Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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Freeze-thaw durability of recycled concrete containing ceramic aggregate

Csar Medina*, Mara Isabel Snchez de Rojas, Moiss Fras
Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Science e CSIC, C/Serrano Galvache, 4, 28033 Madrid, Spain

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 28 May 2012
Received in revised form
24 August 2012
Accepted 30 August 2012
Available online 13 September 2012

Abrupt temperature change (freeze-thaw cycles) is one of the most damaging actions affecting concrete,
inasmuch as it induces microcracking. The formation of this crack reduces the mechanical behaviour of
the material, moreover increase the penetration of aggressive substances into the concrete matrix,
reducing its durability and possibly leading to structural collapse. The present study explored the
durability of concrete made with aggregate containing 20e25% ceramic sanitary ware industry waste,
analysing the scaled surface, exploring aggregate/paste de-bonding and measuring the mean and
maximum crack widths in both the paste and at the interfacial transition zone between paste-aggregate
after 56 freeze-thaw cycles. The ndings showed that concrete freeze-thaw resistance rose with rising
recycled aggregate content. This better performance was due to the high mechanical quality of recycled
concrete and the intrinsic properties of the new aggregate. Use of this waste as a construction material
would yield substantial technical, economic and environmental benets, in particular from the
perspective of sustainable development.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Ceramic aggregate
Freeze-thaw
Durability
Recycled concrete
Microstructure damages

1. Introduction
Concrete structures (Kosior-Kazberuk and Jezierski, 2004) are
continually exposed to attack by physical, chemical and biological
agents that may cause rapid decay, shortening their service life and
raising maintenance and repair costs. Durability, one of the most
important properties of materials, is dened in Eurocode EN 1992-2
(European Committee for Standardization, 2010a) as follows: A
durable structure shall meet the requirements of serviceability,
strength and stability throughout its intended working life, without
signicant loss of utility or excessive maintenance.
Freeze-thaw action, as one of the major causes of concrete
deterioration in cold climates (Liu et al., 2011), must be taken into
consideration in structural design. In Spain, further to Chapter II of
the Code on Structural Concrete e EHE-08 (Permanent commission
of the concrete, 2008), presently in effect all elements located in
frequent contact with water, or areas with an average relative
environmental humidity over 75%, and which have an annual

List of abbreviations: EHE-08, Spanish code on structural concrete; C&DW,

Construction and demolition waste; ITZ, Interfacial transition zone; RC, Reference
concrete; CC-20, Concrete containing 20% recycled aggregate; CC-25, Concrete
containing 25% recycled aggregate; EITZ, Elastic modulus of the interface transition
zone; ecrack, Mean widths of concrete cracks; emax, Maximum widths of concrete
cracks.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 34 913020440x215; fax: 34 913020700.
E-mail address: cemedmart@yahoo.es (C. Medina).
0959-6526/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.08.042

probability of over 50% of reaching temperatures below
5  C at

least once a year are liable to freeze-thaw damage. Such damage
consists primarily (Hanjari et al., 2011; Harrison et al., 2001) of
micro- or macro-cracking and surface scaling, which favours
penetration by aggressive external agents (such as sulphates and
chlorides) and consequently corrosion.
Surface scaling or aking is regarded by some authors (Shi et al.,
2010) as the main cause of decay and is directly related to concrete
quality.
The scientic community has been studying the mechanisms
governing frost damage for several decades and has consistently
found the generation of internal stress to be involved. According to
Wardeh et al. (2011), Snchez de Rojas et al. (2011) and Vegas et al.
(2009), such stress is the result, briey, of: a) hydraulic pressure
due to ice formation, with a 9% expansion in volume; b) osmotic
pressure generated in the pore system by the movement of liquid
water towards pores containing ice to restore thermodynamic
equilibrium; and c) the pressure induced by the growth of crystals
in pores and their interaction with pore walls.
At this time, in response to concerns about sustainability
(Blengini and Garbarino, 2010), research is underway on the
possibility of reusing different kinds of industrial waste (such as
construction and demolition waste, tyres and ceramics) in concrete
manufacture, thereby preserving the landscape by reducing the
need to quarry natural aggregate. According to National Association
Aggregate (ANEFA, 2011) data, 259 million tonnes of aggregate
were quarried in Spain in 2010.

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C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

The European ceramic sanitary ware industry produces 0.5 Mt of

these items yearly (Commission, 2007), 10% of which are rejected
due to dimensional or ring aws. This fraction of rejects is not
reused in the production process, but shipped directly to landlls,
posing technical as well as environmental problems.
The research conducted to date has focused on assessing the
effect of the partial replacement of natural aggregate with different
types of waste on the physical and mechanical properties and
permeability of the resulting concrete. Internationally, the short
number of papers published on the effect of recycled aggregate on
freeze-thaw resistance have addressed: construction and demolition waste (C&DW) (Abbas et al., 2009; Salem et al., 2003); marble
(Gencel et al., 2012); tyres (Richardson et al., 2012) and ceramic
materials (Jankovic et al., 2010). The present study pioneers
research on the resistance to this action in recycled concrete containing sanitary ware industry waste, an area unexplored to date.
The objective pursued was to analyse the effect of the partial
replacement (20e25%) of coarse aggregate with recycled ceramic
ware waste on the durability of concrete exposed to freeze-thaw
cycles. To that end, microstructural analyses were conducted to
assess the scaled particles, de-bonding at the aggregate/paste
interfacial transition zone (ITZ) and the degree of microcracking
(mean and maximum width at the ITZ and in the paste) after 56
cycles.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Natural aggregates
The natural aggregate used can be sub-divided into two categories: the coarse fraction (gravel), 4/20 mm in size and the ne
fraction (sand), with grains under 4 mm. Table 1 shows the prole
of the gap-graded gravel.
Fig. 1 lists the chemical composition of the gravel, whose main
component, SiO2, accounted for 97 wt% of the total. The minority
oxides were Al2O3 and Fe2O3.
Further to the physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal
properties given in Table 2, these aggregates were European Standard
EN
12620-compliant
(European
Committee
for
Standardization, 2009).
2.1.2. Recycled ceramic aggregate
The recycled aggregate, supplied by a ceramic sanitary ware
factory, was crushed with a jaw crusher and sieved to obtain the 4/
12.5 mm fraction (Table 1). This waste had two visually distinguishable sides, depicted in Fig. 2: the glazed or outer side of the
original sanitary ware, representing less than 2% of the total waste,
and the unglazed or inner side of these products.
On the grounds of its chemical composition as determined by Xray uorescence (XRF) and shown in Fig. 1, this ceramic waste (total
ceramic aggregate) was similar to other ceramic materials used in
construction (Snchez de Rojas et al., 2007). The inner side consisted primarily of SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3, which together totalled
93.81% of the material, whilst on the outer side these compounds
accounted for only 68.24%, with zircon (ZrO2) comprising 12.62%
and calcium oxide (CaO) 11.80%. Alkalis (MgO, NaO and K2O) were
also found as minority components on both sides.
The physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of
the recycled aggregate (Table 2) were compliant with both European Standard EN 12620 and Spanish Code Structural Concrete
(EHE-08).
As Table 2 shows, the gravel was denser than the ceramic
aggregate, which had a greater pore volume. The new aggregate,
with a pore volume similar to the value observed for ceramic

Table 1
Grading prole of natural coarse aggregate.
EN sieve size (mm)

Percentage passing sieve

Gravel

Recycled aggregate

31.5
20
16
12.5
10
8
6.3
5.6
4
2
1.25
0.63
0.4
0.315
0.16
0.063

100.00
96.53
70.52
25.45
5.97
2.75
1.77
1.29
1.06
0.64
0.52
0.45
0.42
0.40
0.34
0.22

100.00
100.00
98.22
92.05
77.55
42.93
15.24
3.43
1.26
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.27
0.25
0.21
0.16

electrical insulation, was 2.4 times more water-absorbent than the

natural material.
The akiness index was eight times higher in the recycled
ceramic aggregate than in gravel, primarily as a result of its outer
morphology, in turn due to the original shape of the waste and the
crushing procedure.
Another important property in aggregates is their Los Angeles
coefcient. The recycled sanitary ware aggregate was 39% more
fragmentation resistant than gravel. Such improved performance
was also reported by Debieb and Kenai (2008), who observed that
red clay block exhibited greater resistance to wear (31.6 wt%) than
natural aggregate (36.3 wt%).
Finally, the ceramic aggregate contained no organic material
that would alter concrete setting and hardening rates nor did it
exhibit alkali-aggregate reactivity, according to the petrographic
study conducted.
2.1.3. Batching water
The quality of the mixing water can affect concrete setting time
and strength development, as well as corrosion protection for
reinforcement. The water used here conformed to the specications
laid down in chapter VI Materials in Spanish structural concrete
code EHE-08.
2.1.4. Cement
The cement used in all the concrete mixtures was Portland
cement CEM I 52.5 R, whose chemical composition is given in
Table 3.
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Mixtures composition of concretes
Three types of concretes were prepared for this study: one
reference concrete (RC) and two recycled concretes, CC-20 and CC25, in which 20 or 25 vol. %, respectively, of the natural coarse
aggregate was replaced with recycled ceramic sanitary ware.
The La Pea dosage method (Fernndez, 2007) was used in
design and batching. The design parameters were: characteristic
strength, of 30 MPa; maximum aggregate size (20 mm); and
consistency, soft. The batching details are given in Table 4.
The w/c ratio and cement content in all concretes complied with
Spanish Code on Structural Concrete (EHE-08) specications on
maximum w/c ratio (0.55) and minimum cement content
(275 kg m
3) for the frost without de-icing salt exposure class.

C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

153

Fig. 1. Chemical composition of coarse aggregates.

2.2.2. Testing methods

The coarse aggregate resistance to temperature change has been
studied according to different methods: EN 1367-1 y EN 1367-2.
The rst tests, the specimens of aggregates in the size range 8e
10 mm are exposed to ten freeze-thaw cycles as describe in EN
1367-1. The evaluation of the damage is measured by the fraction
material smaller than 4 mm. In addition the second tests, the
specimens of aggregates (10e14 mm) are subjected to ve cycles of
immersion in a saturated solution of magnesium sulphate, followed
by oven drying at 110  C. The degradation arising from the
disruptive effects is measured by the extent to which material ner
than 10 mm in particle size.
The consistency in fresh concretes was measured through slump
test, according to European Standard EN 12350-2.
The compressive and splitting tensile strength of concretes was
tested according to EN 12390-3 and EN 12390-6 in concretes before
the freeze-thaw cycles. These assays were carried out on
150  300 mm test cylinders (26 samples/concrete) at 28 days.
Also, we have studied the pore structure with mercury intrusion
porosimetry (MIP); due to this intrinsic property is a basis for ice or
water content determination under freezing (Zeng et al., 2011).

The analyser used for the determination of the porosity have

been a Micromeritics Autopore IV 9500 mercury porosimeter able
to operate at pressures of up to 33 000 psi (227.5 MPa) and measure
pore diameters of 0.006e175 mm. This trial was conducted to ASTM
standard D 4404 (American Society for Testing and Materials,
2004).
Freeze-thaw resistance was assessed by weighing the scaled
particles after 7, 14, 42 and 56 freeze-thaw cycles as described in
European standard CEN/TS 12390-9 EX (European Committee for
Standardization, 2008a), which is similar to Swedish standard SS
13 72 44, also known as the Boras method.
These trials were conducted on four 50  150  150 mm3 slabs
per type of concrete. The slabs, in turn, were cut out of the centre of
a 150  150  150-mm3 cube with a diamond saw. The samples
were then prepared for testing (Fig. 3) as described in the aforementioned standard (CEN/TS 12390-9 EX) and subsequently
exposed to 56 freeze-thaw cycles, in which the freezing medium
was water whose temperature (Fig. 4) was within the interval
specied in European Standard.

Table 2
Physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of coarse aggregates.
Characteristic
Real density of dry samples (kg/dm3)
(EN 1097-6) (ECS, 2001)a
Water absorption (wt%) (EN 1097-6)
(ECS, 2001)a
Flakiness index (wt%) (EN 933-3)
(ECS, 2004)a
Los Angeles coefcient (wt %) (EN 1097-2)
(ECS, 2010b)a
Organic material amount (EN 1744-1)
(ECS, 2001c)a
Total porosity (vol. %) (ASTM D 4404-84)
Loss of mass with freeze-thaw cycles (wt%)
(EN 1367-1) (ECS, 2008b)a
Magnesium sulphate value (wt%) (EN 1367-2)
(ECS, 2010d)a
a

ECS: European Committee for Standardization.

Gravel

Ceramic

2.63

2.39

0.23

0.55

23

33

20

0.23
0.33

0.32
0.05

2
Fig. 2. Recycled ceramic aggregate.

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C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

Table 3
Chemical composition of the cement used (w%).

CEM I 52.5 R

CaO

SiO2

Al2O3

MgO

Na2O

K2O

TiO2

P2O5

SO3

SrO

Cl

LOI

62.07

19.39

5.22

1.38

0.36

0.89

0.20

0.07

3.33

0.81

0.01

0.72

Moreover, the damage caused to the concrete after 56 cycles was

analysed with microstructural techniques, primarily to measure the
mean and maximum microcrack width in the ITZ between aggregate/paste and in the paste, due to this property is directly related
to concrete durability (Sahmaran et al., 2012).
This part of the study was conducted on four 30  20 mm
cylindrical specimens extracted at random from the four slabs of
each type of concrete exposed to the freeze-thaw trials. The tests
conducted on each specimen are listed in Table 5. The samples were
epoxy coated, precision sawed and their at surfaces carefully
polished for backscattering electron (BSE) microscopic analysis,
which was conducted to identify microstructural damage.
The instrumental conditions were: HITACHI model S-4800
scanning electron microscope; tungsten source energy-dispersive
X-rays; silicon detector; BRUCKER XFlash Detector 5030 EDX
analyser.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Consistency and bulk density
Further to the slump test results (6e9 cm), all the concretes had
a soft consistency. The graph in Fig. 5 shows that the slump in the
recycled ceramic aggregates was smaller than in the control and
declined with the replacement ratio (Medina et al., 2012). This
difference was the result of the linear relationship between
consistency and certain physical properties of the aggregates
(water absorption, shape and porosity).
The bulk density of the fresh concrete, also shown in Fig. 5,
declined with rising replacement ratios, in keeping with the lower
density of the recycled ceramic aggregate (see Table 2).

3.2. Compressive and splitting tensile strength

The compressive and splitting tensile strength values for all
concretes at 28 days rose with the replacement ratio, compressive
strength by 11% and tensile strength by 25% with respect to the
reference (RC) in the concrete containing 25% recycled aggregate
(CC-25).
This behaviour can be attributed to improvements of the
properties (thickness and modulus of elasticity) of the interfacial
transition zone (ITZ) between ceramic aggregate/paste (Medina
et al., 2012b), with respect the ITZ gravel/paste.
These ndings were consistent with previous reports (Cachim,
2009; Pacheco-Torgal and Jalali, 2010) on replacement of natural
aggregate with other types of ceramic waste (brick, tile, etc.).

Table 4
Mix proportions.
Concrete mix

Material (kg/m3)
Sand

Gravel

Ceramic

Cement

Water

Reference concrete (RC)

Concrete containing 20%
recycled aggregate (CC-20)
Concrete containing 25%
recycled aggregate (CC-25)

716.51
725.81

1115.82
892.66

0.00
216.43

398.52
387.64

205.00
205.00

728.14

836.87

270.53

384.91

205.00

3.3. Mercury intrusion porosimetry

The pore size distribution and average pore diameter ndings,
graphed in Fig. 6, showed that the volume of macropores declined
with rising ceramic aggregate replacement ratios, while the volume
of medium-sized capillary pores rose. The combined effect,
a decline in the mean pore diameter, was the result of the differences between pore size distribution in the new and the natural
aggregate (see Table 6).
3.4. Freeze-thaw resistance
3.4.1. Coarse aggregate resistance to temperature change
Table 2 gives aggregate resistance to temperature change found
with two methods: freeze-thaw cycles (F) and application of
a magnesium sulphate solution (MS). As these ndings show, while
the recycled ceramic aggregate exhibited higher resistance than the
natural aggregate, both could be ranked in categories F1 and MS18,
pursuant to Tables 18 and 19, respectively, in European standard EN
12620. According to that classication, aggregates in these categories are optimal for manufacturing concrete designed to withstand freezing temperatures.
The difference in concrete thermal performance was attributable to the difference in pore size distribution between the recycled
and natural aggregates. As Table 6 shows, the new aggregate had
greater porosity and a larger volume of pores under 4 mm, the
fraction that has a benecial effect on concrete freeze-thaw resistance (Fernndez, 2007).
Moreover, these ndings are consistent with item F.2.3 of
European Standard EN 12620 and reports by Hazaree et al. (2011),
according to which aggregates with a low absorption coefcient
(<1%) are highly freeze-thaw resistant.
3.4.2. Scaling surface
The variations in the mass of the scaled particles with the
number of freeze-thaw cycles depicted in Fig. 7 show that the
degree of scaling was similar in the three types of concrete during
the rst 14 cycles. After that threshold, however, scaling was less
intense in the recycled concretes and declined with the rising
percentage of ceramic aggregate. Resistance was lower in the
control concrete (RC) after 26 and 42 cycles. After 56 cycles,
however, the three concretes exhibited the same degree of resistance, although scaling was 2.1 and 3.68% lower in CC-20 and CC25, respectively, than in RC.
This pattern was an indication that RC lost more mass in the
early freeze/thaw cycles, but after 56, the total loss was similar in
the three types of concrete. The difference in the early stages was
due to the more rened pore structure in the recycled concrete (see
item 3.3), which had more capillary pores. According to previous
reports (Zhou and Mihashi, 2008; Pigeon et al., 1996), a higher
portion of pores in this fraction raises the freezing point, thereby
retarding damage.
Further to the scaling mass values (m56) found for the three
concretes after 56 freeze-thaw cycles, which were under
0.1 kg m
2, the recycled concretes studied would be rated as highly
scale-resistant materials, according to the classication laid down
in Swedish standard SS 13 72 44 (Harrison et al., 2001; Marchand
et al., 1997). These ndings stand as proof that the inclusion of

C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

155

Fig. 3. Samples exposed to freeze-thaw cycles.

Fig. 4. Temperature of the medium freezing (water).

recycled aggregate improves the resistance to abrupt temperature

change.
Moreover, these results are consistent with earlier observations
reported by Richardson et al. (2011) and Paine and Dhir (2010), who
used C&DW in place of natural aggregate.
Other studies, however, showed a decline in bearing strength in
concrete containing C&DW (Zhu and Li, 2009; Zaharieva et al.,
2004) or clay-based roof tile or block waste (Jankovic et al., 2010;
Topcu and Canbaz, 2007) as aggregate after exposure to freezethaw cycles. This discrepancy in the results can be attributed on
the one hand to the compositional variability in C&DW and on the
other to the effect of their quality and some of their physical
properties (water absorption and fragmentation resistance) on
their freeze-thaw resistance (Kevern et al., 2010). Such problems
can be solved by adding air-entraining agents (AEA) to the concrete,
for the pores formed are able to offset the increase in volume
inherent in freezing (Sahin et al., 2007).
After 56 freeze-thaw cycles, the three types of specimens
exhibited much the same appearance, as the photographs in Fig. 8
show. The main types of damage included: a) aggregate detachment, b) surface deterioration of the coarse aggregate and c) ITZ debonding.
Fig. 9 shows that both the inner and outer sides of the recycled
ceramic aggregate were essentially unaltered at the end of the trial,

whereas the surface of the natural aggregate (Fig. 10) showed clear
signs of wear. This nding was directly related to aggregate pore
structure, as noted in item 2.1.2.
The energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) ndings were consistent with
the chemical composition of the materials found with XRD (see
Fig. 1).
3.4.3. Microstructure damages
The microstructural damage caused by freeze-thaw action can
be divided into two main groups: de-bonding at the interfacial
transition zone between coarse aggregate/paste and microcracking.
3.4.3.1. De-bonding of the ITZ. Fig. 11 shows that after 56 freezethaw cycles, de-bonding was greater at the natural aggregate/
paste than at the ITZ ceramic aggregate/paste.
Table 5
Number of tests per specimen.
Concrete mix

RC
CC-20
CC-25

Interface

Paste

Gravel/paste

Ceramic aggregate/paste

3
2
2

e
6
6

4
4
4

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C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

Fig. 5. Consistency and density of the concretes.

Fig. 6. Pore size distribution of concretes at 28 days.

Differences were observed in interfacial transition zone (ITZ)

resistance depending on the part of the ceramic aggregate
involved: the inner side/paste interface remained practically
unaltered, whereas resistance along the outer side/paste interface
declined slightly under freeze-thaw stress.
These differences were due primarily to the variations in
micro-mechanical properties at the various types of ITZs (EITZinternal
part/paste > EITZexternal part/paste > EITZgravel/paste). This effect was also
reported by Khan and Siddique (2011), who found that improvements in the properties (elastic modulus, microstructure) in this
region had a benecial impact on freeze-thaw resistance.
Lastly, aggregate/paste interface damage is typical of freezethaw action (Gokce et al., 2004) which induces gradual debonding and the eventual detachment of the aggregate, as depicted in Fig. 11.

3.4.3.2. Microcracking. In the samples studied, microcracks were

found to appear more frequently in the paste than along the
aggregate/paste interface and less frequently yet across the coarse
aggregate. Nonetheless, natural gravel was more intensely cracked
than the recycled material.
This distribution of microcracks is consistent with observations
by other authors (Hanjari et al., 2011; Vancura et al., 2011), that

Table 6
Total porosity and pore size distribution of aggregates.
Porosity

Gravel

Ceramic

Total porosity (%)

Partial porosity (%)

0.23
0.10
0.00

0.32
0.15
0.10

4 mm
<4 mm

C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

Fig. 7. Scaled particle mass versus number of freeze-thaw cycles.

Fig. 8. Concrete after 56 freeze-thaw cycles.

Fig. 9. Microanalysis and surface damage in recycled ceramic aggregate (120).

157

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C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

Fig. 10. Microanalysis and surface damage in gravel (120).

observed that cracks tend to concentrate in the paste and at the

interface.
Figs. 11 and 12 depict typical interface microcracks. The greater
detail in Fig. 12 also shows how these cracks spread perpendicularly
outward from the aggregate surface, across the aggregate/paste
interface and into the paste.
The micrographs in Fig. 13 depict cracking in the concrete paste,
which was more intense in the control concrete (RC) than in the
recycled concrete containing 25% ceramic aggregate (CC-25). This
was because freeze-thaw-induced cracking is a result of the stress
generated in the pore system by a number of mechanisms (see
Section 1). When stress is greater than concrete tensile strength,
the material cracks. The recycled concretes, which had higher
tensile strength (see Table 6) consequently cracked less readily. The

effect of tensile strength on freeze-thaw resistance has also been

reported by other researchers (Gencel et al., 2012; Mohamed et al.,
2009).
Table 7 gives the mean and maximum widths of concrete cracks
at the aggregate/paste interface and in the paste. The values in the
table reveal a substantial difference in mean and maximum
microcrack widths along the two types of interface. Indeed, the
(mean and maximum) values were 92% lower along the interface
between the inner side of the ceramic aggregate and the paste than
along the natural gravel/paste interface. These values are consistent
with the results described in item 3.4.3.1.
The microcracks in the paste in the concretes studied were slightly
narrower in the recycled materials, with the mean and maximum
widths 6 and 17% smaller, respectively, in CC-25 than in RC.

Fig. 11. Damage at ITZs (1000): a) natural aggregate/paste; b) inner ceramic aggregate/paste interface; c) outer ceramic aggregate/paste interface.

C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

159

Fig. 12. Microcrack distribution at the aggregate/paste interface.

Fig. 13. Cracks in concrete paste.

Lastly, the width of all the cracks was less than the 100 mm
dened as the durability limit by some researchers (Sahmaran et al.,
2012; Reinhardt and Jooss, 2003) according to whom cracks smaller
than that size, if treated with self-repairing materials, do not
compromise structural feasibility.
Table 7
Mean and maximum microcrack widths at the aggregate/paste interface in the
concretes studied.
ITZ

ecrack (mm)

emax
(mm)

Concrete
paste

ecrack (mm)

emax
(mm)

Inner side of ceramic

aggregate/paste
Outer side of ceramic
aggregate/paste
Gravel/paste

0.45  0.057

0.52

RC

1.67  0.540

2.27

2.58  0.465

3.04

CC-20

1.59  0.283

1.99

5.82  0.701

6.59

CC-25

1.57  0.329

1.88

Note: ITZ: interfacial transition zone/ecrack: mean widths of concrete cracks/emax:

maximum widths of concrete cracks.

4. Conclusions
The following conclusions can be drawn from the aforementioned results.
1. Sanitary ware industry aggregate is more resistant to temperature change than natural coarse aggregate.
2. The new concrete is more freeze-thaw resistant than conventional concrete. The scaling rate is lower and the cracks are
narrower in recycled concrete. Both effects are accentuated
with rising replacement ratios.
3. According to the results obtained under the present research,
these recycled concretes may be apt for use in structural
concrete when they are in a specic exposure class type with
frost and without deicing salts such as: constructions in
mountainous areas and winter resorts. Nevertheless, it is
required more extensive research on durability in further work.

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C. Medina et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 40 (2013) 151e160

4. The technical, economic and environmental advantages

attendant upon the potential replacement of natural coarse
aggregate with recycled ceramic sanitary ware waste show
promise for construction industry sustainability.
The study of freeze-thaw-induced microstructural damage in
concrete provides highly useful information for predicting the
mechanical behaviour and permeability of structures throughout
their service life.
Acknowledgements
The present study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of
Science and Innovation under coordinated research Project
(BIA2010-21194-C03-01).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.08.042.
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