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Swapna Kutcharlapati, Technical Assistant, Ramky Infrastructure, Hyderabad; A. K. Sarkar, Professor, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani; N P Rajamane, Head, Centre for Advanced Concrete Research, SRM University, Katankulathur Major problems occurring while using Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCAs) in concretes are: higher porosity and hence higher water absorption, lower mechanical strengths, residual impurities on the surface of the RCAs creating weaker bond between cement paste and aggregate, etc. The data in this paper shows that aqueous dispersions of nanosilica (NS) obtained from nano-technology can be used to treat RCAs so that the properties of RCAs such as aggregate crushing value (ACV), Lo Angeles Abrasion Loss, specific gravity, etc are improved; concretes made with NS treated Recycled Concrete Aggregates show enhanced compressive strengths.
Introduction
Nanotechnology (NT) is neither a new science nor a new technology; it helps scientists to develop composites with improved and desired characteristics. The size of the particles in the composites is crucial as at the length scale of a nanometer, the properties of many materials could be quite different from their bulk state. Applications of NT are in vary divergent fields and are already employed to enhance properties of many construction materials such as concrete, steel, glass, etc. Concrete, a very widely used material of construction, can be benefited by NT as concrete becomes more durable, stronger, easily placeable and compactable and self-curable. Nano materials modify the molecular structure of hydrated cement paste and thereby enhancing many properties. NT can make steel to become more tougher, stronger, and corrosion resistant. Using NT, Glass can be made to possess special characteristics such as self- cleaning, insulating and effective water repelling. This paper deals with application of NT to recycled aggregates prepared from crushed concrete. The nano silica, a product from NT, is used to enhance the properties of recycled aggregates so that concretes with higher strengths can be made. The data in this paper is taken from the work carried out at BITS, Pilani.
Nano Materials
Nano materials have atleast one dimension of the order of a nano which is one billionth of a meter. We may note here that a strand of DNA is only a 2 nm wide and a human hair could have a length of 100,000 nm. A nano particle becomes a quantum dot with dimension of the order of 10 nm and this size is so small that jumps in energy levels occur. Quantum dots are
semiconductors whose electronic characteristics are closely related to the size and shape of the individual crystal; the smaller the size of the crystal, the larger the band gap, the greater the difference in energy between the highest valence band and the lowest conduction band becomes, therefore more energy is needed to excite the dot, and concurrently, more energy is released when the crystal returns to its resting state. Nanotechnology can be defined as ability to create materials, devices and systems, through control of matter in nanoscale by exploitation of properties and phenomena occurring at nanoscale. A Nano Composite is a bulk material containing added nanoparticles to improve the properties of the bulk material. Self-cleaning glass has nanoparticles to make it photocatalytic and hydrophilic. When UV radiation from light hits the glass, nanoparticles become energized and begin to break down and loosen organic molecules (i.e, dirt). Water on contact with the glass spreads across evenly thereby causing washing action. Polymeric coatings containing aluminum silicate nanoparticles have increased resistance to chipping/scratching and hence used in everything from cars to eyeglass lenses. Carbon Nano Tubes (CNTs), first announced by Russian scientists in 1952, was found in the sword of Tipu Sultan as well as in Ajanta paintings [URL3]. The CNTs (with very high Aspect Ratio, (length-to-diameter ratio can be up to 132,000,000:1} have extraordinary strength in terms of tensile strength and elastic modulus [Wang, 2009]. It is observed that CNTs are cylindrical in shape with diameter of nano size and length of several millimeters; they have a density of 1.3 g/cc with a thermal conductivity of 3500 Wme1Ke1 (Note : Copper : 385 Wme1Ke1) exhibiting an elongation of 15 to 23% at an ultimate tensile strength of about 3,600 MPa. The nacre, known as mother-of-pearl, is 3,000 times more fracture-resistant than aragonite (basically a calcium carbonate) the mineral it is made of. ninety-five percent of the mass of this biomineral, nacre, is self-assembled, while only 5 percent is actively formed by the organism indicating efficiency of working with nano size particles. Nanoscale materials can be naturally occurring (e.g. volcanic ash) or incidental (byproduct of human activity e.g., diesel exhaust particulates) or intentionally engineered. Cellulose Nano-fibers (CNFs) are Ligno Celluloses based and can be made from common materials such as wood pulp (about 55% cellulose) and cottonseed fluff (about 94% cellulose). They are extremely strong and tougher than even Cast Iron (A nanocellulose based paper is stronger and tougher than an iron sheet!) Individual CNFs withstand more stress than glass fibres or steel wire. Cement matrix in presence of CNFs can have at least 10% more compressive strength accompanied by increased tensile strength by several times resulting in 40% more impact strength, and this is attributed to crack suppression & stabilization characteristics of CNFs [Swapna, 2008a and 2008b]. Nano Silica (NS) can contribute to efficient 'Particle Packing' in concretes by densifying the micro and nanostructure leading to improved mechanical and durability properties. NS can
control degradation (through blocking of water entry on account of pore refinement) of the fundamental binder system of hydrated cement i.e., C-S-H gel caused usually due to calcium leaching out when immersed in water. NS improves behavior of freshly mixed cement concretes by imparting segregation resistance and by enhancing both workability/mouldability and cohesion of the matrix.
Pollution Control Board reported in 2004 that solid waste generation in India was about 48 million tons/annum and more than 25% of this is from construction industry which consists of about 7-8 million tons of concrete and brick waste. The waste quantities are estimated to reach to level of atleast 65 million by 2010 (Kumar and Gaikwad, 2004). RCAs is particularly very promising source of aggregates as 75 per cent of any typical concrete is made of aggregates. RCAs present a unique solution to the problems of large scale demolitions occurring now a days in India. This recycling industry for waste concretes helps reducing management/maintainance costs of dumpsites/landfills and transportation costs RCAs actually results from crushing of waste concrete and this material as a replacement for natural aggregates can be employed in many applications such as: construction of low rise buildings, manufacture of paving blocks & tiles, laying of flooring and approach lanes, in sewerage structures and sub-base course of pavement, besides drainage layer in highways and retaining walls. Some of the major problems associated with RCAs can be identified as: lower specific gravity, higher water absorption, lower level of strengths and durability in concretes, impurities on the surface of the RCAs, lack of strong bond between cement paste and RCAs in concrete matrix, etc. However, properties of RCAs can be improved by suitable organic or inorganic treatment systems.
RCAs in the present study are prepared by crushing (using jaw crusher) of concrete cubes made of M20 grade concrete and then sieving. Quantities of fine aggregates (size less than 4.75 mm) and coarse aggregates (20 mm size) obtained were 18% and 60% respectively. Raw RCAs (Fig 2) were found to have specific gravity of 2.41, water absorption of 5.7%, Aggregate crus- hing value (ACV) of 30 % and a Los Angeles Abrasion Loss of 30 %. It is noted here that Los Angeles test is a measure of degradation of mineral aggregates of standard gradings and it combines many actions such as abrasion or attrition, impact, and grinding. A rotating steel drum containing steel spheres is used to test the aggregate samples and following computation is made: L.A. Abrasion Loss (%) = (Original Weight Final Weight)*100/(Original Weight)) Treatment of RCAs with aqueous dispersion of NS is done by soaking the specimens in the solution for 10 days. The Nano-silica (shown in Fig 3) treated Recycled Aggregates have a
specific gravity of 2.62 with water absorption of 0.92%. These treated RCAs recorded an Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV) of 5 % (Fig 4a). Indian Road Congress specifies ACV to be less than 30% for cement concrete pavement 45% for concrete other than for wearing surfaces. The ACV indicates ability of aggregate to resist crushing and a lower figure indicates stronger aggregate with greater ability to resist crushing. The Los Angeles Abrasion Loss of Nano-silica treated RCAs is 5 % (Fig 4b). A reduction in Los Angeles Abrasion Loss indicate increase in strength of aggregates [Kahraman and Fener, 2007].
Concluding Remarks
Recycling and reuse of building wastes is an appropriate solution to the problems of dumping hundreds of thousands tons of debris accompanied with shortage of natural aggregates. Recycled aggregates can prove to be a valuable building material from many considerations such as technical, environment and economical. Recycled aggregates possess, as compared to natural aggregate o relatively lower bulk density,
crushing impact values o relatively higher water absorption. Compressive strength of untreated recycled aggregate concrete can be lower by about 15% compared to original concrete. Properties of Recycled Concrete Aggregates and concrete made with them are enhanced by addition of appropriate nano-materials such as Nano-silica. Crack-bridging property of silica nanoparticles and interlocking of silica in the pores of aggregates helps to make the crushed concrete aggregates to gain Regarding cost, it may be noted that o Crushed aggregate has almost a zero investment o Every 250 grams of Nano-silica solution costs about Rs 150 o Optimized value 10% implies that only a tiny amount of nano-silica solution is utilised. o Use of waste materials means reduced management/requirements of dumpsites, landfills and transportation costs.
Acknowledgments
The test data used in this paper is based on the works carried out by Miss Swapna Kutcharlapati at BITS, Pilani. The authors acknowledge the technical interactions occurred after the invited key note speak given on the topic by Shri N P Rajamane, during the 'Third Edition of Workshop on Emerging Materials and its Applications ( WEMA )' held on 2nd Dec, 2010, at Aarupadai Veedu Institute of Technology (AVIT), Chennai, organised in association with Madras Metallurgical Society.
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