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A mix design procedure for fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag based
treated recycled aggregate concrete

Uma Shankar Biswal, Pasla Dinakar

PII: S2666-7908(21)00274-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2021.100314
Reference: CLET 100314

To appear in: Cleaner Engineering and Technology

Received Date: 25 February 2021

Revised Date: 20 September 2021
Accepted Date: 2 November 2021

Please cite this article as: Biswal, U.S., Dinakar, P., A mix design procedure for fly ash and ground
granulated blast furnace slag based treated recycled aggregate concrete, Cleaner Engineering and
Technology (2021), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2021.100314.

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© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

 1 A Mix Design Procedure for Fly Ash and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag based Treated
2 Recycled Aggregate Concrete
3 Uma Shankar Biswal1 and Pasla Dinakar#2
4
1
5 Ph.D. Scholar, 2 Associate Professor
6
7 School of Infrastructure, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Argul, Odisha-752 050,
8 India
9
10
11 ABSTRACT

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12 It appears that the perception and desire to utilize recycled aggregate in concrete is growing across
13 the world, decreasing the environmental impact of landfills and virgin aggregate mining while also

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14 making building projects more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. However, the practical
15 utilization of RA has not gained attention to date because of the weaker characteristics of porous

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16 attached mortar. Although various mix designs for recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) have been
17 proposed earlier by many authors, still using RA is not made practical for many reasons. One of
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18 them is the unavailability of an easy and effective design mix methodology using RAC. Thus, an
19 attempt has been made in the present investigation to advance a mix design methodology for RAC
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20 by providing w/b to strength relation, embracing the two-stage mixing approach (TSMA) by
21 completely substituting the CNA with CRA. DIN standard was followed to get the maximum
22 particle packing of aggregates and improved RAC performance. Again, to make RAC more
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23 sustainable, a mix design is also proposed to replace cement with widely used SCMs-coal fly ash
24 (CFA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) at 30 and 50% replacement level,
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25 respectively. The synergetic effect of the proposed design mix that contains DIN standards,
26 TSMA, and SCMs on fresh, hardened properties, and evaporation studies of RAC was studied. In
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27 this context, the comparative analysis manifested the encouraging outcomes to use the proposed
28 mix design methodology for preparing RAC incorporated with CFA and GGBS.

29 KEYWORDS: Mix design, Recycled aggregate, Flyash, GGBS, Recycled aggregate concrete, Two-Stage
30 Mixing Approach, Waste Management,

31 #Corresponding author. School of Infrastructure, IIT Bhubaneswar, India, Tel: +91 674 7136610

32 Email address: [email protected]

33

34
35 Abbreviation used: CFA- Coal fly ash ; CRA- Coarse recycled aggregate ;CS- Compressive strength;
36 C&D- Construction and demolition; FA- Fine Aggregate; GGBS- Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag;
37 ITZ- Interfacial Transition Zone; OPC- Ordinary Portland cement ; RA- Recycled aggregate; RAC-
38 Recycled aggregate concrete ; SCMs- Supplementary cementitious material ; SP- Super Plasticizer; STS-
39 Split tensile strength, TSMA- Two stage mixing approach; VA- Virgin/natural aggregate; VAC- Virgin
40 aggregate concrete

41 List of symbols:

42 B = Mass of Cement or Binder

43 B1 = Mass of cement
44 B2 = Mass of SCM used

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45 G1 = specific gravity of cement

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46 G2 = specific gravity of SCM (fly ash or GGBS) used

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47 GFA = Specific gravity FA
48 G10 = Specific gravity of 10mm down CRA
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49 G20 = Specific gravity of 20 mm down CRA
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50 M0 = Mass of surface saturated sample (kg)

51 M40 = Mass of oven-dried sample at 40 0C (kg)
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52 M105 = mass of oven-dried sample at 105 0C (kg)

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53 a = Dimension of the cube specimen (m)

54 VCT = Volume of concrete = 1 m3
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55 VTA = Volume of total aggregate

56 VB = Volume of binder
57 VW = Volume of water = water content / 1000
58 VA = Volume of air, assumed as 2%
59 ρw = density of water (kg/m3)
60 𝑔 = gel porosity

61 𝑐 = capillary porosity
62 w/b- water to binder
63 x = replacement percent (%)
64 fsts = 0.56 √fc'
65 fc' = CS of concrete
66 1. Introduction

67
68 Concrete is undoubtedly the utmost used artificial substance. From overall concrete, aggregate
69 contributes a prodigious amount, around 70%, of the volume. The high demand for concrete gives
70 rise to the high demand for aggregate, obtained from the mining of natural resources. Considering
71 environmental sustainability, it is necessary to hunt for a substitute for virgin aggregate (VA). On
72 the other hand, demolition of buildings due to either exceed of the structure's service life or in the
73 fame of modernization or urbanization requires immense landfill area. Therefore, recycled
74 aggregate (RA) adoption seems to be a propitious way to solve the above two problems.

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75 Considering the Indian scenario, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs reported that around

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76 100 million tons of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is being generated annually,

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77 including typically 28% of concrete waste (Building Materials and Technology Promotion
78 Council, 2018). Utilizing 100 % of these may certainly save 28 million tons of VA per year.
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79 Therefore C&D waste is a valuable resource and cannot be termed any longer as C&D waste but
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80 to be redefined as C&D material (F. Hendriks, 2000). Concrete waste includes both fine and coarse
81 aggregates called RA. The concrete made using these RA is called Recycled Aggregate Concrete
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82 (RAC). Many researchers have found that RAC made using fine RA shows more harmful
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83 durability properties compared to the use of coarse RA (Evangelista and De Brito, 2014). Various
84 authors suggested the maximum percentage of CRA to be in concrete is 25-40%(Silva et al., 2015).
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85 Replacement at a higher level shows a significant reduction in both mechanical and durability
86 properties(Kim et al., 2018). This is mainly due to the presence of porous adhered mortar resulting
87 in poorer mechanical and high-water absorption of RA(Thomas et al., 2020). In other words, RAC
88 comprises two to three interfacial transition zones (ITZ)(Behera et al., 2014), investigated as the
89 weakest link in concrete (except in the case of high strength concrete), compared to a single ITZ
90 in Virgin aggregate concrete (VAC)(Neville, 2012).
91 The performance of RAC can be enhanced by improving the property of the RA. This can be
92 done by either removing the attached mortar or enhancing its property in the RA. The adhered
93 mortar can be removed through either of the freeze-thaw methods(Abbas et al., 2007), thermal
94 treatment methods (Bru et al., 2014), crumbling mechanical mechanisms, and ultrasonic treatment
95 method, or chemical treatment method. In contrast, the property of the attached mortar may be
96 improved by employing polymer treatment- putting in polyvinyl alcohol solution (Kou and Poon,
 97 2010)or silicon-based water repellent (Zhu et al., 2013) or sodium silicate solution, incorporating
98 pozzolanic materials (Nandanam et al., 2021) and carbonation(Shi et al., 2016).
99 Apart from that, various modified concrete mixing techniques like the Double Mixing Method
100 (DM), Triple Mixing Method (TM), and Two-Stage Mixing Approach (TSMA) have been
101 particularly established to enhance the potential of RAC. Primarily this mixing technique
102 comprises the addition of water at distinct phases. Although, the water proportion to be added and
103 the mixing duration of each phase of these mixing techniques are not identical. The DM suggested
104 by Otsuki et al. (2003) includes the addition of half of the water to the dry mix of fine and coarse
105 aggregate. This technique improves the ITZ quality, and thus the mechanical and durability

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106 performance of RAC can be enhanced. Likewise, in TSMA, water is put into the mixture in two
107 phases(Tam and Tam, 2008). A stronger ITZ emerges in this mixing technique by efficiently

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108 filling the voids and cracks existing in CRA. Moreover, thus, improves the hardened and durability
109
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performance of RAC. Similar results were also noticed by Li et al. (2012). Kong et al. (2010)
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110 established the triple mixing method (TM), where SCM, cement, and a mixture of water and water
111 reducer were put in at three different stages. In comparison to DM, TM has significant
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112 improvement in the performance of RAC in terms of slump value, compressive strength (CS), and
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113 flexural strength (Li, 2009).

114 In order to further encourage and enhance the use of RA in concrete, it is imperative to test the
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115 properties of RAs. Compared to VAs, the water absorption values of RAs are generally higher and
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116 exhibit more significant variability. This is due to the presence of hydrated cement paste in the
117 CRA. There is a resultant decrease in the specific gravity and increased porosity leading to higher
118 water absorption. Both these properties (specific gravity and water absorption) have an impact on
119 the concrete behavior, and therefore, the mix design must be suitably modified while using RAs
120 in concrete. Even though plenty of research work has been done in RAC still, there are very few
121 studies available on proper and more rational mix design methodology. To achieve workable RAC
122 with desired strength properties, developing an appropriate mix design that is user-friendly and
123 rational is essential. The scope of this work is limited to the design of RAC containing 100% of
124 CRA. Also, to mitigate the poor performance of RAC and having a view of more sustainable
125 concrete, an attempt is made to design RAC using 30% CFA and 50% GGBS as a replacement by
126 weight of cement, since these are the widely used supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) in
127 concrete composites. Also, as such, no reasonable mix design procedure is available to date using
128 CFA and GGBS as SCMs in RAC.

129 2. Review of earlier mix design methodologies and limitations

130 There have been very few attempts in the previous past by the research community to develop
131 RAC by employing RAs obtained from C&D waste. For instance, Bairagi et al. (1990) first
132 introduced a mix design procedure for RAC. To achieve the designed target CS of RAC, 8% to
133 13% more cement content was demanded, with a higher value meant for a higher grade of concrete.
134 But this proposed method is found to be suitable for a CS range of M15 to M30 only. In another

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135 investigation, Ho et al.(2013) suggested a rational approach of replacing CNA with CRA, obtained

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136 from their lab itself-satisfying criteria of CNA, in concrete with replacement proportions of 0, 20,
137 40, 60, 80, and 100% of CRA (by mass of VA), which were experimented at various w/b ratios
138
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(0.67, 0.53, 0.45, 0.40, and 0.35). The CS of the RAC was assessed at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing
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139 ages. Since the volume of CRA and CNA is not equal for an equal mass because of a change in
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140 the density for both aggregates, this study may not give a concrete of equal particle packing.
141 Pradhan et al.(2017) proposed the Particle Packing Method of design mix and the established
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142 TSMA to produce RAC by complete replacement of CNA. They have used processed CRA
143 collected from a recycling plant for their research work. They worked at various w/b rations of
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144 0.40, 0.43, 0.45, and 0.47 to attain the target mean CS of M30 grade of RAC with the desired
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145 workability. Strength apart Equivalent Mortar Volume method coined by Fathifazl et al. (2009)
146 was remarkable but found to be typical while using in practice.
147 From the above review, it is evident that the majority of the mix design methodologies
148 suggested earlier are primarily established on the hit and miss approach, and also the methods do
149 not suggest any specific procedure for obtaining RACs of a definite CS as was the case in the
150 normal concretes for a various spectrum of concretes. However, there is no specific methodology
151 available for designing concretes incorporating RAs as a full replacement of conventional
152 aggregates based on even the strength characteristics. Thus, in the present investigation, it was
153 felt necessary to evaluate RA's behavior in concrete and suggest an approach for incorporation of
154 RA into concrete so that they can be adopted for structural applications with greater confidence.
155 Thus, attempts have been made to create a rational mix design to produce RAC incorporated with
156 CFA and GGBS. When considering the combined grading of aggregates, a densely packed and
157 well compacted RAC can be anticipated. Since fresh properties play a governing role in any
158 structural concrete, the combined grading of aggregates, which includes coarse and fine, seems
159 appropriate, making a universally allowable methodology.

160 3. Proposed method of designing RAC

161 In the present investigation, a rational and straight forward mix design methodology was proposed
162 through the adequate packing of the CRA. In general, w/b ratio, water absorption, and grading of
163 aggregates are the fundamental aspects of any mix design procedure. It is well established that the
164 water/cement ratio is inversely related to the CS of concrete proposed by Neville (2012). This

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165 relationship is valid to date and is universally accepted by all the codes. Moreover, this relationship

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166 is suitable for aggregates where the strength of the aggregates is high compared to the mortar
167 matrix. As far as the RAs are concerned, the slightly porous nature of the aggregate because of
168
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the attached mortar will make the aggregate link weaker. RAC has two ITZ making the aggregate
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169 further weak and porous. In the present work, an effort has been made to propose a mix design
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170 methodology for RAC for 100% replacement of CRAs and fly ash and GGBS as SCMs in a rational
171 manner. As remarked prior, the attached porous mortar plays a significant role as far as the mature
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172 properties of RA concrete are concerned. The literature suggests that treated RAs, through various
173 techniques: immersion in pozzolanic slurry (Kou and Poon, 2012); carbonation treatment (Shi et
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174 al., 2016); polymer emulsion(Spaeth and Djerbi Tegguer, 2013); spray of paraffin-based
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175 material(Tsujino et al., 2007); pre-soaking in HCL (Kim et al., 2018); surface pre-treatment
176 through cement slurry plus silica solution (Liang et al., 2015); microbial carbonate precipitation
177 (Qiu et al., 2014), perform better compared to non-treated aggregates in concrete composites. In
178 the present investigation, treated RAs were used. The crucial aspects of the proposed mix design
179 method are the flexibility to presumed CS that can be attained for a particular w/b ratio or selecting
180 the w/b ratio required for specific CS. The absolute volume method was used to determine the
181 volume of aggregates, which accounts for the specific gravity of all the elements used in the mix.
182 Subsequently, each aggregate proportion was fixed considering the standard combined aggregate
183 grading curve presented in DIN 1045(2002). Also, the absorption of RAs was determined in the
184 received state. Fig. 1 shows the flowchart of the process involved in the proposed mix design
185 methodology, and the bit by bit approach is outlined as follows.
186
187 3.1 Fix the water content

188 Like in the conventional mix proportioning of VAC, free water content for RAC is established on
189 the basis of the maximum size of aggregate. Since water plays a crucial role in the strength of the
190 concrete, the maximum free water content per cubic meter is to be chosen carefully. Maximum
191 free water content that can be considered per cubic meter based on the nominal maximum size of
192 aggregate is shown in Table 1, provided in IS 10262 (2009).

193 3.2 Selection of water-to binder ratio or determination of strength

194 The w/b ratio is the crucial parameter that governs the CS of the concrete. In general, in all the

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195 mix design procedures proposed by various international codes, the w/b ratio of normal concretes

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196 is decided based on the standard w/b ratio to CS relations given by the respective codes. Using

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197 the above concept, the RACs for various w/b ratios were designed with the proposed methodology,
198 which will be discussed subsequently in this paper. RACs were developed with SCMs (CFA&
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199 GGBS) and without any SCM (only cement as a binder), and the corresponding CS of all the
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200 concretes were determined after 28 days of water curing. Based on the CS achieved experimentally
201 in the present investigation, the CS versus w/b ratio curve is represented and compared with the
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202 existing ACI(2009) CS versus w/b ratio curve for virgin aggregate concrete (VAC) as shown in
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203 Fig. 2. As expected, the RACs curves are below the ACI curve. The curves for RACs presented
204 in Fig. 2 were generated utilizing the mix design results obtained in this investigation, taking into
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205 consideration the standard deviations attained during the tests to envisage the influence of RA on
206 the maximum w/b ratio of the RAC to meet the expected CS. For instance, the CS (28days) of 25
207 MPa can be attained with a w/b ratio of 0.60 for RA and 0.65 for VAC as per the ACI relationship.
208 For the case of RAC with CFA at 30% and GGBS at 50%, the CS of 25 MPa can be achieved with
209 a w/b ratio of 0.55. The required workability is accomplished by a specified quantity of water
210 demand; therefore, the necessity to decrease the w/b ratio consequence in a raise in the cement
211 content for RACs.
212 Finally, a new w/b ratio to CS relation for the development of RAC, determined experimentally
213 (without any SCM), was proposed, as shown in Fig. 2. Also, using the same CS versus w/b ratio
214 proposed above for RAC (without any SCM), two new curves achieved experimentally were
215 proposed for the same RAC when CFA and GGBS were used as SCM in the same Fig. 2. CFA at
216 30% and GGBS at 50% replacement of cement were used for each and every w/b ratio, and the
217 modified curves with the CS to w/b ratio to suit the proposed mix design methodology were also
218 shown in the same Fig. 2. These two curves are below the w/b ratio to CS relation proposed above
219 for the development of RAC (without any SCM). If 28-day CS is decided as the main criterion in
220 RAC proportioning (without any SCM), then the w/b ratio from Fig. 2 has to be chosen. However,
221 when SCMs are used (30% CFA& 50% GGBS, in the present investigation), the 28-day CS should
222 not be the main criterion, rather 90-day CS to w/b ratio curve achieved in the same investigation,
223 which will be discussed later in the experimental investigation section shall be used.

224 3.3 Calculation of Cementitious Material Content

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225 The cementitious content can be computed by using equation (1), where water content and w/b
226 were obtained from step I and step II, respectively.
227 𝐶𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝐵𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝐵) = 𝑊⁄
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𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡
(1)
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𝐵

228 Further, the weight of SCM (either CFA or GGBS) used can be determined by multiplying
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229 replacement percent (x%) directly with the obtained binder content (B).
230 Mass of Cement (B1) = (1- x %) × B (2)
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231 Mass of SCM (B2) = x % × B (3)

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232 The cement content obtained (B1), without including CFA and GGBS, should not be less
233 than 300 IS 456 (2000). In case B1 is not meeting the guidelines, then slightly change the free
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234 water content and again calculate the mass of cement content using equation 1 until the criteria of
235 minimum cement content is satisfied.

236 3.4 Calculation of total aggregates

237 The total aggregate content can be evaluated by using the absolute volume method. The volume
238 of total aggregate can be obtained by using equation (4).
239 VCT = VTA+ VB + VW + VA (4)
240 Where VCT= Volume of concrete = 1 m3
241 VTA= Volume of total aggregate
𝐵1 𝐵2
242 VB = Volume of binder =𝐺1 ×1000 + 𝐺2 ×1000

243 G1= specific gravity of cement

244 G2= specific gravity of SCM (fly ash or GGBS) used
245 VW = Volume of water = water content / 1000
246 VA = Volume of air, assumed as 2%
247 Putting all these values in equation 4
1 𝐵1 𝐵2
248 VTA = 0.98 - {1000 × (𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 + 𝐺1 + )} (5)
𝐺2

249

250 3.5 Determination of fine and coarse aggregate content

251 The fraction of fine and coarse aggregate to be used can be determined by using DIN 1045 (2002).

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252 In this case, the DIN B curve, borderline between the favorable and usable region (Biswal and

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253 Pasla, 2021), was chosen to find volume fraction of fine aggregate (FA), CRA of 10mm, and 20

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254 mm fraction. It is further suggested to use some optimization tool to get volume fraction of FA,
255 10mm, and 20 mm fraction respectively.
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256 Let the volume percentage of FA, 10 mm, and 20mm obtained by using DIN 1045(2002)
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257 are p,q, and r %, respectively. Then,

258 Mass of FA = p % × VTA ×GFA × 1000 ; (6)
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259 Mass of 10 mm fraction CRA= q% × VTA×G10 × 1000 ; (7)

260 Mass of 20 mm fraction CRA= r% × VTA×G20 × 1000 ; (8)
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261 Where GFA, G10 and G20 are specific gravity FA, 10mm down CRA and 20 mm down
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262 CRA respectively.

263 3.6 Use of superplasticizer

264 Since the increased amount of CRA in the concrete mix reduces the workability due to its more
265 angular and rougher surface texture (Sahoo et al., 2020), compared to VAC, specifically at lower
266 w/b, carboxylic based superplasticizer(SP) was used to get the required amount of workability of
267 100±10 mm.

268 3.7 Validation of strength attained with the proposed mix design methodology

269 The CS of the cube specimens after 28 days of curing attained from the experiment was cross-
270 checked with the CS determined using the procedure proposed in Section 3.2. If it fulfills the
271 demand, the decisive development of RAC can be executed; otherwise, the mix should be
272 redesigned by altering dependent variables.
273

274 4. Verification of the mix methodology using experimental data

275 4.1 Preparation and testing of specimens

276 The verification of the mix design methodology was carried out elaborately on various concretes
277 with and without cement replacement materials such as CFA and GGBS. The percentage
278 replacements of CFA and slag were fixed at 30 and 50 %. The reason being, in general, in India,

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279 as per the standards, the percentage blending of fly ash and slag in Portland pozzolana cement

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280 (PPC) and portland slag cement (PSC) is 30 and 50%. Further, the ready-mix concrete industry
281 also implements the same percentages in developing the concretes, and the same has been adopted
282
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in the present study. RACs with and without fly ash and GGBS for different w/b ratios such as
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283 0.25, 0.35, 0.45, 0.55, 0.65, and 0.75 were designed as per the mix methodology explained above.
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284 In total, 18 RACs were designed, and the mix proportions that were arrived at based on the
285 proposed mix methodology are shown in Table 2. The weight of aggregates mentioned in the table
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286 is in saturated surface dry condition. Appropriate moisture corrections have been done to counter
287 for water absorption of aggregates.
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288 Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) 53 grade, conforming to the requirements of IS: 269
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289 (2013), was used. CFA and GGBS confirming to the requirements of IS 3812 (2013) and IS
290 12089(1987), respectively. The physical properties of cement, CFA, and GGBS are depicted in
291 Table 3, respectively.
292 The surface morphology of OPC, CFA, and GGBS was studied by using Scanning Electron
293 microscopy (SEM) analysis by Merlin compact Field Emission Scanning electron microscope, and
294 the obtained backscattered SEM images of OPC, CFA, and GGBS is shown in Fig. 3a, Fig. 3c,
295 and Fig. 3e respectively. It reveals that the particles of cement and GGBS are relatively angular
296 in shape and exhibit asymmetric grains. Also, the particles of GGBS are much smaller than cement
297 which is also confirmed from Table 3 in terms of fineness. Contrarily, particles of CFA are
298 spherical and symmetric in shape. The EDS analysis of cement, CFA, and GGBS was conducted
299 by the same machine with Oxford Electron dispersive Spectroscopy and the spectra so obtained
300 are shown in Fig. 3b, Fig. 3d, and Fig. 3f, respectively. These figures indicate that the major
301 elements present in cement are Ca, O, Si and C. Similarly, CFA mainly includes O, Si, Al, and C,
302 whereas major elements present in GGBS are O, Ca, Si and C. The percentage weight of the
303 different elements found in cement, CFA, and GGBS are provided in Table 4.
304 Since the properties of CFA and GGBS widely varies and depend mostly on their source
305 of generation, XRD analysis of CFA and GGBS was also conducted by Bruker D8 advance powder
306 X-ray diffraction to determine their mineral composition. In Fig. 4, the XRD pattern of CFA and
307 GGBS is shown. In the XRD pattern of CFA, the sharp peaks found indicated the existence of
308 minerals in crystalline form. The two main crystalline phases present in CFA are Quartz and

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309 Mullite. A small hump was also noticed between the 2θ angle between 18 ° and 35 °, which
310 suggests the low CFA pozzolanic reactivity. On the contrary, in the XRD pattern of GGBS, a large

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311 hump is seen across2𝜃 angles from 18° to 37°, confirming the existence of glassy phases, which
312
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is indicative of the high pozzolanic reactivity of GGBS. Further to obtain the chemical constituents
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313 in OPC, CFA, and GGBS, XRF analysis was also performed, which is given in Table 5. It can be
314 recognized from Table 5 that CFA and GGBS have higher Silica (SiO2) percentages (48% and
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315 35.35%, respectively) compared to OPC (20.02%) that is responsible primarily for pozzolanic
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316 activity. OPC and GGBS, on the contrary, have higher lime content (64.3% and 41.41%,
317 respectively) compared to CFA, containing only 3.3% of lime, which is responsible for the
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318 hydraulic property.

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319 Two different size fractions of CRA (4–10 mm fraction, 10–20 mm fraction), as shown in
320 Fig 5, supplied by IL&FS, Delhi, were used as CRAs. In the recycling plant, concrete debris was
321 suitably selected from building demolitions which were then crushed by a single toggle jaw crusher
322 followed by a horizontal and vertical shaft impact crusher, which is able to achieve a high
323 percentage of CRAs with a very low attached mortar amount. Subsequently, the aggregates are
324 sieved and separated. Well-graded natural sand was collected from locally available Mahanadi
325 river bed nearby having a maximum size of 4.75 mm was used as fine aggregate (FA). The specific
326 gravity of the same was found to be 2.63. The recycled coarse aggregates received from the
327 recycling plant of size fractions 4–10mm, and 10–20 mm had specific gravities of 2.33 and 2.31,
328 which were determined experimentally.
329 Table 6 shows the properties of the RAs and the natural sand that were used in the present
330 study. Table 6 shows that the CRA properties are below the limits defined in IS 383 (2016) and
331 IS 456 (2000), respectively, and can be used in the production of structural concrete. The
332 constituents of CRA, according to EN933(2009), are also provided in Table 7. The recycled coarse
333 aggregates that were used in the present study are conforming to EN933 (2009), and in the
334 development of structural concretes, they can be used. The attached mortar content was found out
335 using the heat treatment method developed by De Juan and Gutiérrez(2009). The use of RA
336 decreases the workability of concrete due to its rougher surface compared to NA. In the current
337 analysis, the commercially available SP based on poly-carboxylate ether (PCE) was used to
338 achieve a constant slump of 100± 10 mm.

339 Verification of Mix methodology with an example

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340 Let us consider the design of RAC with 30% of CFA as SCM.
341
342 STEP 1: Fix the water content
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343 As per the laboratory trial experiments, water content of 170 kg/m3, satisfying the maximum water
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344 content limit given in Table 1 for 20mm aggregate size, was able to develop RAC effectively with
345 better workability, CS, and economy.
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346
347 STEP 2: Determination of w/b
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348 From Fig 2, for 25 MPa of CS, the maximum w/b was fixed at 0.55.
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349
350 STEP 3: Calculation of Binder Content
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 170
351 Mass of total Binder content (𝐵) = 𝑊⁄ = 0.55 = 309 Kg/m3
𝐵

352 Since the replacement of CFA is 30% by weight of cement.

353 massof cement (B1) = 309 × 0.7 = 216.3 Kg/m3
354 mass of CFA (B2)= 309 × 0.3 = 92.7 Kg/m3
355
356 STEP 4: Determination of total aggregate content
357 The absolute volume method was used to obtain the volume of total aggregates (VTA) by using
358 the formulation given below.
1 𝐵1 𝐵2
359 VTA = 0.98 - {1,000 × (𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 + 𝐺1 + )}
𝐺2
 1 216.3 92.7
360 =0.98 -{1,000 × (170 + + )}
3.14 2.3

361 = 0.7 m3
362
363 STEP 5: Determination of fine and coarse aggregate content
364 Combined aggregate grading as proposed by DIN 1045 (2002) standard was used to get the various
365 aggregate proportions. Proportions of coarse aggregates having nominal maximum size of 20 mm,
366 10 mm, and fine aggregate (FA) of a maximum size of 4.75mm were varied and optimized to meet
367 the percent passing requirements of the standard grading curve of DIN 'B', as it provides maximum
368 aggregate interlocking (Haktanir et al., 2012). And the proportion of the aggregate thus obtained

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369 was 30% of 20 mm passing, 34% of 10 mm passing, 36% of 4.75mm sand. The experimental

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370 combined grading and the standard DIN B curve are shown in Fig. 6.
371 The Mass of FA = 36 % × VTA ×GFA × 1,000
372
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= 0.36 × 0.70 ×2.63 × 1,000 = 663 Kg/m3
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373 Mass of 10 mm fraction CRA = 34 % × VTA ×G10 × 1,000
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374 = 0.34 ×0.70 × 2.31 × 1,000 = 550 Kg/m3

375 Mass of 20 mm fraction CRA = 30 % × VTA ×G20 × 1,000
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376 = 0.30 ×0.70 × 2.33 × 1,000 = 490 Kg/m3

377
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378 STEP 6: Superplasticizer dosage

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379 Based on exploratory slump test results of workability, the SP dosage used in this mix was fixed
380 at 0.10% of total cementitious content to get a slump of 105 mm.
381 SP Dosage =0.10% × 309= 0.31 kg/m3
382
383 STEP-7: Mixing Process
384 The TSMA, suggested by Tam et al. (2005), is used for mixing all constituents in the current study.
385 The steps engaged in the mixing approach are illustrated in Fig. 7. It can be clarified from the
386 figure that the terminology of the mixing techniques is due to the addition of water at two phases.
387 The addition of cementitious material at later stages enhances the quality of RA, especially at the
388 ITZ level and thus providing better performance compared to the traditional mixing approach,
389 where all the materials are put in and mixed at one phase.
390
391 STEP 7: Validation of Achieved Strength
392 The mean of CS of three number of casted cubes, after 28 days of normal water curing, was found
393 to be 28 MPa. The CS result is higher than the corresponding CS of 25 MPa. Since the mix design
394 achieved the required strength criteria, the final development of RAC can be done by implementing
395 the mix design methodology mentioned above.
396

397 5.Results and Discussion

398 5.1 Fresh Properties

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399 The fresh concrete property was inspected in terms of its workability through the regular slump

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400 cone test. In the present study, 100±10 mm slump was kept constant for all the RACs produced.
401 At high w/b ratios (0.75,0.65), the desired slump was obtained without further addition of any
402
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chemical admixture. For RACs with lower w/b ratios (0.55-0.25), a very low slump value was
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403 observed without any chemical admixture. A similar decreasing pattern in workability has also
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404 been observed by Lavado et al. (2020). So, in order to achieve the desired slump, SP was added
405 with an amount by weight of cement as mentioned in Table 2 to attain the required slump of 90-
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406 110 mm. From the workability results, it can be seen that for any particular w/b studied, the RAC
407 mixes with 50% GGBS needed more amount of SP compared to 30% CFA and pure cement
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408 concretes due to the angular nature of the particle and higher surface area. Whereas the inclusion
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409 of CFA increased the workability of RAC, with the least requirement of SP compared to GGBS
410 and cement concretes. This may be due to the spherical particle size of CFA, which exhibits a
411 ball-bearing effect (Nandanam et al., 2021). In fact, all the concretes have achieved their design
412 slumps.

413 5.2 Compressive Strength

414 Compressive strength tests were conducted on all the RAC mixes with and without SCMs for
415 all the w/b ratios. As already discussed in the previous sections, the strength behavior of the RACs
416 was below the ACI strength values for VACs, as shown in Fig. 2. However, in this section, the
417 strength behavior of only RACs with fly ash at 30% and GGBS at 50% is discussed for every w/b
418 ratio studied. The obtained results are shown in Fig. 8. From Fig. 8, it is noticed that at a specific
419 age of curing, the CS increases with a decrease in w/b, and at a particular w/b, the CS increases
420 with an increase in the curing period. The CS gain of RAC with pure cement at three days and 28
421 days is around 70% compared to that of 50% in VAC. A similar high early strength gain rate was
422 also observed by Rao et al. (2011). This is primarily because of the rough texture and absorption
423 capacity of the adhered mortar in RAs (Chakradhara Rao et al., 2011) that improves interlocking
424 and bonding between the RA and the new cement paste(Sahoo et al., 2020). Comparing the effect
425 of CFA and GGBS on CS of RAC at three days, it can be seen that GGBS based RAC shows
426 higher initial strength than CFA-based RAC at three days. It may be due to better particle packing
427 provided by finer GGBS than CFA. Whereas the CS achieved in 7 days shows that CFA shows
428 higher CS than GGBS, which may be due to hydration of more available cement particles (70%)

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429 that is available more in the case of CFA-based RAC than GGBS based RAC containing only 50%
430 of cement particles. After 28 days of curing, the pozzolanic effect of CFA and GGBS was still

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431 unseen in the CS value. And RAC with only OPC was leading in the CS value at every w/b ratio.
432
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After 90 days of water curing, a microscopic improvement in the CS of RAC (without SCM) was
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433 observed compared to 28 days of CS. Whereas in the case of RAC with 30% CFA and 50 %
434 GGBS, noticeable CS gain was observed from a curing period of 28 to 90 days because of the
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435 formation of additional CSH gel during the pozzolanic reaction of CFA and GGBS in the latter
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436 days of curing (Neville, 2012). Also, the CS of GGBS concretes (RAG) was observed to be higher
437 compared to RAC at 90 days.
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438 Since CS at 28 days is critical in VAC, comparisons of the 28 days CS obtained were made
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439 with the CS vs.w/b ratio proposed by ACI (2009), as shown in Fig. 2. It can be inferred from the
440 figure that; the trend is similar to VAC but with a little lower value. This is because of the poorer
441 characteristics of CRA compared to VAC. Also, to get equivalent strength RAC as compared to
442 VAC, the cement content may be slightly increased. In other words, w/b may be decreased by 0.1
443 to get approximate CS of RAC in 28 days.

444 Failure modes in compression test:

445

446 The visual inspection of the failure planes of the broken concrete specimens (Fig. 9) reveals that
447 ITZ failures were observed for almost all the concretes (Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b), whereas splitting of
448 VA was noticed in the case of concrete having CS greater than 60 MPa (Fig. 9c). For concrete
449 with CS, less than 25 has the weakest link at the new ITZ (Fig 9a), whereas for concrete, having
450 CS between 25-50 MPa has the weakest link at the old ITZ.
451 Microstructure analysis

452 For a better understanding of the results, SEM micrographs of RAC were obtained, after 90
453 days of curing, for different CS, which are shown in Fig. 10. It is revealed from the figure that
454 RACs with low CS value(<25 MPa) have a very poor ITZ layer between RA and new mortar, as
455 shown in Error! Reference source not found.10a. On the contrary, RAC with CS value in the range
456 of 25-40 MPa has the weakest link at the old ITZ between old aggregate and old adhered mortar
457 (Fig. 10b). Further, an improvement in the old mortar and old ITZ was noticed in RAC with CS of
458 more than 40MPa, which may be due to the incorporation of finer cementitious particles into the
459 porous adhered mortar as shown in Fig. 10e. In this case, failure occurs through the VA.

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460 Incorporating CFA or GGBS into RAC has improved the old mortar quality even at low CS (<25

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461 MPa), as observed in Error! Reference source not found.10c; and the new ITZ becomes the only
462 weakest link in the system, which further improved for medium and high strength RACs (Error!
463 Reference source not found.10d & 10f).
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464 5.3Split tensile strength
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465 The splitting tensile strength (STS) was determined using cylindrical specimens with a diameter
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466 of 100 mm and a length of 200 mm following ASTM-C496 (1994). Fig 11 shows the STS of
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467 various concretes used in the study. It is evident from the results that with the increase in w/b, the
468 STS value decreases. At 28 days, the control concrete shows higher STS than concrete made with
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469 CFA and GGBS as cement replacement. Among all the concretes made, RAC25 shows the highest
470 STS of 4.13 MPa at 28 days, whereas STS observed for RAF25 and RAG25 were 3.82 and 3.99
471 MPa, respectively- that is 7.5 and 3.38% lower than the control concrete. STS for RAC75 was
472 observed to be 2.01 MPa which is 1.62, and 1.84 MPa for RAF75 and RAG75, respectively. The
473 STS is impacted mainly by the strength of ITZ (Lotfy and Al-Fayez, 2015), paste strength, and the
474 bonding between paste and aggregates (Otsuki et al., 2003), and because of the reduced angularity
475 of RCA as a result of continuous processing and handling, aggregates are smoother and aggregate-
476 paste bonding is reduced, resulting in a decrease in STS (Lotfy and Al-Fayez, 2015). At 90days
477 of age, RAG25 attained the highest STS of 4.21 MPa compared to 4.11 and 4.15 MPa for RAF25
478 and RAC25, respectively. This increase in STS with GGBS replacement is also observed at higher
479 w/b. For instance, STS for RAG75 was observed to be 2.31 MPa compared to 1.92 and 2.24 for
480 RAF75 and RAC75, respectively. This is owing to the latent hydraulic feature of GGBS, as well
481 as the extended pozzolanic reaction and delayed hydration(Dinakar et al., 2013), which densified
482 the microstructure and conferred strength (Nandanam et al., 2021).

483 The 28-day compressive strength findings of all concrete mixes have been plotted against the STS
484 and presented in Fig. 12 to develop an inter-relation between compressive strength and STS. fsts
485 = 0.56 √fc' with a correlation factor of 0.96 is the relation found by regression analysis of the
486 findings mentioned above, where fc' represents CS of concrete. The STS of concrete mixes may
487 be estimated using the relationship as mentioned above.

488 In addition, a comparison study was conducted to compare the current STS results with STS values
489 anticipated utilizing the relationships indicated in various codes, and literature is demonstrated in

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490 Fig. 13. According to the findings, there is a strong correlation between the current experimental

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491 result and the STS values predicted by Arioglu et al. (2006) and ACI 318 (2008). At higher CS

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492 values, STS predicted by Arioglu et al. (2006) gives the highest value, whereas STS predicted by
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493 EHE (1998) shows the lesser value (except for the concretes having CS less than 20MPa- where
494 STS predicted by CEB-FIP shows the least value). Furthermore, the aforementioned research
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495 indicates that the relationship between CS and STS of concrete mixes produced with RCA, CFA,
496 and GGBS are equivalent to those of VAC.
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497 5.4 Evaporation Studies

ur
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498 The evaporation studies of the concretes were used to determine the volume of capillary pores and
499 gel pores that exists within the concrete matrix. The porosity of the concrete can be determined by
500 the difference in mass of oven-dried and water-saturated samples at the respective temperatures.
501 According to previous research (Yang et al., 2014), by measuring the weight loss under 40-50 0C,
502 it is possible to determine the capillary porosity of the system. Based on this, the moisture loss
503 under the temperature range 40- 105 0C indicates gel porosity. The following equations were used
504 to determine the gel porosity and capillary porosity:

M40 −M105
505 Gel porosity (𝑔 ) = × 100 % (9)
ρw a3

M0 −M40
506 Capillary porosity (𝑐 ) = × 100 % (10)
ρw a3
507 where M0 is the mass of surface saturated sample (kg); M40 and M105 are the mass of oven-dried
508 sample at 40 0C and 105 0C (kg) respectively; ρw is the density of water (kg/m3); a is dimension of
509 the cube specimen (m).

510 The results obtained for both gel and capillary porosity for different concrete mix ID is
511 represented in Fig. 14. The porosity in the concrete is mainly contributed by gel porosity, which is
512 mainly affected by the w/b ratio. Also, it can be noted that with a decrease in w/b, there is a
513 decrease in capillary porosity, which may be due to a decrease in the quantity of porous RA in the
514 concrete mix. A similar trend is also seen earlier (He, 2011). Also, it can be seen that the
515 incorporation of CFA and GGBS decreased mainly the gel porosity in the system; this may be due

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516 to their micro filling ability and the formation of additional CSH gel in the system. A similar trend

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517 is also obtained previously by He(2011). The performance of GGBS in reducing gel porosity is
518 superior among all, whereas incorporation of CFA or GGBS into the system has a negligible
519 impact on the capillary pores.
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520 6. Conclusion
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521 The following conclusions may be drawn from the data when VCA is completely replaced with
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522 RCA in concrete along with the substitution of OPC with CFA and GGBS in a RAC:

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523 A rational mix design approach for RAC has been introduced. The results obtained from the
524 study suggest that by strictly following the proposed step-by-step mix design methodology,
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525 specific water to cement ratio can be obtained for a specific strength from the ACI CS vs.w/b
526 ratio curve. And thus, the required RAC can be produced efficiently and effectively.
527  RAC requires more cementitious material as compared to VAC to have an equal amount of
528 CS.
529  Effect of 30% of CFA on RAC showed poor results compared to RAC made with only OPC,
530 which is contrary to its behavior in VAC. The results encouraged the replacement of OPC with
531 50% of GGBS, especially for long-term CS and sustainable RAC.
532  RAC containing 50% GGBS as replacement of OPC shows the highest STS among the other
533 cementitious material used in the study.
534  With the addition of CFA and GGBS, the porosity of RAC decreases marginally due to their
535 micro filling ability.
536

537 CRediT authorship contribution statement

538 Uma Shankar Biswal: Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing
539 - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Pasla Dinakar: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision,
540 Project administration, Investigation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

541 Declaration of interests

542 The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal
543 relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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544 Acknowledgments

545
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The authors appreciate the support provided by IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure and Services
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546 Ltd. Plant (New Delhi), India, for providing treated RAsfor smooth completion of the research
547 project.
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548 Funding
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549 This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial,
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550 or not-for-profit sectors.

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551 References:

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681 aggregate concrete: TSMAs and TSMAsc. Construction and Building Materials.
682
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2007.07.024
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683 Thomas, C., de Brito, J., Cimentada, A., Sainz-Aja, J.A., 2020. Macro- and micro- properties of
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684 multi-recycled aggregate concrete. Journal of Cleaner Production.

685 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118843
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686 Tsujino, M., Noguchi, T., Tamura, M., Kanematsu, M., Maruyama, I., 2007. Application of
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687 Conventionally Recycled Coarse Aggregate to Concrete Structure by Surface Modification

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688 Treatment. Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology 5, 13–25.

689 https://doi.org/10.3151/jact.5.13

690 Yang, K., Basheer, P.A.M., Bai, Y., Magee, B.J., Long, A.E., 2014. Development of a new in
691 situ test method to measure the air permeability of high performance concretes. NDT and E
692 International. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2014.02.005

693 Zhu, Y.G., Kou, S.C., Poon, C.S., Dai, J.G., Li, Q.Y., 2013. Influence of silane-based water
694 repellent on the durability properties of recycled aggregate concrete. Cement and Concrete
695 Composites 35, 32–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2012.08.008

696

697
698 List of Figures

699

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700
701 Fig. 1. Flow chart for proposed mix design methodology
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702
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703 Fig. 2. Relation between w/b and 28 days Compressive Strength for RAC
704
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3(a) 3(b)
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3© 3(d)

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3(e) 3(f)
705
706 Fig. 3SEM images and EDS spectrum of OPC(a and b), CFA(b and c), and GGBS(e and f)
707
 4(a) 4(b)

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708
709 Fig. 4. XRD analysis of (a) CFA and (b) GGBS

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710

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711
712 Fig 5. Recycled coarse aggregate samples of different sizes
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713
714 Fig. 6.Actual and Standard grading (DIN) curves
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715
716 Fig. 7. Schematic diagram of TSMA
717
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718
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719 Fig. 8.Relationship between Compressive strength of RAC VS. w/b at various ages (A-3 days; B-7days;
720 C- 28days; D- 90days)
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721

9(a) 9(b) 9(c)

722
723 Fig. 9. Failure modes in the compression test
724
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10(a) 10(b)

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10(c) 10(d)
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10(e) 10(f)
725
726 Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of various types of RAC used in the study (a)Low Strength RAC (b)Medium
727 Strength RAC (c) Low Strength RAC Blended With SCMs (d)Medium Strength RAC blended with
728 SCMs (e) High Strength RAC (f) High Strength RAC Blended With SCM
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730 Fig. 11 Split tensile Strength vs. w/b
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731
732 Fig. 12 Relationship between Split tensile strength and Compressive strength
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734
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Fig. 13 Comparison between experimental and predicted split tensile strength (STS) of concrete mixes.
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735
736 Fig. 14. Capillary pore and gel pores of all concrete
737
738
739 List of Tables

740 Table 1 water content per cubic meter of concrete

Maximum water content Nominal Maximum Size of

(kg/m3) aggregate (mm)
208 10
186 20
165 40
741
742 Table 2: Details of mix proportions used in this study

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Mix-ID w/b Cement Fly ash Slag Aggregates in kg/m3 Free SP

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ratio (kg/m3) (CFA) (GGBS) water (% Wt.
20mm 10mm Natural
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) of

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Sand
cement)
RAC25 0.25 680 0 0 415 466 562 170 0.30
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RAC35 0.35 480 0 0 458 514 620 170 0.25
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RAC45 0.45 378 0 0 482 541 653 170 0.20

RAC55 0.55 309 0 0 497 559 674 170 0.1
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RAC65 0.65 262 0 0 508 571 688 170 0

RAC75 0.75 227 0 0 516 579 699 170 0
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RAG25 0.25 340 0 340 407 457 551 170 0.35

RAG35 0.35 243 0 243 452 508 612 170 0.25
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RAG45 0.45 189 0 189 477 536 647 170 0.2

RAG55 0.55 155 0 155 494 554 669 170 0.15
RAG65 0.65 131 0 131 505 567 684 170 0.1
RAG75 0.75 113 0 113 513 576 695 170 0
RAF25 0.25 476 204 0 398 447 539 170 0.25
RAF35 0.35 340 146 0 446 501 604 170 0.20
RAF45 0.45 264 113 0 473 531 641 170 0.15
RAF55 0.55 216 93 0 490 550 663 170 0.10
RAF65 0.65 183 78 0 502 563 679 170 0
RAF75 0.75 159 68 0 510 573 691 170 0
743
744
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746 Table 3 Physical properties of cementitious material used in the study

Bulk Specific
Property Moisture Specific
Colour Density Surface Area
studied (%) gravity
(kg/m3) (m2/Kg)
OPC Grey 1135 <0.1 3.14 324
Off-
GGBS 1200 <0.1 2.83 430
white
Greyish
CFA 995 <0.1 2.3 350
white
747

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748 Table 4 Weight percentage of different elements found from EDS analysis

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Material C O F Mg Al Si S K Ca Fe Pt Ti
Cement 4.67 39.68 0.11 0.73 1.72
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7.42 0.36 0.29 40.71 2.66 1.65 -
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CFA 7.30 54.13 - 0.51 14.02 20.06 0.02 - 0.34 1.47 0.98 1.20
GGBS 6.46 42.42 - 5.83 7.60 13.93 0.70 - 20.73 - 1.32 0.47
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749
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750 Table 5 Chemical Properties of Cementitious materials

Chemical OPC GGBS CFA

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Constituent Wt % (dried samples)

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SiO2 20.02 35.35 48

Al2O3 4.37 14 27
Fe2O3 3.05 0.36 9
CaO 64.28 41.41 3.3
MgO 1.23 7.45 2
SO3 1.94 0.1 0.6
K2O 0.41 – 3.8
Na2O 0.11 – 1.2
CaCO3 3.23 – –
Equiv. alkali 0.34 – –
Free lime 1.04 – –
Chloride 0.012 – –
 LOI 1.5 0.31 4.9
751 Table 6 Physical properties of aggregates used in the study

S. Fine Indian Standard

Properties 20mm 10mm
No aggregate Recommendation
1 Specific gravity 2.33 2.31 2.63 -
2 Water absorption 3.06% 5.50% 0.6% < 10% [IS: 456, 2000]
3 Zone - - 3 -
Aggregate impact
4 value (Recycled 18%
aggregate)

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< 30% [IS: 383, 2016]
Aggregate crushing

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5 value (Recycled 20%
aggregate)

6
Attached mortar
content -p 13% -
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752
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753 Table 7Constituents of CRA according to EN 933:11 (2009)

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Constituents Description Weight (%) CRA

Rc Crushed concrete pieces, Masonry mortar 87
Ru Unbound aggregates 8
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Rb Clay masonry units (i.e. bricks and tiles) 1.4

Ra Bituminous materials (Asphalt) 0
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Rg Glass 0
X Others: Clay and soil, Woods, Plastic and 0.12
Rubber, Metals, Gypsum plaster
754
755
 Research Highlights

 Fly ash and GGBS based recyclced aggregate concrete can be developed with varying
water cement or binder ratios.
 Strength versus water cement or binder ratios has been proposed mimicking ACI strength
versus W/C ratio.
 Recycled aggregate concretes with strengths ranging from 20 to 65 MPa can be produced
by varying the water cement or binder ratio.
 The developed recycled aggregate concretes with Fly ash and GGBS exhibit good
refinement of ITZ.

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Title page
We are submitting Article titled – “A Mix Design Procedure for Fly Ash and Ground Granulated
Blast Furnace Slag based Treated Recycled Aggregate Concrete” to your esteemed journal –
Journal of Cleaner Engineering and Technology, Elsevier for peer review and publication. Our
article proposes mix design for utilization of recycled aggregate, a major waste generated by
construction industry. As your journal promotes alternative material and methods for
environmental friendly technological advancement, we think our article is suitable for broad area
of publication.

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Thanking you
Regards

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 Declaration of interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or
personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work
reported in this paper.

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