Experimental investigation of recycled aggregate effect on the concrete properties
Authors: Hemmati Pourghashti Hamed , Ranjbar Malek Mohammad , Madandoust Rahmat 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a laboratory investigation on measuring the tensile strength of recycled concrete using a double punch test. Furthermore, one of the main goals of this study is to compare the tensile and compressive strengths of recycled concrete samples.

Design/methodology/approach
Recycled concrete samples were made with variables such as aggregate type (natural stone and aggregate recycled concrete), different water-to-cement ratios and different treatment conditions in the first stage. In the next stage, the double punch test was performed on them, and finally the results obtained from experiments were analyzed and investigated.

Findings
According to the above tests, it was concluded that: first, according to the laboratory results, the strength of concrete containing recycled aggregates becomes closer to the strength of concrete containing natural aggregates whenever the water-to-cement ratio is higher. Second, upon investigating the treatment conditions, it was observed that the treatment had a greater effect on the strength of the recycled concrete. However, this effect was less tangible in tensile strength. Third, upon investigating the results of tensile strength, it can be said that the Barcelona test results were closer to the direct tensile test results compared to the Brazilian test results. This indicates the higher viability of Barcelona’s test results. Fourth, the results obtained from the Barcelona tensile test for recycled concrete were closer to the results of the direct tensile test compared to the concrete containing natural aggregates, which suggests that the Barcelona test is more suitable as a tensile test for recycled concrete. Fifth, the effects of various factors on tensile strength were somewhat less compared to the compressive strength, although very close. Sixth, the relationships provided by the regulation for concrete tensile strength on compressive strength were highly inconsistent with the results obtained from the direct tensile test, for which the consistency was higher for concrete containing natural aggregates compared to recycled concrete. Seventh, the dispersion of results obtained from tensile tests was higher for recycled concrete compared to concrete containing natural aggregates, but lesser of this dispersion was observed in the compressive strength.

Originality/value
According to the laboratory results, the strength of concrete containing recycled aggregates becomes closer to the strength of concrete containing natural aggregates whenever the water-to-cement ratio is higher. Upon investigating the treatment conditions, it was observed that the treatment had a greater effect on the strength of the recycled concrete. However, this effect was less tangible in tensile strength. On the basis on the results of the tensile strength, it can be said that the Barcelona test results were closer to the results of the direct tensile test compared to those of the Brazilian test. This indicates the higher viability of Barcelona’s test results. The results obtained from the Barcelona tensile test for recycled concrete were closer to the results of direct tensile test compared to the concrete containing natural aggregates, which suggests that the Barcelona test is more suitable as a tensile test for recycled concrete. The effects of various factors on tensile strength were somewhat less compared to the compressive strength, although very close. The relationships provided by the regulation for concrete tensile strength on compressive strength were highly inconsistent with the results obtained from the direct tensile test, for which the consistency was higher for concrete containing natural aggregate compared to recycled concrete. The dispersion of results obtained from tensile tests was higher for recycled concrete compared to concrete containing natural aggregate, but lesser of this dispersion was observed in the compressive strength.