Durability characteristics of concrete mixture based on red ceramic waste aggregate

Abstract

The article aims to observe durability parameters of red ceramic waste aggregate concrete based on a measured chloride profile by the standardized NT Build 443 method, and to compare the results to the values measured by a test based on electrical resistivity measurements. The parameters related to the chloride ion diffusion are investigated on the new type of concrete designed in the previous project, which contains waste material-red ceramics fine aggregate, and artificial expanded clay coarse aggregate. Ceramic materials contribute to the highest percentage of the construction and demolition wastes and, in most cases, this type of waste is disposed of in landfills. Significant factors limiting the use of the studied material are the unavailability of standards, avoidance of risk, and lack of knowledge and experience in using ceramic wastes for construction purposes. The obtained results of the studied mixture are compared to a reference concrete in terms of mechanical properties and durability parameters. The calculated diffusion coefficient is a crucial input parameter for modeling of the degradation process and the prediction of concrete durability; therefore, proper identification is of interest in order to allow for a broader application of ceramic waste aggregate-based concrete. The research showed unproportionality of results measured by the two methods in the case of waste aggregate concrete (60% difference in comparison with reference concrete), therefore it was proved that the electrical resistivity measurements need correlation of the resulting diffusion coefficient for proper modeling.