# Long-Term Deformations and Mechanical Properties of Fine Recycled Aggregate Earth Concrete
## 4 Conclusions and Perspectives  
The long-term deformations of NS and RS earth concrete mixtures were evaluated. The residual properties of specimens subjected to different loading and curing conditions were also calculated and compressive tests were monitored in parallel with the AE technique. The followings can be stated:  
* When RS completely replaces NS in earth concrete, the autogenous shrinkage decreases by 54% while the basic creep, drying shrinkage and drying creep increase by 12%, 77% and 153%, respectively.
* The compressive strength of the NS and RS specimens subjected to different loading and curing conditions increases as follows: reference < autogenous shrinkage < basic creep < drying shrinkage < drying creep specimen. In addition, NS mixtures reported higher strength development than RS ones except for autogenous shrinkage. The drying creep specimen reported 129% and 42% strength increase with respect to the autogenous shrinkage specimens in NS and RS, respectively.
* The loaded sealed and loaded drying specimens reported higher values of Young's modulus than the unloaded sealed and unloaded drying specimens, respectively. The basic creep specimens exhibited the highest value of Young's modulus while the drying shrinkage specimens reported the lowest value, which may be attributed to shrinkage induced cracking.
* The generation of AE activity in the pre-peak phase is influenced by compressive strength, Young's modulus, drying process, peak strain and loading. Furthermore, it can be stated that the monitoring of AE activity during the compressive tests reflected the vulnerability of specimens subjected to drying due to shrinkage induced cracking. Moreover, the sealed specimens evidenced less brittle behavior than the dry ones according to AE.  
Additional studies will be realized in the future in order to study the effect of different loading levels on creep behavior and take into account the variability of the soil. Additional tests will be also realized at the microscopic level, in addition to the classification of AE signals in order to better understand the different mechanisms and evaluate, for example, the vulnerability to drying and ITZ properties. Finally, the effect of recycled aggregates surface treatments on their compatibility and functionality in the earth concrete mix will be studied, in addition to the investigation of their thermal insulation properties.  
**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, J.S.; data curation, H.F.; formal analysis, H.F. and J.S.; funding acquisition, N.S.; investigation, H.F. and J.S.; methodology, J.S., J.-L.C. and N.S.; project administration, N.S.; resources, J.S., J.-L.C., A.C. and N.S.; supervision, J.S. and N.S.; validation, J.S.; writing--original draft, H.F.; writing--review and editing, J.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
**Funding:** This research received no external funding.  
**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study did not require ethical approval.  
**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Acknowledgments:** Not applicable.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.