using
treated RCA was clearly noticeable for the bigger aggregate size (20
mm) than that of 10 mm aggregate size. The optimum performance
of water absorption was achieved for the LA abrasion treatment first
and followed by sodium silicate solution treatment, and then cement-
silica fume slurry treatment.
7. The primary limitation of this study is that the RCA used in this study
was obtained from low-quality concrete of known constituents. The
RCA obtained from a construction and demolition waste may have
different properties. Therefore, additional study is required to the
assess the performance of concrete produced from construction and
demolition waste and to evaluate the treatment methods of RCA on
the overall concrete performance.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Ali S. Alqarni: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation,
Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Husain Abbas:
Visualization, Investigation, Data curation, Writing - original draft,
Writing - review & editing. Khattab M. Al-Shwikh: Methodology, Writing
- original draft, Writing - review & editing. Yousef A. Al-Salloum: Su­
pervision, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Writing - review & editing.
13
Construction and Building Materials 307 (2021) 124960
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to the Deanship of Scientific Research,
King Saud University, for funding through Vice Deanship of Scientific
Research Chairs.
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