Incorporation of Recycled Concrete Aggregates as Road Pavement Material in South Africa

Abstract

Abstract Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) management has become a burden locally and globally. Thinking towards consumption of large C&DW quantities, particularly Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA), in road construction is the main derive of this study. Natural aggregates, used as a control material and designated G5 (i.e. South African road pavement material class), is compared to RCA. A series of physical and chemical tests were conducted to classify the RCA and assess the material’s appropriateness for pavement structure as unbound base or/and subbase layers. Additional tests were carried out by adding varying amounts of cement (i.e. 2%, 2.5% and 3%) to evaluate the pertinence of RCA to cement-treated materials often prescribed for pavement layers. The result indicates great potential concerning the beneficial reuse of RCA in the pavement structure.