Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

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Improving the mechanical properties and durability of steam-cured

concrete by incorporating recycled clay bricks aggregates from C&D waste
Chunlin Su a, Jinyan Shi a, L.U.D. Tambara Jr b, c, Yuanxia Yang a, **, Baoju Liu a, *,
Víctor Revilla-Cuesta d
a
School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410075, China
b
Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro – UENF, Laboratório de Materiais Avançados, Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
c
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Division 7.4 Technology of Construction Materials, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
d
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Burgos, c/Villadiego s/n, 09001 Burgos, Spain

H I G H L I G H T S G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T

• Low-quality C&D waste is recycled with

high added value in precast concrete
elements.
• The durability of steam-cured concrete
is improved by using the appropriate
amount of RBAs.
• Technical, economic and environmental
feasibility of RBA-modified steam-cured
concrete is assessed.

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

Keywords: The output of C&D waste is increasing year by year, among which low-quality recycled brick aggregates (RBAs)
Steam-cured concrete have not been well utilized and brought environmental burden. The durability of steam-cured concrete (HCC) is
C&D waste often compromised due to the detrimental effects of this curing regime on the long-term performance and
Durability
microstructure development of the concrete material. To address this issue, this study investigates the potential
Recycled aggregate
Environmental benefits
of incorporating RBAs to improve the long-term durability of HCC. The results demonstrate that the incorpo­
ration of a small amount of RBA (10–20%) not only enhances the 28-d strength of HCC by 2.5–11.3%, but also
improves its impermeability by mitigating heat damage effects. The combined application of fine and coarse RBA
was found to effectively balance the negative effects of coarse RBA on the performance of HCC. Furthermore, the
utilization of RBA in HCC was shown to have economic and environmental benefits. The results of this study
demonstrate a simple and effective approach to improve the long-term durability of HCC while promoting the
high-value utilization of solid waste.

* Corresponding author at: School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410075, China.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: 562849410@[Link] (Y. Yang), bjliu@[Link] (B. Liu).

[Link]
Received 23 May 2023; Received in revised form 1 February 2024; Accepted 25 February 2024
Available online 5 March 2024
0032-5910/© 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

1. Introduction mortar [18]. Therefore, incorporating porous aggregate is an effective

technical way to improve the adverse effects of SC on the long-term
At present, China is vigorously promoting the industrialization of performance of concrete. However, most high-quality porous aggre­
construction, and the proportion of prefabricated buildings is increasing gates (e.g. ceramsite sand, artificial aggregates, and porous ceramics)
[1]. Precast concrete elements are the main components of prefabricated are currently used, while low-quality porous aggregates (e.g. recycled
buildings, which are often produced by steam curing (SC) to increase waste) have not been well used in HCC.
their early-age strength [2]. SC accelerates cement hydration and re­ The increasing pace of urbanization has led to the demolition of
duces curing time, which in turn increases mold turnover efficiency and dilapidated buildings, resulting in the generation of a significant amount
saves time costs [3,4]. of C&D waste. According to recent studies, approximately 80% of this
SC is an accelerated curing system that transfers heat through water waste consists of concrete and clay brick materials [19,20]. Recycled
vapor, thereby accelerating the hydration of the binders [5]. Shi et al. concrete aggregates have some similar physical properties to natural
produced concrete samples using a common SC regime and concluded aggregates, making them a popular choice for the preparation of fresh
that the compressive strength of steam-cured concrete (HCC) after concrete. However, the high crushing value and water absorption of
demoulding (14 h) was 40–50 MPa, which represented more than 60%– RBAs categorize them as low-quality aggregates, limiting their usage in
70% of the 28-d strength [6]. Compared with standard-cured concrete, high-value concrete applications [19]. In view of this, this study aims to
the early hydration speed of HCC is accelerated, and the microstructure explore the use of low-quality RBAs to enhance the long-term perfor­
formation and strength development speed are also improved [6]. mance of HCC, thereby promoting the high-value utilization of RBAs. In
However, the faster hydration rate results in coarsening of the pore the study, high quality HCC was prepared using RBAs of varying vol­
structure and uneven distribution of hydration products in concrete, umes and sizes. The mechanical properties, durability, and particularly
which leads to a decrease in the long-term strength and durability when the permeability of the concrete were investigated. Additionally, the
conducting a SC, especially on concrete surface [7]. Long et al. defined research evaluated the improvement effect of RBAs on heat damage in
the adverse effect of SC on concrete as heat damage effect [8]. Liu et al. HCC and its environmental benefits.
prepared steam-cured fly ash concrete and concluded that its 28-
d strength was only 82.05% of wet-cured concrete [9]. Wang et al. 2. Materials and methods
also concluded that SC reduced the 28-d peak stress of concrete under
impact load, which was mainly due to the internal damage of concrete 2.1. Materials
caused by high-temperature curing [10]. Compared with the mechanical
strengths, SC has a more obvious influence on the deterioration of the Ordinary Portland cement (P⋅O 42.5) was used in this experiment,
long-term durability of concrete. Ho et al. concluded that the surface which was provided by Hunan Pingtang South Cement Co. Ltd. Natural
quality of the 1-d heat-cured samples was only comparable to that of the coarse aggregate (NCA) was limestone aggregate, and natural fine
2–3-d standard-cured samples by water absorption evaluation [11]. aggregate (NFA) was river sand. Clay bricks, as RBA, were extracted
Zhou et al. also found that for HCC cured for 90 d, its surface perme­ from the C&D waste in the Central South University, as shown in Fig. 1.
ability was still 1.25–2.25 times that of standard-cured concrete [12]. Those recycled aggregates were ground and sieved by a mobile crusher
Shi et al. demonstrated that the surface damage of HCC was more severe (jaw crusher, YL90L-4), and then cleaned and dried to produce recycled
than that of the interior and that permeability was an effective measure coarse brick aggregates (RCBA) and recycled fine brick aggregates
to evaluate the degree of damage [7,13]. In order to ensure the quality of (RFBA), as presented in Fig. 2. RCBA and RFBA were obtained through
prefabricated components, it is necessary to propose effective measures screening. The water-reducing ratio of polycarboxylate superplasticizer
to alleviate the adverse effects of SC on concrete material, especially in (SP) added was about 37%, and its solid content was 40%.
terms of durability. All aggregate properties were determined according to Chinese
In order to alleviate the adverse effects of SC on concrete, researchers standards, GB/T 14685–2011 and GB/T 14684–2011. The sieve analysis
propose to optimize the SC regime and binder system, and use subse­ and physical properties of aggregates are presented in Fig. 3 and Table 1,
quent curing or internal curing measures. Obviously, reducing the SC respectively. The crushing value of the RBA was found to be significantly
temperature is the simplest strategy, but this comes at the expense of the higher than that of the natural aggregate. The RBAs had a higher water
early-ages performance development of the concrete [14]. Shi et al. absorption and lower apparent density due to their porous microstruc­
proposed that increasing the initial strength or incorporating subsequent ture. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the RFBA showed a
curing methods can effectively enhance the long-term durability of HCC.
[3,15]. Ho et al. and Wang et al. used supplementary cementitious
materials (SCMs) to replace part of the cement to prepare HCC, and
found that the strength loss and durability loss caused by SC were
reduced [3,11]. In addition to optimizing the curing regime and binder
system, some researchers have also improved the long-term perfor­
mance of HCC by incorporating porous aggregates [16]. Long et al. used
30 Vol% ceramsite sand instead of river sand to prepare HCC, and found
that its 28-d strength increased compared with that of HCC without
lightweight aggregate, while the strength of specimens mixed with equal
volume expanded clay ceramsite of higher size and higher water ab­
sorption became lower [16]. By testing the temperature inside the
concrete, it was found that the lightweight aggregate slowed down the
rise rate of temperature, thereby reducing the adverse effects of SC on
concrete [16]. Nie et al. also found that incorporating expanded shale
into steam-cured mortar improved the long-term mechanical strength
and impermeability of sample by improving the interfacial transition
zone (ITZ) and increasing the long-term hydration degree of the paste
[17]. Nie et al. also concluded that the long-term performance (chloride
ion diffusion and water absorption) of steam-cured mortar mixed with
expanded shale was similar to or even better than that of air-cured Fig. 1. Source of clay bricks used.

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

porous structure, and the element mapping results indicated that it was the penetration depth of chloride ions was determined by silver nitrate
primarily composed of Si and Al, with a small presence of Ca and Fe (See solution. Air gas permeability was performed for three samples per
Fig. 4). group according to CNS JTJ270–98. For the test device and process for
measuring gas permeability, refer to Ref. [22]. The side-sealed samples
2.2. Concrete preparation (cylinders, 100 mm in diameter and 50 mm in height) were connected at
both ends to the air chamber, and the gas permeability of the sample was
In order to study the influence of the use of recycled aggregates on calculated from the change in air pressure (0.056 to 0.050 MPa) [22].
the concrete properties, NCA and NFA were respectively replaced by The capillary water absorption test was performed for three specimens
RCBA and RFBA with different contents. First, RFBA was used to replace per group according to ASTM 1585–13, and the testing duration was 8
10% and 20% of NFA (Vol%) to prepare S10 and S20 mixtures, days. The side of the dried sample (Φ100 × 50 mm) was sealed with wax
respectively. Then, to ensure same volumes of RFBA and RCBA in the to ensure one dimensional penetration after 28-d curing. The bottom
mixture, the RBA content in the mixture was determined by the volume side of the sample was in contact with water until the eighth day, and the
fraction of RFBA. Eight groups of concrete were prepared and the sorptivity coefficient was calculated from the change in sample weight.
effective water-cement ratio was 0.3, as presented in Table 2. To avoid Prismatic specimens (100 × 100 × 515 mm) for drying shrinkage
affecting the workability of fresh concrete, the aggregates were treated were tested following GB/T 50082–2009. After curing for 28 d, drying
by pre-soaking method. Before concrete preparing, RCBA and RFBA shrinkage was evaluated at 20 ± 1 ◦ C and 50% RH. Daily measurements
were pre-wetted for 24 h, and the water consumption was determined were taken using an extensometer and a dial indicator, and weight
according to previous research [21]. The total water consumption of changes were also recorded for three samples per group. According to
recycled concrete includes the mixing water consumption of conven­ GB/T 50082–2009, three samples (100 × 100 × 300 mm) were prepared
tional concrete preparation and the additional water consumption to get for carbonation test. To prevent carbon dioxide from passing through
RBA wetted. The slump of the mixture was maintained at 80 ± 20 mm the side of the sample, the dried specimens were firstly coated with wax
and it was determined according to ASTM C 143 standard. except for one side. Then, they were placed in a carbonation chamber at
a temperature of 20 ± 2 ◦ C, RH of 70 ± 5%, and CO2 concentration of 20
± 3%. Finally, the carbonation depth was respectively measured for 3, 7,
2.3. Curing conditions
14, and 28 d to evaluate the carbonation resistance of the specimens.
The rapid freeze-thaw test was carried out for three samples per group
All samples were cured under SC after pouring, and the general SC
according to GB/T 50082. The samples (100 × 100 × 400 mm) were
condition was adopted, as shown in Fig. 5 [3]. After curing at 20 ◦ C and
removed from the curing room in advance and were soaked in water for
60% relative humidity (RH) for 2 h, all samples were placed in SC box
4 d until 28 d, and the relative dynamic elastic modulus (EM) was
and started to raise the temperature up to 60 ◦ C at the heating rate of 20
measured. During the test, the concrete samples were put into a rubber
◦
C/h, then the SC box maintained at a constant temperature of 60 ◦ C for
box filled with water, and the cycle temperature of the freeze test ma­
8 h. After that, the formwork was removed immediately, and specimens
chine was − 18 ± 2 to 5 ± 2 ◦ C. The freeze-thaw resistance of the sample
were cooled to environmental temperature within 2 h. Finally, these
was evaluated by the EM before and after cycles.
concrete were moved to the standard curing room with RH of 95% and
SEM testing was adopted to observe the ITZ of the samples using
the temperature of 20 ± 2 ◦ C.
secondary electron imaging mode. The specimens were immersed in
isopropyl alcohol to terminate hydration. A gold coating was subse­
2.4. Test methods quently applied to the surface of the dried specimens. Mercury intrusion
porosimetry (MIP) was used to test the change of pore structure of the
According to GB/T 50081–2002, three samples for per group were cement sample to find out the influence of RBA on the HCC.
carried on for the compressive strength test at 1 and 28 d, respectively. The impact of RBA on concrete’s economic and environmental
The sample size was 100 × 100 × 100 mm, and the loading speed was benefits were evaluated based on previous studies [23], and the calcu­
0.15 mm/min. According to NT Build 492, the resistance to chloride lation parameters are shown in Table S1. The global warming potential
penetration was evaluated by rapid chloride migration test, which was (CO2-eq, GWP), ozone depletion potential (CFC11-eq, ODP), nutrifica­
an unsteady migration test to accelerate chloride ion penetration tion potential (PO4-eq, NP), photochemical ozone creation potential
through an external electric field. Three test specimens were cylinders (C2H4-eq, POCP), and acidification potential (SO2-eq, AP) parameters of
with the dimension of Φ100 × 50 mm, and the test age was 28 d. Finally,

Fig. 2. RBA. (a) RCBA, and (b) RFBA.

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

the concrete were evaluated according to standardized eco-balance Table 1

method [23]. Properties of aggregates.
Properties NCA NFA RCBA RFBA
3. Experimental results 3
Apparent density (kg/m ) 2650 2440 1750 1970
24-h water absorption (%) – – 14.4 20.3
3.1. Compressive strength Crushing value (%) 15.03 16.95 31.72 25.53

Fig. 6 presents the effect of incorporating RBA on the compressive

Meanwhile, the internal curing effect of RBA can also effectively alle­
strength of HCC. HCC has high early-ages mechanical properties. The
viate the heat damage effect of SC, thereby improving the long-term
high temperature promotes the hydration of the cement, making its 1-
mechanical properties of concrete. Although the addition of RCBA re­
d strength reach 50%–70% of its 28-d strength [13]. In general, due to
duces the 28-d strength of the HCC compared to the plain concrete, it
the high crushing value of RBA, its incorporation into concrete reduces
can still reach more than 96% of the reference sample. Compared with
the strength of the samples, and the strength of concrete will further
ordinary concrete, RBA is more suitable for application in HCC due to its
decrease with the increase in RBA content [19]. The HCCs mixed with
mitigation effect on heat damage [18]. In addition, the combined
RFBA exhibit higher 1-d compressive strength compared to the RCBA-
application of RFBA and RCBA can eliminate the decrease in strength
incorporated concrete, probably because the large-sized weak parts
caused by the incorporation of RCBA alone, but the 28-d strength de­
are more detrimental to the performance development of the concrete.
creases slightly with the increase in the RCBA ratio.
The crushing value of RFBA is 1.5 times that of NFA, while the crushing
value of RCBA is 2.1 times that of NCA. It is worth noting that the 1-
d strength of concrete mixed with 10% RFBA is slightly higher than 3.2. Capillary water absorption
that of plain concrete, which is determined by the combination of the
curing regime and aggregate properties. For HCC, the early coupling of Fig. 7 presents the effect of RBA on the capillary water absorption
moisture and heat increases the pore coarsening and the development of behavior of HCC. SC accelerates the hydration of the cement and makes
micro-cracks inside the sample, and is detrimental to the development of the distribution of hydration products uneven, which lead to a loosening
early-ages strength of concrete. Under the action of high temperature, of the microstructure. Previous studies have shown that the heat damage
the gas-liquid phase inside the concrete expands, resulting in the effect of SC significantly affects the long-term durability (permeability)
coarsening of pores, the expansion of ITZ and the development of micro- of concrete [3]. Fig. 7(b) is obtained by fitting Fig. 7(a), and incorpo­
cracks [16]. As a porous aggregate, RBA can effectively release the rating a small amount of porous aggregate can reduce the sorptivity
expansion pressure inside the HCC, thereby reducing the damage de­ coefficient of HCC. The regression analysis is listed in the Table 3. These
gree. Therefore, incorporating appropriate amount of porous aggregate regression coefficients are all greater than 0.97. The samples with a
can improve the early-ages strength of HCC. In addition, the 1-d strength small amount of RFBA have lower sorptivity coefficients compared to
of the samples with synergistic application of RCBA and RFBA is plain concrete, but the sorptivity coefficients of the samples mixed with
increased compared to the HCC with RCBA only. RCBA are all higher. The capillarity results indicate that frequent water-
The 28-d strength of the plain specimen is 55.6 MPa, and those of vapor exchange is the main factor for concrete surface damage during
S10, S20, G10, and G20 samples are 61.9, 57.0, 54.9, and 53.5 MPa, SC. The incorporation of porous RBA can provide channels for the
respectively, corresponding to approximately 11.3%, 2.5%, − 1.3%, and expanding water/gas phase, thereby inhibiting the formation of inter­
− 3.8% increases compared to that of the plain HCC. Although the connected pore channels in the matrix and lowing the permeability of
stiffness of RBA is low, the 28-d strengths of HCC can be improved by concrete. However, the sorptivity coefficient of HCC increases with the
incorporating RBA with appropriate content and size. Under the action increase of RBA content due to the high porosity of RBA providing
of high temperature, the potential pozzolanic reactivity of RBA may be channels for water penetration. When RCBA and RFBA are combined in
stimulated, so that the ITZ between RBA and matrix is strengthened. HCC, the sorptivity coefficient also increases with the RCBA substitution

Fig. 3. Sieve analysis of aggregate.

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

Fig. 4. SEM of RFBA. (a) SEM image, (b) high-magnification SEM image, and (c) mapping image.

Table 2
Mix proportion of HCC mixed with RBA (kg/m3).
Mix Cement NFA NCA RFBA RCBA Water SP (%)

C 450 720 1206 0 0 135 0.45

S10 450 648 1206 58.13 0 135 0.45
S20 450 576 1206 116.26 0 135 0.45
G10 450 720 1117.96 0 51.64 135 0.45
G20 450 720 1029.92 0 103.28 135 0.45
G15S5 450 684 1073.94 29.07 77.46 135 0.45
G10S10 450 648 1117.96 58.13 51.64 135 0.45
G5S15 450 612 1161.98 87.20 25.82 135 0.45

Fig. 6. Compressive strength of HCC.

is controlled by the SC box and the cement hydration. The rapid tem­
perature rise leads to the rapid dissolution of cement minerals and the
rapid deposition of hydration products, and makes the unhydrated
cement minerals encapsulated, which is detrimental to the long-term
performance development of concrete. Previous studies have pre­
sented that appropriately increasing the initial structural strength of
concrete or slowing down the heating rate can effectively reduce heat
damage and improve the long-term durability of HCC [3,7]. In the heat-
cured cement-based material system, the porous aggregate can play the
role of heat storage and absorption during the heating process of the
Fig. 5. The SC regime used in this study. concrete. This can effectively alleviate the heating rate and make the
temperature field distribution inside the concrete more uniform [16]. A
ratio, due to RCBA’s higher porosity and pore interconnectivity uniform temperature and humidity field can reduce the effect of heat
compared to RFBA. Nei et al. also found that replacing part of the sand damage, thereby improving the long-term impermeability of HCC [24].
with expanded shale reduced the sorptivity coefficient of steam-cured During the cooling stage, the heat in the RBA is gradually released,
mortar [18]. which also alleviates the microcrack development and brittleness in­
crease caused by the rapid temperature drop [16,24]. However, it has to
be admitted that the incorporation of large-sized porous aggregates is
3.3. Rapid chloride migration detrimental to improving the impermeability of HCC. This is related to
the porosity, specific surface area and pore structure of porous aggre­
Fig. 8 presents the resistance to chloride ion penetration of HCC, and gates. Of course, the combined application of RCBA and RFBA can make
its chloride migration coefficient ranges from 13.09 to 18.07 × 10− 12 the chloride permeability coefficient of HCC to be reduced compared to
m2/s on average. The chloride impermeability of concrete is closely the sample mixed with 20% RCBA.
related to the service life of the concrete structure. Incorporating ~20%
RFBA can effectively reduce the chloride permeability coefficient of
HCC. In the heating stage of SC, the internal temperature of the concrete

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Fig. 7. Capillary water absorption results of 28-d cured HCC (a) and sorptivity coefficient (b) of HCC.

Table 3
Capillary absorption results calculated from fitted curves in Fig. 7 (a).
Mix Sorptivity coefficient Fitting equation Regression coefficient

C 3.124 × 10− 4 4√̅ 0.997

I= 3.124 × 10− t+0.04258
S10 2.771 × 10− 4 4√̅ 0.995
I= 2.771 × 10− t+0.03608
S20 2.927 × 10− 4 4√̅ 0.997
I= 2.927 × 10− t+0.04140
G10 3.865 × 10− 4 4 ̅
√
0.986
I= 3.865 × 10− t+0.05063
G20 4.042 × 10− 4 4√̅ 0.977
I= 4.042 × 10− t+0.06510
G15S5 4.002 × 10− 4 4√̅ 0.985
I= 4.002 × 10− t+0.05560
G10S10 3.649 × 10− 4 4 ̅
√
0.988
I= 3.649 × 10− t+0.04894
G5S15 3.366 × 10− 4 4√̅ 0.991
I= 3.366 × 10− t+0.04512

Fig. 8. Chloride diffusivity of HCC mixed with RBA at 28 d. Fig. 9. Gas permeability of HCC mixed with RBA at 28 d.

3.4. Gas permeability 6.93, and 8.54 × 10− 7 m2/s, respectively, corresponding to approxi­
mately − 15.17%, − 10.05%, 11.59%, and 37.52% increases compared to
Fig. 9 presents the effect of RBA on the gas permeability of HCC. The that of the plain HCC. For HCC, the low hydration degree in the long-
permeability of gas, water, and chloride ions in concrete relate to pore term is one of the reasons that limit the development of its properties.
structure, atomic size, and potential interactions. Compared to ions and The hydration product shell formed by the early rapid hydration hinders
water, gas has the slightest interaction (reaction) with cement-based the further hydration of the residual cement clinker, thereby reducing its
materials and is considered the test medium that best reflects its long-term hydration degree [7]. Meanwhile, internal curing is an
proper permeability. The gas permeability of plain specimen is 6.21 × effective way to promote further hydration of residual cement [17]. The
10− 7 m2/s, and those of S10, S20, G10, and G20 samples are 5.27, 5.59, water in the RBA is released during subsequent curing and promotes
further hydration of the residual cement. Compared with RCBA, RFBA

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has a more uniform distribution and a larger specific surface area. Other
studies also show that RCBA has higher porosity, but its 24-h water
absorption is lower than that of RFBA, which indicates that RFBA has
better water retention and internal curing effect [20]. Similar to the
results of chloride migration coefficient, the gas permeability coefficient
of the G20 shows the highest increase compared with the reference
sample.

3.5. Drying shrinkage

Fig. 10 presents the drying shrinkage behavior of HCC. The reference

group has the highest drying shrinkage deformation. Incorporating RBA
with internal curing function into concrete can effectively reduce the
drying shrinkage of the samples. The 82-d drying shrinkage of plain
concrete (C) is 493.83 um/m, and those of S10, S20, G10, and G20
samples are 328.64, 240.74, 407.41, and 278.95 um/m, respectively,
corresponding to approximately 33.45%, 51.25%, 17.50%, and 43.51%
decreases compared to that of the plain HCC. RFBA has higher specific
surface area, water storage capacity and more uniform distribution than
RCBA of the same volume, which are more beneficial to relieve the Fig. 11. Carbonation depth of HCC.
shrinkage deformation of concrete. In addition, the coarsening of the
pore structure and the development of micro-cracks in the HCC also
3.6. Carbonation resistance
accelerate the loss of water, thereby aggravating the drying shrinkage
deformation of the concrete. Meanwhile, the higher stiffness of RFBA is
Fig. 11 presents the carbonation resistance of HCC incorporating
beneficial in resisting shrinkage deformation of concrete, leading to
RBA, and the carbonation depth of the concrete increases with the
lower drying shrinkage than concrete incorporating the same volume of
carbonation age. Under the same paste volume condition, the carbon­
RCBA. As discussed earlier, porous aggregates can alleviate the adverse
ation behavior of concrete is related to the gas permeability [25]. The
effects of expansion pressure and rapid temperature rise, reducing heat
concrete samples with a small amount of RFBA show a relatively low
damage of HCC incorporating RBA. Therefore, the plain concrete has the
carbonation depth due to heat damage mitigation and internal curing
largest shrinkage deformation, and the samples incorporating RFBA
effect of RFBA. Although some studies showed that the paste will close
show lower drying shrinkage than concrete incorporating the same
the pore channels of porous aggregates and make its contribution to
volume of RCBA. Further, the increase in RBA content also increases the
carbonation reduced, the concentrated pore channels of RCBA in this
internal curing water, reducing the shrinkage deformation of HCC.
study may not be ignored [26]. The concentrated pore channels of RCBA
may lead to an increase in carbonation depth of HCC incorporating
RCBA, similar to the changing trend of gas permeability. The carbon­
ation depths of the plain concrete are lower than those of RCBA incor­
poration group (G10 and G20) at all ages. Incorporating a small amount
of RFBA can effectively improve the carbonation resistance of HCC
mixed with RCBA.

3.7. Freeze-thaw cycle

After 100 freeze-thaw cycles, the surface of the HCC samples shows
different damage degrees, as shown in Fig. S1. Previous studies have
shown that the mass loss ratio cannot accurately characterize the frost
resistance of concrete mixed with RBA because the porous material
provides more space for water intrusion [21]. Meanwhile, Zhao et al.
found that as the number of cycles increased, the weight of concrete
mixed with RBA increased [21,27]. Therefore, the EM is used in this
study to evaluate the frost resistance of HCC.
As the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases, the EM of concrete
decreases, as presented in Fig. 12. Similar to the permeability, the EM of
S10 sample has the slowest decrease rate, while the decrease rate of EM
of the G20 sample is fastest. The EM of the plain specimen is 69.0% for
150 freeze-thaw cycles, and those of S10, S20, G10, and G20 samples are
79.2%, 77.6%, 68.4%, and 50.5%, respectively, corresponding to
14.78%, 12.46%, − 0.87%, and − 26.81% increases compared to the
plain HCC. Except for individual samples (S10 and S20), the EM of HCC
is lower than that of plain concrete after 150 freeze-thaw cycles. This is
mainly because the porous aggregate provides additional space for
water, which in turn accelerates freeze-thaw damage for concrete.
Therefore, small-sized RBAs are recommended for use in HCC, which
can improve the compactness of the matrix and reduce damage caused
by freezing and expansion of excessive free water.

Fig. 10. Drying shrinkage of HCC mixed with RBA.

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and Al elements on the RBA is higher, while the content of Ca is lower. In

addition, the area B is indicated as cement matrix. The RBA and the
matrix are closely bonded, better than the bond between the river sand
and the matrix (See Fig. 14). RBA has angular appearance, which can
increase the occlusal force between the aggregate and the matrix.
Meanwhile, the pozzolanic reactivity of RBA is also beneficial to
improve the compactness of ITZ. In addition, the RBA can absorb the
free water of the ITZ, thereby eliminating the wall effect and acting as an
internal curing medium.
Fig. 15 presents the microstructure of the connection between
different sizes of RBAs and matrix. The EDS results qualitatively
confirmed the presence of C-S-H near the aggregates. High-temperature
curing generally increases the polymerization degree of C-S-H gel,
thereby reducing its calcium-to‑silicon ratio [28]. When the size of the
RBAs decreases, the Ca/Si ratio of the cement matrix decreases from
1.08 to 0.73. RFBA and matrix tightly connected to form a whole, as
shown in Fig. 15 (b). While there are obvious visible cracks between
RCBA and matrix in the Fig. 15 (a).

4. Discussion
Fig. 12. EM of HCC.
4.1. Improvement mechanism of RBAs for HCC
3.8. Microstructure
In HCC, porous aggregates have been playing an important role in
The pore structure of the 28-d HCC is presented in Fig. 13. The total improving heat damage [16]. RBA has multiple effects in HCC, and its
porosity of the plain specimen is the highest, while the incorporation of improvement mechanism for heat damage is shown in Fig. 16. During
RBAs can effectively reduce the total porosity of the concrete matrix (See the heating stage, the gas and liquid phases in the fresh concrete are
Fig. 13(a)). This is mainly due to the internal curing effect of porous thermally expanded to generate expansion pressure. The RBA provides a
aggregate, which promotes further hydration of the concrete matrix. channel for the release of expansive pressure, thereby reducing the
There are apparent pore peaks around 20–2000 nm for the reference damage and cracking of the matrix. Meanwhile, the internal tempera­
sample, while the pore structure of the concrete matrix mixed with RBA ture of sample rises rapidly during the heating stage due to the heat
is refined. For the concrete matrix mixed with RFBA, the pore peak value release of cement hydration and external heat conduction. RBAs can
is further shifted to a smaller size than that of the sample mixed with store heat, thereby mitigating the adverse effects of rapid temperature
RCBA, which indicates that the effect of RFBA on the pore refinement of rise on the early-age structural formation of concrete. On the other hand,
the HCC matrix is more prominent. Most porous aggregates have an the heat in the RBAs can also be slowly released in the cooling stage,
internal curing function to improve the matrix compactness of specimen, which can effectively avoid the generation of micro-cracks. The research
which is similar to the results of previous studies [26]. conducted by Shi et al. highlights that the rapid heating and cooling
The SEM images of HCC mixed with river sand and RBAs are shown rates have a negative impact on the formation of the microstructure of
in Fig. 14. Qualitative element mapping and EDS are used to identify HCC, thus hindering its long-term performance [14,24]. For natural
aggregate types. The silicon-rich area can be identified as river sand aggregates, a water film will gather on its surface, which is detrimental
through qualitative element mapping. Meanwhile, the EDS results of to the development of ITZ performance. Especially for HCC, the high
area A also show that its calcium content is low, which indicates that temperature causes the water film to expand and ITZ deterioration.
area A is RBA. Compared with the concrete matrix, the content of Si, Fe, RBAs can store excess free water, which mitigates ITZ’s degradation. For

Fig. 13. Pore size distribution of HCC. (a) Cumulative porosity, and (b) pore size distribution.

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

Fig. 14. SEM images of HCC with river sand and RBA. (a) SEM image, (b) mapping image, (c) EDS result of area A, and EDS result of area B.

the same volume of RCBA and RFBA, the distribution of RFBA in the except for the G20 specimen, which is slightly higher than that of the
mixture is more uniform, which is more beneficial to alleviate the heat plain concrete, the other samples are significantly lower than the control
damage degree of unhardened concrete. group. For GWP, ODP, AP, NP and POCP parameters, the S10 mixture is
In the hardened state, the water in the RBAs is slowly released, thus reduced by 10.18%, 10.38%, 9.54%, 9.37%, and 9.33%, respectively,
playing the role of internal curing, effectively improving the matrix’s relative to the plain concrete. Obviously, the incorporation of RBA re­
hydration degree and ITZ’s performance. Meanwhile, the pozzolanic duces the cost of mixture, and S10 mixture shows the most excellent
reactivity of RBA cannot be ignored. Calcium hydroxide crystals are environmental benefits. Therefore, incorporating an appropriate
generally oriented on the aggregate surface, reducing the cohesion be­ amount of RBA in HCC can effectively improve its economic and envi­
tween the aggregate and the matrix. The pozzolanic reactivity of RBAs ronmental benefits.
makes them react with Ca(OH)2 and generate gel-like products while
consuming Ca(OH)2. Slow released water also helps further reaction of
4.3. Performance comparison of concrete with RBA and its improvement
cement clinker, and with the increase of following Ca(OH)2 content, the
effect on heat damage of HCC
active silicon in RBA can continue play the role of pozzolanic reactivity.
When the content of RCBA and RFBA are equal, the uniformly distrib­
In general, as the substitution ratio of RBAs increases, the strength of
uted RFBA has a larger contact area with the paste, which is more
concrete decreases significantly due to the high crushing value of
beneficial to exert the internal curing effect and pozzolanic reactivity. In
recycled aggregates, as shown in Fig. 18. Dang et al. used RBA to replace
addition, due to the limited water released distance of pre-wetted RBA,
river sand (25%–100%) and found that the strength of concrete with
the larger contact area between RFBA and the matrix helps to tightly
25% RBA was reduced by 4%–10% relative to the control specimen [29].
bond with the matrix, improving the mechanical property and micro­
For low-strength concrete, the negative effect of RBA on strength is
structure of HCC.
attenuated. Olofinnade et al. utilized RBA to prepare low-strength
concrete with a 28-d strength ranging from 30 to 45 MPa and discov­
4.2. Cost and life cycle assessment of HCC mixed with RBAs ered that incorporating 10% and 20% of RBA led to a 9.7% and 4.9%
relative increase in concrete strength, respectively [30]. The weak areas
Table 4 presents the cost and environmental load for one cubic meter of the aggregate significantly impact the performance of high-strength
of the mixture. Incorporating RBAs to concrete effectively reduces its concrete [31]. Therefore, using RBA to prepare low-strength concrete
cost, and the cost of concrete is lower as the substitution ratio increases. may be a better choice. Substituting RBA for low-strength aggregates or
The incorporation of RBA makes the environmental load (e.g. NP, AP, incorporating them into a low-strength matrix can reduce its negative
and POCP) of the mixture slightly higher, as the potential benefits of effect on sample properties.
reusing RBA (such as landfill land savings and reduced environmental For plastering mortars with only compressive strength of 8–20 MPa,
pollution) are without considering. This is mainly due to the complex the incorporation of 40% RBA increases the samples’ strength by
processes of crushing, screening, and other processes in the collection 6.4–13.7% relative to the plain samples [31]. However, for high-
process of RBAs, which generate a high environmental load. strength concrete, reducing the substitution level of RBA and
Due to the different strengths of concrete, the cost and environ­ enhancing the performance of RBA become the feasible approaches. Due
mental benefits per unit compressive strength (28 d) of concrete are to the low reactivity of RBA, nanomaterial strengthening and SCM
calculated as shown in Fig. 17 for ease of comparison, and all results are modification have become the main approaches, but their cost and
normalized calculation. Regarding the concrete cost per unit strength, environmental burden are high [39,42]. Meanwhile, using RBA for

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

Fig. 15. SEM images of HCC mixed with RBA at 28 d. (a) RCBA, and (b) RFBA.

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

Fig. 16. The improvement mechanism of RBAs for HCC.

Table 4
Cost and environmental parameters of HCC with RBAs.
Mix ODP GWP NP AP POCP Cost
(kg R11-eq) (kg CO2-eq) (kg PO4-eq) (kg SO2-eq) (kg C2H4-eq) ($)
6
C 7.26 × 10− 323.3635 0.055497 0.404460 0.047467 82.183
6
S10 7.24 × 10− 323.3507 0.055999 0.407300 0.047915 80.309
6
S20 7.23 × 10− 323.3379 0.056501 0.410141 0.048363 78.435
6
G10 7.24 × 10− 322.8581 0.055936 0.406825 0.047859 80.665
6
G20 7.22 × 10− 322.3527 0.056374 0.409190 0.048251 79.148
6
G15S5 7.22 × 10− 322.5990 0.056406 0.409428 0.048279 78.969
6
G10S10 7.22 × 10− 322.8453 0.056437 0.409665 0.048307 78.791
6
G5S15 7.22 × 10− 323.0916 0.056469 0.409903 0.048335 78.613

special concrete is also an effective way to stimulate its potential. For

example, alkali-activated concrete, roller-compacted concrete, nano-
engineered concrete, etc., these approaches can effectively weaken the
adverse effects of RBA on concrete properties [37,38,40]. However, it
must be acknowledged that RBA, with a low substitution ratio, performs
best in HCC due to its multiple effects, providing a basis for the appli­
cation of C&D waste in precast concrete elements.
Using the internal curing function of porous aggregates to improve
the heat damage of HCC is a common approach [17]. Fig. 19 presents the
improvement effect of porous aggregates for heat damage of HCC. As
shown in Fig. 19(a), some research results present that the use of porous
aggregates instead of natural aggregates to prepare HCC increases the
strength of the samples, which is different from the trend of ordinary
concrete mixed with porous aggregates [17,19]. For ordinary concrete,
the incorporation of porous aggregate generally reduces the strength of
the sample, even though its other properties are improved due to in­
ternal curing, the substitution level of porous aggregate is low [19]. Nie
et al. used expanded shale to replace part of the sand to prepare steam-
curing mortar, and found that the 28-d strength of mortar samples with a
substitution ratio of 50% and 100% was relatively increased by 1.59%
and 0.79%, compared to the reference sample [18]. Meanwhile, Nie
et al. proposed that the internal curing effect of porous aggregate and its Fig. 17. Normalized economic and environmental benefits for unit cubic me­
ters of concrete per MPa of compressive strength.

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

Fig. 18. Comparing the properties of cement-based material with RBA. In which, strength is 28-d compressive strength, PM: plastering mortar [32], RMC: ready-
mixed concrete [33], LWCM: low water to cement ratio mortar [34], MCB: molded concrete brick [31], RAC: recycled aggregate concrete [35,36], SCC: self-
compacting concrete [37], PGC: pervious geopolymer concrete [38], NEC: nano-engineered concrete [39], RCC: roller-compacted concrete [40], SHC: self-
healing concrete [41], FA concrete: fly ash concrete [42], mortar [43,44], and ordinary concrete [29,30,45].

Fig. 19. Improvement effect of RBA on heat damage of steam-cured cement-based material. (a) Compressive strength, and (b) permeability.

strengthening effect on the ITZ of concrete played a key role in by at least 25% compared to the plain sample [18]. The incorporation of
enhancing the strength and impermeability of HCC [18]. The results of porous aggregates has been shown to decrease the rise rate of internal
several other studies also support this theory. Further, Ogawa et al. temperature and improve the uniformity of the temperature field in HCC
utilized a porous ceramic with higher stiffness and reported a higher [16]. However, it is important to note that the use of low-quality porous
strength gain of 4.0%–6.3% in HCC [26]. Similarly, Long et al. studied aggregates can also deteriorate the performance of HCC. For example,
the use of two sizes of porous aggregates to replace the coarse and fine Liu et al. used expanded shale in steam-cured mortar, which led to a
aggregates in HCC and found that small-sized ceramsite sand was more decrease in the strength of the samples by 5%–23% compared to the
beneficial and improved the strength of the HCC [16]. The same study reference group [46]. Therefore, RBA are found to be more suitable for
also indicated that the incorporation of small-sized porous aggregates in HCC compared to other porous aggregates, and show a better
HCC had a less negative impact on its performance compared to other improvement effect in terms of strength and impermeability.
systems. The effect of adding porous aggregates on the permeability of
HCC is also shown in the Fig. 19 (b). Similar to strength gain, the co­ 5. Conclusions
efficients for various permeability tests are used to measure the
permeability improvement of HCC. It was found that the sorptivity co­ This study aimed to not only explore the utilization of recycled clay
efficient of steam-curing mortar with expanded shale added decreased brick aggregate (RBA) but also address the issue of heat damage in

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C. Su et al. Powder Technology 438 (2024) 119571

steam-cured concrete (HCC). In order to achieve this, the impact of RBA China Railway Group Limited (Key Project, No.: 2021-Key-08) and
on the mechanical properties, durability, and microstructure of HCC Central South University graduate student independent exploration and
were systematically evaluated and compared with other porous aggre­ innovation project (grant number 2022ZZTS0712).
gates in terms of heat damage mitigation. Furthermore, an economic and
life cycle assessment of RBA-modified concrete were performed with the Appendix A. Supplementary data
objective of developing a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly
precast concrete element. Supplementary data to this article can be found online at [Link]
org/10.1016/[Link].2024.119571.
(1) The use of a small amount of RBA to replace natural aggregate to
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