Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

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

Performance evaluation of recycled aggregate concrete incorporating

limestone calcined clay cement (LC3)
Menghuan Guo a, b, Guoqiang Gong a, b, Yanchao Yue a, b, Feng Xing a, b, Yingwu Zhou a, b, *,
Biao Hu a, b
a
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
b
Key Laboratory for Resilient Infrastructures of Coastal Cities (Shenzhen University), Ministry of Education, China

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

Handling Editor: Zhen Leng Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) incorporating limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) holds promise as a so­
lution to the depletion of natural resources for construction materials and is a way to mitigate the environmental
Keywords: impacts of energy-intensive cement production. The ternary binder system demonstrates an overwhelming in­
Recycled aggregate concrete fluence on the phase assemblage of RAC matrix, and the kinetics of hydration reaction are altered from the early
Limestone calcined clay cement
formation stage. The pore structure is significantly refined, and the porosity is reduced. The ameliorated
Strength
microstructure contributes to the significant improvement of the chloride penetration resistance of RAC without
Chloride resistance
Electrical resistivity noticeably compromising its mechanical strength. For RAC incorporating 50% LC3, the reduction ratio of the
Pore structure chloride rapid migration coefficient could reach 94% while the strength loss ratio is only 12% at 300 days
compared to the reference group. The electrical resistance of RAC using LC3 is also remarkably improved because
of the formation of a denser matrix as well as the reduction of available OH− in the pore solution of LC3 blends.
According to a life cycle assessment analysis, the environmental impact of RAC is significantly reduced with the
maximum reduction ratio being 42% due to the incorporation of LC3 because cement is the largest contributor to
both carbon emissions and energy consumption. The combination of recycled aggregate and LC3 is a promising
approach to improving the overall performance of RAC and mitigating the environmental impacts for concrete
production.

1. Introduction
Reusing waste concrete is an effective way to promote a sustainable
construction industry. The application of recycled aggregate concrete
(RAC) not only alleviates the burden placed on natural resources for
construction materials, but also mitigates the tremendous environ­
mental pressure of construction and demolition (C&D) waste disposal.
Substantial studies concerning the workability, mechanical strength,
and durability of RAC have been carried out (Adessina et al., 2019;
Kurda et al., 2018; Liang et al., 2015; Mistri et al., 2020; Santos et al.,
2017; Wang et al., 2021; Ying et al., 2017), and many achievements
have been made (Ding and Xiao, 2014; Marinkovic et al., 2017;
Velay-Lizancos et al., 2018; Xiao et al., 2012; Ying and Xiao, 2013; Ying
et al., 2020). Nevertheless, recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) obtained by
crushing and grinding waste concrete exhibits inherent defects. A
certain amount of old adhered mortar is left on the surface of conven­
tional aggregate (Otsuki et al., 2003; Xu et al., 2021); crushing caused
microcracks pre-exist in RCA (Poon et al., 2004); and old and new
interfacial transition zones (ITZ) are present in RAC (Li et al., 2016;
Liang et al., 2022; Xiao et al., 2013a). RCA with complicated micro­
structures usually exhibits high porosity, high water absorption, and low
particle strength (Bosque et al., 2017; Li et al., 2012; Zhao et al., 2020).
Consequently, the overall performance of RAC is generally inferior to
that of normal concrete (Guo et al., 2018, Tang et al., 2021; Meng et al.,
2020).
In order to improve the interfacial properties and the performance of
RAC, many researchers have suggested incorporating supplementary
cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, ground granulated blast
furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and silica fume in RAC (Bravo et al.,
2015; Kim et al., 2013; Kou and Poon, 2013; Sim and Park, 2011). The
addition of SCMs generally promotes the secondary hydration between
SCMs and Ca(OH)2, with the newly formed C–S–H gels filling the pores
and microcracks present in RAC (Kou et al., 2008; Limbachiya et al.,
2012; Somna et al., 2012; Sunayana and Barai, 2018). Others have

* Corresponding author. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
E-mail address: ywzhou@szu.edu.cn (Y. Zhou).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132820
Received 7 December 2021; Received in revised form 18 May 2022; Accepted 19 June 2022
Available online 1 July 2022
0959-6526/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Guo et al.
shown that the performance of RAC can be ameliorated, especially from
a durability point of view (Guo et al., 2018). Sunayana and Barai (2017)
reported that the elasticity modulus and mechanical strength of RAC
using fly ash were comparable to those of natural aggregate concrete by
applying the particle packing method. The addition of fly ash contrib­
utes to the reduction of both the water absorption ratio and the electrical
resistivity of RAC (Kurda et al., 2019). The impermeability of RAC was
remarkably improved by incorporating ultra-fine silica fume and met­
akaolin (Cakir, 2014). According to Abbas et al. (2009), the RAC resis­
tance to chloride ingress was improved by the addition of fly ash and
GGBFS as a partial replacement for ordinary Portland cement (OPC).
Xiao et al. (2013b) concluded that the resistance to penetrability of
chloride ions in RAC with mineral admixtures can meet the required
engineering codes. The RAC mixes containing 50% GGBFS gave the best
performance with respect to strength, permeability coefficient, and
resistance to chloride ingress (Berndt, 2009). Kou et al. (2011) pointed
out that using metakaolin and silica fume demonstrated beneficial ef­
fects on both the short and long-term properties of the concrete, whereas
fly ash and GGBFS merely contributed to the long-term performance.
The improvements seen on the performance of RAC with mineral ad­
mixtures is higher compared to the case of natural aggregate concrete.
Fathifazl et al. (2009) demonstrated that, by using SCMs, the cement
content of RAC can be reduced without adversely affecting its long-term
properties.
Despite the advantageous effects of common SCMs mainly including
fly ash and GGBFS, the reduced consumption of coal due to its increasing
environmental impacts limits the supply of fly ash, and the amount of
available GGBFS is less than 10% of the produced cement worldwide
(Scrivener et al., 2018). To address the inadequacy of traditional SCM,
limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) appears to be an excellent alter­
native (Chen et al., 2020; Lin et al., 2021; Maraghechi et al., 2018; Shi
et al., 2019). Both kaolinite clay and limestone are abundant worldwide,
which ensures an adequate supply (Krishnan and Bishnoi, 2020; Sharma
et al., 2021). The production of both materials consumes low amounts of
energy, and the resulting CO2 emission is largely reduced compared to
conventional cement clinkers (Scrivener et al., 2018). The past decades
have witnessed substantial studies concerning the hydration features,
mechanical strength, and durability of LC3-based cementitious materials
being conducted (Krishnan and Bishnoi, 2020; Berriel et al., 2016).
According to Muzenda et al. (2020), calcined clay contributes to an in­
crease of static and dynamic yield stress, initial thixotropic index, and
plastic viscosity, while limestone has an opposite effect. Avet et al.
(2019) found that significant incorporation of aluminum is observed for
LC3-50 mixtures compared to the control OPC. Avet and Scrivener
(2018) reported that the refinement of pore connectivity is significant in
LC3 paste. The decrease of pore size leads to the increase of the super­
saturation level, which is necessary for the further growth of hydration
products. To achieve the maximum strength, the proportion of calcined
clay to limestone could be optimized by considering the amount of
soluble and reactive alumina in calcined clay (Ferreiro et al., 2017).
Antoni et al. (2012) demonstrated that, in LC3 blends, the content of
gypsum dominates the rapid reaction process of aluminates and plays an
important role in determining the early-age strength. Moreover, the
kaolinite content of clay considerably affects the rheological properties
as well as the strength development of LC3 paste (Karen et al., 2019).
Avet et al. (2018) found that an increase of metakaolin content in
high-grade calcined clays becomes less important for determining the
content of reacted metakaolin. Dhandapani and Santhanam (2017) re­
ported that the permeability of LC3 blends is much lower than that of the
OPC and fly ash binder systems. The substitution ratio of cement clinker
by LC3 could reach 50% without compromising the mechanical strength
(Scrivener et al., 2018). The studies of Dhandapani et al. (2018) indicate
the superiority of LC3 binder over OPC and fly ash based binder in
producing durable concrete, especially in chloride environment. Yu
et al. (2021) further demonstrated that concrete made with
ultrahigh-volume limestone-calcined clay shows higher overall
2
Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820
performance than the reference Portland cement concrete by compre­
hensively considering the trade-off between the mechanical properties,
environmental impacts, and economic potential.
Although substantial progress has been made concerning the prop­
erties of LC3 blends, the ways this ternary binder system improves the
performance of RAC has not yet been studied, to the best knowledge of
the authors. As an environmentally friendly SCM, LC3 promises to not
only increase the greenness of RAC but also ameliorate the microstruc­
tural properties of RAC. This work aims to provide a preliminary
investigation concerning the influence of LC3 on the properties of RAC.
Specifically, the influence of the replacement of OPC by LC3 on the
properties of concrete using 100% RCA was studied. The mechanical
strength and the resistance to chloride ingress were investigated first.
Then, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the hydration phases
of the RAC matrix as well as the pore size distribution were carried out.
To further evaluate the corrosion risk of reinforcement in RAC con­
taining LC3, the electrical resistance of RAC was investigated and an
equivalent circuit model was proposed. Finally, the potential environ­
mental impact was evaluated by conducting a life cycle assessment
analysis of RAC incorporating LC3.
2. Experiment program
2.1. Materials and mixture design
In this study the RCA was obtained by crushing unknown waste
concrete collected from a local C&D waste site in Shenzhen, China. After
screening and cleaning, the particle size range was kept at 5–20 mm. The
crushing index of RCA was 18.48%, and the water absorption ratio was
5.89%. OPC 52.5R was used in this work. Calcined clay and limestone
powder at the mixing ratio of 2:1, as suggested by Scrivener et al.
(2018), were used to replace OPC, and three replacement ratios
including 0, 35%, and 50% were investigated. The used calcined clay,
made from kaolin tailings in Maoming, south China, is locally abundant.
Its mineralogical composition, determined by XRD-Rietveld method, is
presented in Table 1. Gypsum was also added into the mixture to adjust
the reaction process of aluminates at early age. Fig. 1 shows the particle
size distribution curves of the binders that were used. The chemical
compositions are summarized in Table 2.
The mixture proportions of the studied RACs are shown in Table 3.
The water-to-cement (w/c) ratio was set to be 0.4 for all the mixtures.
Quartz-based river sand was used and its water absorption ratio is 1.2%.
Considering the relatively high water absorption ratio of RCA, supple­
mentary water was added to compensate for the water absorbed by RCA.
Polycarboxylate-based high-range water reducer (HRWR) was used to
adjust the flowability of recycled concretes incorporating LC3. The
following mixing procedure was applied to achieve good dispersion of
the mixture. First, RCA and sand were put into the mixer and dry mixed
for about 2 min. Then, the cementitious binders including OPC, calcined
clay, limestone powder, and gypsum were added and the mixing process
lasted for 3 min. Finally, the water containing HRWR was gradually
poured into the mixer and mixed for about 3 min. The fresh slurry was
put into the molds and cured in room environment for 24 h. Moreover, in
order to evaluate the influence of LC3 on the phase composition of
concrete, cement pastes corresponding to the three types of RAC were
cast. The w/b ratio of the three types of paste all being 0.4 was the same
to that of concrete. After demolding, the specimens were placed in a
standard curing room at 23 ± 3 ◦ C and 95% relative humidity until
reaching the specified age of testing.
Table 1
Mineralogical composition of calcined clay.
Composition Quartz Illite Glass
Calcined clay 13.27% 38.13% 48.53%
M. Guo et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820

limewater and were then used to measure the chloride rapid migration
coefficient (DRCM). A specific constant direct voltage was applied and the
duration of the RCM test depended on the measured initial current. After
the test, a AgNO3 solution was sprayed on the split cylinders to deter­
mine the chloride penetration depth (Xd). The observed white color area
that represents the chloride penetration zone is demonstrated in Fig. 2.
In addition, a mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP) was employed to
characterize the micropore structure of the RAC matrix at 28 days. By
removing coarse aggregate, the mortar was used for testing. To termi­
nate the hydration process of the sample, the selected small particles
were put into absolute ethyl alcohol for at least 3 days and then vacuum
dried for 24 h at 60 ◦ C. The porosity and the pore size distribution were
determined by applying pressures ranging from 0 to 210 MPa. X-ray
diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted to investigate the hydrated
phase composition of RAC matrix owing to the addition of LC3, espe­
cially the content variation of Ca(OH)2 with curing age. Dried samples
were ground into fine powders and were then used for testing. A Cu Kα
radiation (λ = 1.54 Å) at 40 kV and 40 mA with 2θ value ranging from 5◦
to 65◦ was used for the scanning at a speed of 0.02◦ /step and 0.04 s per
step angle. Based on the obtained XRD patterns, the matrix-flushing
Fig. 1. Grading curves of cementitious binders. method was used to carry out the quantitative component analysis
(Chung, 1974), and the synthetic corundum was used as the flushing
agent. In addition, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted to
Table 2
evaluate the pozzolanic reaction degree resulting from the use of
Chemical composition of cementitious binders.
calcined clay. The dried fine powders were heated up from 30 ◦ C to
Property Cement Calcined clay Limestone powder Gypsum 800 ◦ C in an N2 atmosphere at a rate of 10 ◦ C/min. The weight loss was
MgO (%) 1.78 0.31 0.77 3.39 recorded for further analysis. A scanning electron microscopy-energy
Na2O (%) 0.28 – – – dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS) point analysis was conducted to
Al2O3 (%) 3.51 39.41 0.13 5.83
identify the chemical composition of hydration phases. Samples were
SiO2 (%) 15.41 53.73 0.31 14.05
P2O5 (%) 0.07 0.04 – 0.05
impregnated by epoxy resin and were grinded by 400, 800, 1200 grit SiC
SO3 (%) 4.21 0.09 – 35.87 papers, respectively, for about 1 min. Then, the samples were polished,
K2O (%) 0.10 4.23 0.04 1.40 respectively, with 3, 1 and 0.25 μm diamond suspension. The duration
CaO (%) 69.86 0.10 98.72 37.05 for each grade was about 1 min. Before testing, the samples were coated
Fe2O3 (%) 3.74 2.06 2.03
with a thin layer of carbon for achieving better conductivity. During the
–
SrO (%) 0.07 – 0.04 0.33
test, the accelerating voltage was set to be 15 kV with a working distance
of 10 mm.
2.2. Test methods Because the electrical resistivity of heterogeneous concrete reflects
the distribution and interconnectivity of pores and the interfaces be­
To investigate the macro-mechanical properties of recycled concrete, tween the solid and liquid phases, it was used to explore the micro­
the compression tests were carried out with 100 × 100 × 100 mm3 cubes structural characteristics of the cementitious material in regard to the
at 7, 28, and 300 days. A 2000 kN MTS machine was used for loading at a resistance to ionic ingress. In this work, electrical impedance spectros­
rate of 0.2 MPa/s. To evaluate the influence of LC3 on RAC’s resistance copy (EIS) (PARSTAT4000+) with an AC frequency ranging from 1 Hz to
to aggressive agents, rapid chloride migration (RCM) tests were per­ 1 MHz was used to measure the electrical response of concrete speci­
formed according to GB/T50082-2009. Ф100 × 50 mm2 cylinders were mens. The amplitude of the excitation signal was 10 mV. The single-
tested at 28 and 300 days. The specimens were vacuum saturated in frequency current was applied to the specimen through outer

Table 3
Mixture proportion of recycled concrete (kg/m3).
Mixture type RCA Sand Cement Calcined clay Limestone powder Gypsum Effective water Absorbed water HRWR

RAC-PC 1070 576 538 – – – 215 63 –

RAC-LC3-35 1070 576 352 118 59 8 215 63 0.92
RAC-LC3-50 1070 576 285 161 81 11 215 63 1.21

Fig. 2. Chloride penetration fronts after RCM test.

3
M. Guo et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820

electrodes, and the amplitude and phase shift of the resulting voltage
were obtained, and the impedance at each frequency was calculated. For
each order with a magnitude, 10 points of data were collected, and the
impedance spectrum was thus acquired.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Compressive strength

The development of the compressive strength of RAC with age is

illustrated in Fig. 3. At 7 days, the compressive strength of LC3-35 is
slightly higher than that of the control group, while strength enhance­
ment diminishes gradually with the curing age. At 300 days, the strength
of LC3-35 is 5.76% lower, but still comparable to that of the PC group.
The replacement of 50% of the OPC with LC3 reduces the early-age
strength of recycled concrete, but the reduction ratio decreases with
the curing age. At 300 days, the compressive strength of LC3-50 is
Fig. 4. Relative strength ratio.
merely 11.75% lower than that of the control group. For the three RAC
types, the strength increases with curing age while the increasing ratio
varies with both the age and the LC3 content in RAC. For the PC group, Table 4
the strength development ratio is the highest before 28 days, and for the Chloride rapid migration coefficient (Unit:10− 12
m2/s).
LC3-50, the strength increasing ratio is the highest from 28 to 300 days,
Mixture type RAC-PC RAC-LC3-35 RAC-LC3-50
as indicated by the slope of the curve in Fig. 4. This phenomenon is
carefully discussed in the following microstructural analysis. Besides, it 28 days 13.01 2.08 (↓84%) 3.01 (↓77%)
300 days 8.85 1.21 (↓86%) 0.55 (↓94%)
should be mentioned that the incorporation volume of cement is rela­
tively high in the studied RAC mixtures and the reported results might
not represent all designs of RAC. reduction ratio of DRCM reaches 83% and 77% for LC3-35 and LC3-50
respectively. Moreover, since the microstructure of RAC becomes denser
with the development of the hydration process, the capacity of ionic
3.2. Rapid chloride migration
transport through the paste phase decreases. Correspondingly, for each
mixture type, the value of DRCM reduces with curing age. For RAC-LC3-
According to the following equation, the chloride penetration depth
35, the decrease of DRCM attains 87% at 300 days, while, for RAC-LC3-50,
Xd was used to calculate the values of DRCM (GB/T 50082-2009).
the reduction ratio is even higher, at 94%, by comparison with the
( √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ )
0.0239(273 + T)L (273 + T)LXd control group. According to RILEM TC 230-PSC, the permeability coef­
DRCM = Xd − 0.0238 (1) ficient could be divided into two areas: good and excellent, as shown in
(U − 2)t U− 2
Fig. 5. At both 28 and 300 days, RACs incorporating the LC3 exhibit
U represents the absolute value of voltage (V), T refers to the average excellent resistance to chloride penetration. In contrast, the resistance
value of the initial and final temperatures of the anode solution (◦ C), L capacity to chloride ingress of OPC-based RAC is rather inferior.
represents the thickness of specimen (mm), and t refers to the duration of
the test (hours).
The results are summarized in Table 4. Clearly, the incorporation of
LC3 significantly increases the resistance of RAC to chloride ion pene­
tration at both early and later ages. At 28 days, the value of DRCM de­
creases with the addition of LC3. Compared to the control group, the

Fig. 3. Compressive strength of the three RAC mixture types. Fig. 5. Evaluation of DRCM for the three mixture types.

4
M. Guo et al.
3.3. Microstructural characteristics
3.3.1. Hydrate phase assemblage
The replacement of OPC by LC3 shows no negligible effect on the
hydrate phase assemblages of paste matrix based on the XRD pattern
analysis, as shown in Fig. 6. The main formed phases in the LC3 binder
matrix include portlandite (CH), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), ettringite
(AFt), and a siliceous AFm-type phase strätlingite. According to the
SEM-EDS point analysis (Fig. 7 and Fig. 8), a significant amount of
aluminum is incorporated in the hydrated phases of LC3 blends. The Al/
Ca ratio increases with the increasing of LC3 replacement ratio. Inner C-
A-S-H instead of C–S–H is generated while outer C-A-S-H is intermixed
with other hydrated phases such as CH and AFt. Because the aluminates
in both calcined clay and cement react with CaCO3 from limestone to
form mono- (Mc) and hemi-carboaluminates (Hc), the two additional
hydrate phases that make the microstructure of matrix denser are found
to coexist in LC3-35 and LC3-50 blends (Fig. 8). In addition, as the
calcined clay also introduces quartz and illite, the phases of SiO2 and
illite are also observed in the XRD patterns of LC3-based blends.
For OPC-based paste matrix, the AFt peaks that are observed at 7 and
28 days disappear at 300 days, while, for LC3-based paste matrix, the
peaks always exist from the early hydration stage to the late stage. As
pointed out by Avet et al. (2018), the incorporation of limestone gives
rise to the stabilization of ettringite, the content of which does not vary
greatly with the hydration stage. Besides, as the pozzolanic reaction of
reactive silica and alumina introduced by calcined clay consumes a
certain part of Ca(OH)2, and the formation of Mc and Hc phases also
requires the presence of Ca(OH)2, the calcium hydroxide content is
significantly reduced because of the replacement of OPC by calcined
clay and limestone, as illustrated in Table 5. For the reference group, the
CH content rises with curing age owing to the progressive hydration
process, while, for LC3 blends, the CH content reduces with the curing
age due to the remarkable consumption for pozzolanic reaction and
carboaluminates formation process. In contrast, the peaks of CaCO3 are
enhanced in the LC3 groups mainly owing to the addition of limestone
powder.
TGA analyses were also performed to further investigate the forma­
tion of hydrated phases in the different binder systems. Four major
endothermic peaks that correspond to the dehydration of C–S–H/C-A-S-
H/AFt, Hc/Mc, Ca(OH)2, and CaCO3 are observed, as illustrated in
Fig. 9. The contents of Hc/Mc phases are significantly increased owing
to the replacement of OPC by calcined clay and limestone, which co­
incides with the above XRD results. A higher content of calcium car­
bonate is also observed in LC3 blends. Furthermore, the reduction of CH
content is significant owing to the incorporation of LC3, which further
Fig. 6. XRD patterns for different pastes at 7, 28, and 300 days.
5
Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820
confirms that Ca(OH)2 is largely consumed by the pozzolanic reaction of
metakaolin as well as the formation of carboaluminates.
3.3.2. Pore structure analysis
For each concrete type, the porosity of paste matrix is illustrated in
Table 6. It is remarked that the replacement of OPC by LC3 reduces the
porosity of paste matrix and that the reduction ratio reaches 25% for
LC3-50. Fig. 10 presents the pore volume fraction in each matrix type.
The incorporation of LC3 contributes to the pore size refinement of paste
matrix. The volume of pores with diameter less than 20 nm is dramat­
ically increased, while the volume of larger capillary pores is signifi­
cantly reduced owing to the addition of LC3. The threshold pore entry
radius of paste matrix containing LC3 is also decreased, which could
remarkably reduce the pore connectivity of the microstructure and in­
crease the tortuosity of ion permeation route. In addition, the reactive
aluminates in calcined clay facilitate the formation of AFm-type phases,
which contributes to the improvement of chloride binding capacity of
the LC3 blends (Weerdt et al., 2011; Shi et al., 2017). All of these phe­
nomena are a good explanation for the reduction of DRCM, as described
in section 3.2.
3.4. Electrochemical properties
Fig. 11 shows the development of Nyquist curves of the three RAC
types. For RAC incorporating LC3, the characteristics of EIS spectra are
quite different from those of the reference group. To better interpret the
electromechanical behavior of LC3-based RAC, an equivalent circuit
model was proposed, as illustrated in Fig. 12. The bulk matrix along with
the microcracks is considered as continuous media, the circuit model of
which is described as (Rm1Cm1)Rm2Cm2 (Fan et al., 2018). The contin­
uous matrix acts as a resistor Rm1 and the interconnected pores provide a
capacitor effect Cm1; Rm2 represents the resistor effect of the whole
conductive path; Cm2 represents the capacitor effect of the almost whole
non-conductive path in RAC. The RCA in combination with ITZ is rep­
resented by a circuit model Cr2 (Rr1Cr1). The interphase between RAC
and matrix acts as a resistor Rr1 and RCA between continuous ITZs
provides a capacitor effect Cr1. Since it is difficult for the current to pass
through the RCA with excessively large particle size, Cr2 represents the
capacitor effect caused by the hindrance of large RCA. With this model,
the interface between the electrode and the specimen is represented by a
circuit model Celec-inter(Relec-interW) (Snyder et al., 2003), where W rep­
resents the Warburg diffusion element. Thus, the total resistance of
concrete would be:
Z = Zm + Zr + Ze (2)
1
Zm = 1
(3)
Rm2
+ Rm1 +1 1 + jωCm2
jωCm1
1
Zr = 1
(4)
Rr1 +jωC1
+ jωCr2
r1
1
Re + AW ω− 2 (1 − j)
Ze = ( 1 ) (5)
1 + jω Re + AW ω− 2 (1 − j) Ce
where Zm, Zr, and Ze refer to the impedance of continuous matrix, RAC
along with ITZ and the interface between electrode and specimen,
respectively; j is the imaginary number; ω is the angle frequency; AW
represents the Warburg constant.
Fig. 11 shows the fitting curves of the three RAC types predicted by
the proposed circuit model. It can be seen that the diameter of the semi-
circle of Nyquist curves rises with the increasing replacement ratio of
OPC by LC3. As mentioned in section 3.3.1, the calcined clay introduces
a remarkable amount of aluminum that leads to the formation of a
distinctive C-A-S-H gel system compared to OPC-based binder. The new
M. Guo et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820

Fig. 7. SEM-EDS point analysis of clinker and inner hydration products.

6
M. Guo et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820

Fig. 8. Chemical composition of the inner product C-(A)-S-H of cement pastes at 28 days.

Table 5
Relative content of Ca(OH)2 calculated by matrix-flushing method.
Age (days) RAC-PC RAC-LC3-35 RAC-LC3-50

7 11.61% 4.23% 2.38%

28 16.38% 2.90% 1.85%
300 17.63% 2.88% 1.44%

Fig. 10. Pore volume fraction of different RAC types.

Fig. 9. TGA and DTG curves of paste matrix at 28 days.

Table 6
Pore structural characteristics of paste matrix.
Specimen RAC-PC RAC-LC3-35 RAC-LC3-50

Porosity (%) 23.42 17.86 (↓24%) 17.51 (↓25%)

Threshold pore entry radius (nm) 85 27 24

gel system exhibits refined pore structure and a denser cementitious

matrix. Moreover, the additional hydration products including Mc, Hc,
and strätlingite are formed owing to the incorporation of CaCO3 and
aluminates, which contributes to the densification of paste matrix
(Dhandapani et al., 2018a, 2018b). The denser matrix with refined
micropore structure impedes the penetration and diffusion of ions and
increases the electrical resistance of concrete using LC3 binder. The low
pore connectivity and high tortuosity of the pore network also
contribute to the improvement of electrical resistance. Furthermore, as
pointed out by (Snyder et al., 2003), the OH− rather than other ions
demonstrate the most important influence on the conductivity of
Fig. 11. EIS Nyquist curves of the three RAC types.
cementitious material, the significant consumption of OH− by both the
pozzolanic reaction of metakaolin and the formation of carboaluminates
contributes to the reduction of conductivity of the electrochemical sys­
tem of LC3 blended mixture. Moreover, the total resistance of the whole
conductive path remarkably decreases with the increasing of LC3 con­
tent (Table 7), which further confirms the above analysis.

7
M. Guo et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820

Fig. 12. Scheme representation of the microstructure of RAC and the corresponding equivalent circuit model.

the binder system.

Table 7
As it is well known, wall effect exists when cement particles contact
Total resistance of the equivalent conductive path.
with aggregate boundary. The hydration reaction within ITZ is generally
Mixture type RAC-PC RAC-LC3-35 RAC-LC3-50 inadequate and the hexagonal plates of CH gather in the thin zone.
R (Ω⋅cm2) 1244 14440 17828 Calcined clay exhibiting high specific surface area demonstrates a pre­
vailing effect on cement hydration at early age, with the formed hy­
drates filling the interstitial spaces. As mentioned above, the LC3 binder
3.5. Improving mechanism of RAC incorporating LC3 leads to a significant reduction of CH content in paste matrix. Similarly,
the CH content in new ITZ should be reduced as well. Furthermore, the
The LC3 binder system results in a remarkable compositional dif­ porosity reduction and the pore refinement owing to the incorporation
ference and distinctive micropore structural features. The calcined clay of calcined clay and limestone should also contribute to the improve­
incorporates reactive silica and alumina, which promotes the pozzolanic ment of pore structures in the interphase between RCA and matrix. The
reaction and alters the kinetics of microstructural development from ameliorated phase assemblage is also beneficial for the improvement of
early age. C-A-S-H gels with distinctive rheology characteristics are phase composition in ITZ. In-depth further studies are needed to confirm
formed (Julien, 2019). At the same time, calcite from limestone accel­ these analyses.
erates the early-hydration process owing to the nucleation effect and
promotes the precipitation of C-(A)-S-H, which leads to strength
4. Environmental impact assessment
enhancement at the early stage. The pozzolanic reaction of calcined clay
also contributes to the strength increase. For example, the compressive
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool for evaluating the
strength of RAC-LC3-35 at 7 days is higher than that of the reference
potential environmental impact throughout a product’s life. According
group though the later strength becomes inferior due to the dilution
to the guideline of ISO 14040-06 (ISO, 2006), there are four major steps
effect. The replacement of reactive cement clinker by inert filler existing
for conducting LCA analysis, including 1) system boundary definition, 2)
in LC3 reduces the effective water/binder ratio. Nevertheless, the
inventory analysis, 3) assessing impacts, and 4) interpretation of results.
pozzolanic reaction is enhanced owing to the development of hydration
In this work, the environmental impact caused by the raw material
process at long term, which gives rises to the formation of available Ca
production was analyzed since the subsequent life cycle, including
(OH)2. This deduction is confirmed by the fact that the strength increase
blending, use, maintenance, and disposal, are similar for different con­
ratio of RAC-LC3-50 is the highest from 28 to 300 days. Besides, the
crete types. The life cycle inventories of sand, cement, calcined clay,
presence of CaCO3 not only promotes the formation of carboaluminates
limestone powder, gypsum, water, and HRWR were adopted from the
but also contributes to the preservation of AFt formed at the early stage
database of Gabi Academy software. As the life cycle inventory of RCA is
(Avet et al., 2018). The formation of new hydration products alters the
not available in Gabi, the data reported in the literature (Ding et al.,
reaction kinetics and phase assemblage of RAC matrix and changes the
2016) was used to establish an equivalent inventory. The LCA analysis
microstructure development process. The additional volume of hydrated
was carried out in Gabi software by using the Environment Footprint 2.0
phases could fill the porous interphase between RAC and matrix and
method. The two environmental impact criteria, i.e., global warming
improves the compactness of ITZ. Furthermore, the unreacted calcite
potential (GWP) and energy consumption, were calculated for
behaves as effective filler, which reduces the interparticle spaces be­
comparison.
tween cementitious binders and improves the particle packing density of
Fig. 13 and Fig. 14 show how the incorporation of LC3 remarkably

8
M. Guo et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820

are responsible for the environmental impacts. The contribution of

calcined clay occupies the second largest proportion of both carbon
emission and energy consumption while the contributions of RCA and
other constituents are quite insignificant. Previous investigations have
shown that, compared to OPC-based RAC, RAC using LC3 gives rise to
much less environmental stress, has comparable mechanical strength,
and higher permeability resistance as well as electrical resistance.

5. Conclusions

The preliminary investigation concerning the compressive strength,

resistance to chloride penetration, electrochemical properties, and
microstructural characteristics of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC)
incorporating limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) led to the following
conclusions:

(1) The 50% replacement of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) by LC3

Fig. 13. GWP result.
Fig. 14. Energy result.
reduces both the GWP value and energy consumption. In addition, the
reduction ratio rises with an increase of LC3 replacement percentage.
Moreover, the decrement of carbon emission is more significant than
that of the energy consumption, which could be attributed to the fact
that the production of both calcined clay and limestone powder leads to
lower CO2 emission than cement production. The environmental credit
proportions of each component of RAC are listed in Fig. 15. Clearly, the
cement proportion is the largest contributor to both GWP and energy
consumption for the three studied RAC types. The decarbonation of
limestone and fossil fuel consumption during cement fabrication process
does not notably reduce the compressive strength of RAC while
the resistance to chloride ingress is remarkably improved. For
RAC-LC3-35 and RAC-LC3-50, the reduction ratio of the chloride
rapid migration coefficient reaches 87% and 94%, respectively, at
the age of 300 days when compared to the OPC-based group.
(2) The addition of calcined clay and limestone greatly influences the
phase assemblage of RAC matrix and alters the kinetics of
microstructural development from an early age. The high-density
C-A-S-H gels instead of C–S–H gels are generated in LC3 blends,
and the aluminates in both calcined clay and cement react with
CaCO3 from limestone to form carboaluminates. The presence of
calcite contributes to the preservation of AFt phases formed at the
early stage of the hydration process. Besides, a large amount of Ca
(OH)2 is consumed due to the pozzolanic reaction of reactive
silica and alumina as well as the formation of carboaluminates.
The improved phase assemblage contributes to the densification
of both RAC matrix and the interphase between recycled coarse
aggregate (RCA) and matrix.
(3) The porosity of RAC matrix containing LC3 is reduced and the
pore structure is significantly refined owing to the compositional
difference between OPC system and LC3 binder system. The
decrease of pore interconnectivity and the increase of the pore
network’s tortuosity are especially advantageous with respect to
the resistance to chloride ingress.
(4) The electrical resistance of RAC using LC3 is remarkably
increased owing to the formation of a denser matrix with refined
micropore structure. The reduction of available OH− in the pore
solution also contributes to the reduction of conductivity of the
electrochemical system of LC3 blended mixture.
(5) According to the results of the life cycle assessment of the three
studied RAC types, cement is the largest contributor to both
carbon emission and energy consumption while the contributions
of RCA and other constituents are quite insignificant. The

Fig. 15. Contribution proportion of each component. (CC: calcined clay).

9
M. Guo et al.
incorporation of LC3 not only remarkably lowers the environ­
mental burden of RAC but also significantly increases its
permeability resistance and electrical resistance without an
obvious compromise of mechanical strength.
The combination of RCA and LC3 demonstrates great potential for
mitigating the environmental impacts for concrete production. Future
studies concerning the characterization of the interphase between RCA
and LC3 paste matrix will be carried out, which could provide further
insight into improving the ternary binder system on the weak portions of
RAC. The durability of LC3 based RAC, especially the carbonation, will
be investigated in the future work.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Menghuan Guo: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Writing –
original draft, Writing – review & editing. Guoqiang Gong: Investiga­
tion, Validation, Data curation, Writing – original draft. Yanchao Yue:
Investigation, Validation, Data curation. Feng Xing: Methodology,
Funding acquisition, Supervision. Yingwu Zhou: Conceptualization,
Funding acquisition, Supervision. Biao Hu: Conceptualization,
Supervision.
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.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Shaocong Chen
for the useful discussions concerning the modeling of the electrome­
chanical behavior of recycled concrete. The authors would like to also
thank the Instrumental Analysis Center of Shenzhen University for the
ESEM test. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support
from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grants
No. 51908369 and 52178236), the Ministry of Science and Technology
of China (Grant No. 2018YFE0125000), NSFC and Guangdong province
(Grants No. U2001226) and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of
Durability for Marine Civil Engineering (Grants No.
2020B1212060074).
References
Abbas, A., Fathifazl, G., Burkan lsgor, O., Razaqpur, A.G., Fournier, B., Foo, S., 2009.
Durability of recycled aggregate concrete designed with equivalent mortar volume
method. Cem. Concr. Compos. 31, 555–563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconcomp.2009.02.012.
Adessina, A., Fraj, A.B., Barthelemy, J.F., Chateau, C., Garnier, D., 2019. Experimental
and micromechanical investigation on the mechanical and durability properties of
recycled aggregates concrete. Cem. Concr. Compos. 126, 105900 https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.cemconres.2019.105900.
Antoni, M., Rossen, J., Matirena, F., Scrivener, K., 2012. Cement substitution by a
combination of metakaolin and limestone. Cement Concr. Res. 42, 1579–1589.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2012.09.006.
Avet, F., Courjault, E.B., Scrivener, K., 2019. Investigation of C-A-S-H composition,
morphology and density in limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). Cement Concr.
Res. 115, 70–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.10.011.
Avet, F., Li, X., Scrivener, K., 2018. Determination of the amount of reacted metakaolin
in calcined clay blends. Cement Concr. Res. 106, 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconres.2018.01.009.
Avet, F., Scrivener, K., 2018. Investigation of the calcined kaolinite content on the
hydration of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). Cement Concr. Res. 107,
124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.02.016.
Berndt, M., 2009. Properties of sustainable concrete containing fly ash, slag and recycled
concrete aggregate. Construct. Build. Mater. 23 (7), 2606–2613. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2009.02.011.
Berriel, S.S., Favier, A., Dominguez, E.R., Machado, I.R.S., Heierli, U., Scrivener, K.,
Hernandez, F.M., Habert, G., 2016. Assessing the environmental and economic
potential of limestone calcined clay cement in Cuba. J. Clean. Prod. 124, 361–369.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.125.
10
Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820
Bosque, I.F.S., Zhu, W., Howind, T., Matias, A., Rojas, M.I.S., Medina, C., 2017.
Properties of interfacial transition zones (ITZs) in concrete containing recycled
mixed aggregate. Cem. Concr. Compos. 81, 25–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconcomp.2013.01.006.
Bravo, M., Brito, J.D., Pontes, J., Evangelista, L., 2015. Durability performance of
concrete with recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste plants.
Construct. Build. Mater. 77, 357–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
conbuildmat.2014.12.103.
Cakir, O., 2014. Experimental analysis of properties of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA)
concrete with mineral additives. Construct. Build. Mater. 68, 17–25. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.06.032.
Chen, Y., Rodriguez, C.R., Li, Z.M., Chen, B.Y., Copuroglu, O., Schlangen, E., 2020. Effect
of different grade levels of calcined clays on fresh and hardened properties of
ternary-blended cementitious materials for 3D printing. Cem. Concr. Compos. 114,
103708 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103708.
Chung, F.H., 1974. Quantitative interpretation of X-ray diffraction patterns of mixtures.
I. Matrix-flushing method for quantitative multicomponent analysis. J. Appl.
Crystallogr. 7 (6), 519–525. https://doi.org/10.1107/S0021889874010375.
Dhandapani, Y., Sakthivel, T., Santhanam, M., Gettu, R., Pillai, R.G., 2018a. Mechanical
properties and durability performance of concretes with limestone calcined clay
cement (LC3). Cement Concr. Res. 107, 136–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconres.2018.02.005.
Dhandapani, Y., Santhanam, M., 2017. Assessment of pore structure evolution in the
limestone calcined clay cementitious system and its implications for performance.
Cem. Concr. Compos. 84, 36–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconcomp.2017.08.012.
Dhandapani, Y., Vignesh, K., Raja, T., Santhanam, M., 2018b. Development of the
microstructure in LC3 systems and its effect on concrete properties. In: Martirena, F.,
Favier, A., Scrivener, K. (Eds.), Calcined Clays for Sustainable Concrete: Proceedings
of the 2nd International Conference on Calcined Clays for Sustainable Concrete.
Springer, Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp. 131–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-
024-1207-9_21.
Ding, T., Xiao, J.Z., 2014. Estimation of building-related construction and demolition
waste in Shanghai. Waste Manag. 34, 2327–2334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
wasman.2014.07.029.
Ding, T., Xiao, J.Z., Tam, V.W.Y., 2016. A closed-loop life cycle assessment of recycled
aggregate concrete utilization in China. Waste Manag. 56, 367–375. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.wasman.2016.05.031.
Fan, S., Li, X.P., Li, M., 2018. The effects of damage and self-healing on impedance
spectroscopy of strain hardening cementitious materials. Cement Concr. Res. 106,
77–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.01.016.
Fathifazl, G., Abbas, A., Razaqpur, A.G., Lsgor, O.B., Fournier, B., Foo, S., 2009. New
mixture proportioning method for concrete made with coarse recycled concrete
aggregate. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 21 (10), 601–611. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)
0899-1561(2009)21:10(601).
Ferreiro, S., Herfort, D., Damtoft, J.S., 2017. Effect of raw clay type, fineness, water-to-
cement ratio and fly ash addition on workability and strength performance of
calcined clay – limestone Portland cements. Cement Concr. Res. 101, 1–12. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.08.003.
GB/T 50082-2009, 2009. Chinese Standards, Standard for Test Methods of Long-Term
Performance and Durability of Ordinary Concrete.
Guo, H., Shi, C.J., Guan, X.M., Zhu, J.P., Ding, Y.H., Ling, T.C., Zhang, H.B., Wang, Y.L.,
2018. Durability of recycled aggregate concrete – a review. Cem. Concr. Compos. 89,
251–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.03.008.
ISO, 2006. Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment - Principles and
Framework. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO 14040.
Julien, S., 2019. Basic Creep and Autogenous Shrinkage of Limestone Calcined Clay
Cement (LC3). https://doi.org/10.5075/epfl-thesis-9321. EPFL thesis.
Karen, S., Francois, A., Hamed, M., Franco, Z., Julien, S., Wilasinee, H., Aurelie, F., 2019.
Impacting factors and properties of limestone calcined clay cements (LC3). Green
Mater. 7, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgrma.18.00029.
Kim, K., Shin, M., Cha, S., 2013. Combined effects of recycled aggregate and fly ash
towards concrete sustainability. Construct. Build. Mater. 48, 499–507. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.07.014.
Kou, S.C., Poon, C.S., 2013. Long-term mechanical and durability properties of recycled
aggregate concrete prepared with the incorporation of fly ash. Cem. Concr. Compos.
37, 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2012.12.011.
Kou, S.C., Poon, C.S., Agrela, F., 2011. Comparisons of natural and recycled aggregate
concretes prepared with the addition of different mineral admixtures. Cem. Concr.
Compos. 33 (8), 788–795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2011.05.009.
Kou, S.C., Poon, C.S., Chan, D., 2008. Influence of fly ash as a cement addition on the
hardened properties of recycled aggregate concrete. Mater. Struct. 41, 1191–1201.
https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-007-9317-y.
Krishnan, S., Bishnoi, S., 2020. A numerical approach for designing composite cements
with calcined clay and limestone. Cement Concr. Res. 138, 106232 https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.cemconres.2020.106232.
Kurda, R., Brito, J.D., Silvestre, J.D., 2019. Water absorption and electrical resistivity of
concrete with recycled concrete aggregates and fly ash. Cem. Concr. Compos. 95,
169–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.10.004.
Kurda, R., Slivestre, J.D., Brito, J.D., Ahmed, H., 2018. Optimizing recycled concrete
containing high volume of fly ash in terms of the embodied energy and chloride ion
resistance. J. Clean. Prod. 194, 735–750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jclepro.2018.05.177.
M. Guo et al.
Liang, Y.C., Ye, Z.M., Vernerey, F.J., Xi, Y.P., 2015. Development of processing methods
to improve strength of concrete with 100% recycled coarse aggregate. J. Mater. Civ.
Eng. 27 (5), 4014163. https://10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000909.
Liang, Z., Hu, Z., Zhou, Y., Wu, Y., Zhou, X., Hu, B., Guo, M., 2022. Improving recycled
aggregate concrete by compression casting and nano-silica. Nanotechnol. Rev. 11
(1), 1273–1290.
Limbachiya, M., Meddah, M.S., Ouchagour, Y., 2012. Use of recycled concrete aggregate
in fly-ash concrete. Construct. Build. Mater. 27, 439–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
conbuildmat.2011.07.023.
Lin, R.S., Han, Y., Wang, X.Y., 2021. Macro–meso–micro experimental studies of calcined
clay limestone cement (LC3) paste subjected to elevated temperature. Cem. Concr.
Compos. 116, 103871 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103871.
Li, T., Xiao, J.Z., Zhu, C.M., 2016. Hydration process modeling of ITZ between new and
old cement paste. Construct. Build. Mater. 109, 120–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
conbuildmat.2016.01.053.
Li, W.G., Xiao, J.Z., Sun, Z.H., Kawashima, S.H., Shah, S.P., 2012. Interfacial transition
zones in recycled aggregate concrete with different mixing approaches. Construct.
Build. Mater. 35, 1045–1055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.06.022.
Maraghechi, H., Avet, F., Wong, H., Kamyab, H., Scrivener, K., 2018. Performance of
Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) with various kaolinite contents with respect
to chloride transport. Mater. Struct. 125 (51), 125. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-
018-1255-3.
Marinkovic, S., Dragas, J., Lgnjatovic, L., Tosic, N., 2017. Environmental assessment of
green concretes for structural use. J. Clean. Prod. 154, 633–649. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.015.
Meng, T., Zhang, J., Wei, H., Shen, J., 2020. Effect of nano-strengthening on the
properties and microstructure of recycled concrete. Nanotechnol. Rev. 9 (1), 79–92.
Mistri, A., Bhattacharyya, S.K., Dhami, N., Mukherjee, A., V Barai, S., 2020. A review on
different treatment methods for enhancing the properties of recycled aggregates for
sustainable construction materials. Construct. Build. Mater. 233, 117894 https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117894.
Muzenda, T.R., Hou, P.K., Kawashima, S., Sui, T.B., Cheng, X., 2020. The role of
limestone and calcined clay on the rheological properties of LC3. Cem. Concr.
Compos. 107, 103516 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103516.
Otsuki, N., Miyazato, S., Yodsudjai, W., 2003. Influence of recycled aggregate on
interfacial transition zone, strength, chloride penetration and carbonation of
concrete. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 15 (5), 443–451. https://10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561
(2003)15:5(443).
Poon, C.S., Shui, Z.H., Lam, L., 2004. Effect of microstructure of ITZ on compressive
strength of concrete prepared with recycled aggregates. Construct. Build. Mater. 18,
461–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2004.03.005.
Santos, F.N., Sousa, S.R.G.D., Bombard, A.J.F., Vieira, S.L., 2017. Rheological study of
cement paste with metakaolin and/or limestone filler using Mixture Design of
Experiments. Construct. Build. Mater. 143, 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
conbuildmat.2017.03.001.
Scrivener, K., Martirena, F., Bishnoi, S., Maity, S., 2018. Calcined clay limestone cements
(LC3). Cement Concr. Res. 114, 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconres.2017.08.017.
Sharma, M., Bishnoi, S., Martirena, F., Scrivener, K., 2021. Limestone calcined clay
cement and concrete: a state-of-the-art review. Cement Concr. Res. 149, 106564.
Shi, Z., Ferreiro, S., Lothenbach, B., Geiker, M.R., Kunther, W., Kaufmann, J., Herfort, D.,
Skibsted, J., 2019. Sulfate resistance of calcined clay – limestone – Portland cements.
Cement Concr. Res. 116, 238–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconres.2018.11.003.
Shi, Z., Geiker, M.R., Weerdt, K.D., Østnor, T.A., Lothenbach, B., Winnefeld, F.,
Skibsted, J., 2017. Role of calcium on chloride binding in hydrated Portland
cement–metakaolin–limestone blends. Cement Concr. Res. 95, 205–216. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.02.003.
Sim, J.S., Park, C., 2011. Compressive strength and resistance to chloride ion penetration
and carbonation of recycled aggregate concrete with varying amount of fly ash and
11
Journal of Cleaner Production 366 (2022) 132820
fine recycled aggregate. Waste Manag. 31, 2352–2360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
wasman.2011.06.014.
Snyder, K.A., Feng, X., Keen, B.D., Mason, T.O., 2003. Mason, Estimating the electrical
conductivity of cement paste pore solutions from OH− , K+ and Na+ concentrations.
Cement Concr. Res. 33, 793–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(02)01068-
2.
Somna, R., Jaturapitakkul, C., Chalee, W., Rattanachu, P., 2012. Effect of the water to
binder ratio and ground fly ash on properties of recycled aggregate concrete.
J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 24 (1), 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-
5533.0000360.
Sunayana, S., Barai, S.V., 2017. Recycled aggregate concrete incorporating fly ash:
comparative study on particle packing and conventional method. Construct. Build.
Mater. 156, 376–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.08.132.
Sunayana, S., Barai, S.V., 2018. Flexural performance and tension-stiffening evaluation
of reinforced concrete beam incorporating recycled aggregate and fly ash. Construct.
Build. Mater. 174, 210–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.04.072.
Tang, Y., Chen, Z., Feng, W., Nong, Y., Li, C., Chen, J., 2021. Combined effects of nano-
silica and silica fume on the mechanical behavior of recycled aggregate concrete.
Nanotechnol. Rev. 10 (1), 819–838.
Velay-Lizancos, M., Martinez-Lage, L., Azenha, M., Granja, J., Vazquez-Burgo, P., 2018.
Concrete with fine and coarse recycled aggregates: E-modulus evolution,
compressive strength and non-destructive testing at early ages. Construct. Build.
Mater. 193, 323–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.10.209.
Wang, B., Yan, L.B., Fu, Q.N., Kasal, B., 2021. A comprehensive review on recycled
aggregate and recycled aggregate concrete. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 171, 105565.
Weerdt, K.D., Haha, M.B., Saout, G.L., Kjellsen, K.O., Justnes, H., Lothenbach, B., 2011.
Hydration mechanisms of ternary Portland cements containing limestone powder
and fly ash. Cement Concr. Res. 41 (3), 279–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cemconres.2010.11.014.
Xiao, J.Z., Li, W.G., Fan, Y.H., Huang, X., 2012. An overview of study on recycled
aggregate concrete in China (1996–2011). Construct. Build. Mater. 31, 364–383.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.12.074.
Xiao, J.Z., Li, W.G., Sun, Z.H., Lange, D.A., Shah, S.P., 2013a. Properties of interfacial
transition zones in recycled aggregate concrete tested by nanoindentation. Cem.
Concr. Compos. 37, 276–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2013.01.006.
Xiao, J.Z., Lu, D., Ying, J.W., 2013b. Durability of recycled aggregate concrete: an
overview. J. Adv. Concr. Technol. 11, 347–359. https://doi.org/10.3151/
jact.11.347.
Xu, Z., Huang, Z., Liu, C., Deng, X., Hui, D., Deng, S., 2021. Research progress on
mechanical properties of geopolymer recycled aggregate concrete. Rev. Adv. Mater.
Sci. 60, 158–172.
Ying, J.W., Han, Z.W., Shen, L.M., Li, W.G., 2020. Influence of parent concrete properties
on compressive strength and chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete with
strengthened recycled aggregates. Mater 13, 4631. https://doi.org/10.3390/
ma13204631.
Ying, J.W., Xiao, J.Z., 2013. On the variability of chloride diffusion in modelled recycled
aggregate concrete. Construct. Build. Mater. 41, 732–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2012.12.031.
Ying, J.W., Zhou, B., Xiao, J.Z., 2017. Pore structure and chloride diffusivity of recycled
aggregate concrete with nano-SiO2 and nano-TiO2. Construct. Build. Mater. 150,
49–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.05.168.
Yu, J., Mishra, D.K., Hu, C.L., Leung, C.K.Y., Shah, S.P., 2021. Mechanical,
environmental and economic performance of sustainable Grade 45 concrete with
ultrahigh-volume Limestone-Calcined Clay (LCC). Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 175,
105846.
Zhao, Z.F., Courard, L., Groslambert, S., Jehin, T., Leonard, A., Xiao, J.Z., 2020. Use of
recycled concrete aggregates from precast block for the production of new building
blocks: an industrial scale study. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 157, 104786.