Sustainability Assessment of Using Recycled Aggregates in Concrete Block Pavements

Abstract

The mechanistic design of a concrete block pavement (CBP) can be very complicated and often requires the use of computer programs. This paper presents a new mechanistic-empirical method, which is implemented in a computer program (DesignPave) that calculates base course/sub-base thicknesses for a range of design inputs such as traffic load, interlocking properties, and material stiffness. A range of virgin and recycled unbound granular materials were also experimentally tested to characterize them for possible use as base course or sub-base materials. Combining the new mechanistic-empirical method and the range of base course/sub-base course materials (virgin and recycled aggregates), it was found that while a CBP containing recycled aggregates did not offer a significant direct financial benefit based on the characteristics or material costs, the associated environmental benefits were very high.

Changes in Thornthwaite Moisture Index and Reactive Soil Movements under Current and Future Climate Scenarios—A Case Study

“…Thornthwaite [36] initially applied TMI as a tool to map the climate zones of the United States of America, which was further extended in applications in the agricultural field as an indicator of suitable climates for various crop types [48]. TMI has also been used in other areas, including ecological community, prediction of water catchment capacities and forest growth, and estimation of potential soil suction beneath covered areas and pavements [49][50][51]. In Australia, TMI has been adopted to understand general differences in climate across the country [49,52] and estimate the depth of design soil suction changes H s, which is needed to determine y s [42].…”

State-of-the-Art Review of Microbial-Induced Calcite Precipitation and Its Sustainability in Engineering Applications

“…In general, CBP consists of a layer of rigid blocks laid on top of a sand or gravel bedding course underlain by granular or other materials depending on traffic conditions and the mechanical properties of the subgrade. CBPs are often treated as flexible pavement and are commonly used in road or industrial applications [169]. Common configurations of CBPs are presented in Figure 19.…”

“…A wide range of costs has been reported in the literature. For example, Ivanov and Chu [26] estimated the material cost for MICP to be as low as $5/m 3 of treated soil; while Esnault-Filet et al [169] estimated the cost of materials, labour and equipment to be as high as $500/m 3 of treated soil. In this section, a quantitative sustainability assessment has been conducted for a simplified hypothetical engineering construction scenario.…”

Effect of Parent Concrete on the Performance of Recycled Aggregate Concrete

“…Often, RA have been used for concrete block pavements [10,11], but other research [9,[12][13][14] has shown how it is possible to produce structural concrete with RA. Limbachiya et al [14] found that flexural strength and modulus of elasticity of concrete containing recycled aggregates are similar to the ones of concrete made with NA.…”