1. NCEVT’16 Mihir Shah 1
Making Pervious Concrete Using Recycled
Aggregate
Mihir Deveshbhai Shah,
A.D.Patel Institute Of Technology
shahmihird@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The use of crushed construction and demolition waste as a recycled concrete in the production of new concrete has been successfully
demonstrated by researchers as well as by practitioners in the field. Despite presenting suitable performance, the acceptance and
utilization of recycled concrete (RAC) has not become widespread. The availability of demolished concrete for use as recycled concrete
aggregate (RCA) is increasing. Using the waste concrete as RCA conserves even virgin aggregate, reduces the impact on landfills,
decreases energy consumption and can provide cost savings. However, there are still many unanswered questions on the beneficial
use of RCA in concrete pavements. In the Present paper, recycled aggregate obtain from 27 years old site was used to prepare a proper
mix design of pervious concrete. Various mechanical as well as fresh properties of concrete were tested and analyzed to understand
the behavior of Recycled Pervious Concrete. Mechanical properties like compressive strength, while fresh properties like slump flow
were tested. The mix design was prepared for different proportion of recycle aggregate. The factors contributing mix design of the
pervious concrete were water-cement ratio, age of aggregate, etc.
KEY WORDS: Sustainability, recycling, architecture waste, absorbent concrete.
INTRODUCTION
Any construction activity requires several materials
such as concrete, steel, brick, stone, glass, clay, mud,
wood, and so on. However, concrete is the premier
construction material across the world and the most
widely used in all types of civil engineering works,
including infrastructure, low and high-rise building,
defense installations, environment protection and
domestic development[M.C.Limbachiya,1998]. For its
suitability and adaptability with respect to the changing
environment, the concrete must be such that it can
conserve resources, protect the environment, economize
and lead to proper utilization of energy. To achieve this,
major emphasis must be laid on the use of wastes and by
products in cement and concrete used for new
constructions [H.M.Raje, 1999]. .
The utilization of recycled aggregate is particularly very
promising as 75 per cent of concrete is made of
aggregates. The enormous quantities of demolished
concrete are available at various construction sites,
which are now posing a serious problem of disposal in
urban areas? This can easily be recycled as aggregate
and used in concrete. It has been shown that crushed
concrete rubble, after separation from other C&D waste
And sieved, can be used as a substitute for natural coarse
aggregates in concrete or as a sub-base layer in
pavements. This type of recycled material is called
recycled aggregate. Research & Development activities
have been taken up all over the world for proving its
feasibility, economic viability and cost effectiveness
[J.D.Brito,2010].
Recycling can be one of the best ways for us to have a
positive impact on the world in which we live. Recycling
helps in preserving the resources available for our future
generations. If the current generation can utilize the
natural resources more efficiently by converting them
into new products, it means they are saving the natural
resources for the following generations. The main
Benefits and disadvantages of recycling the aggregates
are as follows: [Yati Tank, 2014].
• Recycling saves energy.
• Recycling creates extra job opportunities
• Recycling saves natural resource.
• Economic benefits
• Recycling saves space for waste disposal
• Sustainability
• Good wide market

2. NCEVT’16 Mihir Shah 2
Limitations of Recycling:
• Lack of codes, specifications, standard guidelines.
• Air and Water pollution.
• Lack of experience
• Low quality
• Variations in quality
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:
The main objectives of the study were to analyze the
feasibility of using the recycle concrete aggregate for
making the pervious concrete used for low grade
concrete works. The main objectives can be broadly
stated as follows:
1. To understand the mechanism of the pervious
concrete and to utilize the recycle aggregate to
make low grade pervious concrete.
2. To reduce the impact of waste materials of concrete
aggregate on the environment by using it for
making fresh pervious concrete
3. To calculate compressive strength of pervious
concrete with different cement by aggregate ratio.
4. To study the water flowing ability of different
cubes, prepared for varying C/A ratio of the
concrete.
EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL TESTING
The material use for the experimental work was obtained
from the following sources.
Cement-For Concrete mix ordinary Portland cement of
grade 53 of ultra tech company was used.
Recycle Coarse Aggregate- The concrete Waste used
was collected from the demolished structure named of
Municipal hospital which was recently renewed. The
average life of recycled concrete is estimated to be 25to
30 years.
Water-Water is an important ingredient of concrete as
its actually participate in chemical reaction with cement
since it helps to form the strength quality and quantity
of water is required to be looked in to very carefully.
Therefore, In order to insure the reliability of
experimental work, all the material used was rested as
per the IS code requirement. The results of cement
testing is as shown in table 1. Further all the test related
to recycle concrete aggregate reveals following result as
per table 2.
The material assurance is one of the most important
parameters in order to validate the results of the
experiment. All the material was found to be satisfactory
and had been fulfilling all the standards as per the
I.S.codes.
Table 1: Results of Cement testing
Sr no. TEST RESULTS
1 Specific gravity 3.15
2 Initial setting time 120 min
3 Final setting time 235 min
4 Standard consistency 29%
5 7 days compressive strength 37.66 N/mm2
6 28 days compressive strength 54.73 N/mm2
Table 2: Results of Cement testing
Sr
no
test Recycle concrete
aggregate
1 Fineness modulus 2.319%
2 Specific gravity 2.450
3 Water absorption 4.115%
4 Bulk density 1292 kg/m3
5 Impact value 37.92%
6 Crushing value 26.23%
Methodology
For the present study, the demolished concrete was
brought from the 25 years old hospital site. The collected

3. NCEVT’16 Mihir Shah 3
material was crushed by hammer to separate the
aggregates and to reduce their sizes in smaller fraction.
The aggregate were reduced to size of 4.75mm Further
all the test related to aggregate were performed. Further,
the basic concrete properties like, compressive strength,
workability etc. were evaluated for the different
combinations of cement and course aggregate ratio. A
mix M25 grade was designed as per IS 10262: 2009 and
the same was used to prepare the test samples. It was
found that a recycled aggregate reduces the impact of
waste on environment. Also, the problem of disposal
and land fill can be reduced.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
Test setup
For the present work, we have selected three different
cement by aggregate ratio i.e.1:4, 1:4.5 and 1:5 for the
mix design of M20 grade concrete. Further, the
compressive strength of all the three different ratio were
calculated at 3 days,7 days,14 days and 28 days
respectively.
Parameters studied
During the experimental work, generally two parameters
were studied i.e. compressive strength and water passing
ability. Compressive strength is the most common test
conducted on hardened concrete, partly because it is an
easy test to perform, and partly because most of the
desirable characteristic properties of concrete are
qualitatively related to its compressive strength. To
evaluate the compressive strength cubes of size 150 mm
x 150 mm x 150 mm were casted using C.I. mould. A
test was conducted on the cubes of grade M20 at above
specified days. Total three concrete mix batches were
tested in which one mix was of cement / aggregate ratio
of 1:4, followed by the ratios 1:4.5 and 1:5. The results
of the test are shown in the table 3.The compressive
strength of the specimens was calculated by following
formula.
Fcr = P/A
Where,
Fcr = Compressive Strength
P = Failure load in Compression (KN)
A = Loaded area of cube (mm2)
Further, the aim was to pre was to prepare pervious
concrete. Hence, along with compressive strength, water
passing ability of the cubes was tested. The fixed amount
of water was passed from the cube and its ability to
retain water was calculated.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The each cube of dimension 150 mm x 150 mm x 150
mm were tested in UTM for compression test as shown
in figure 1. The load at which cube failed was recorded
for every cube. For the convenience of representation of
results, the cubes with 1:4 C/A ratio is termed as A, with
1:4.5 is termed as B and 1:5 is termed as C. The test
results are shown in following table 3.All the test were
evaluated and conducted in testing machine of the
college. The test directly gave the value of ultimate load
and by dividing it with the total area of the cube, the
compressive strength was calculated. The average of
three cubes was taken to find the compressive strength
of the 3,7, 14 and 27 days.
Table 3 : Compressive strength of different C/A ratio
Specimen
cube
Load in
(tone)
Compressive
strength
(N/mm2
)
Average
Compressive
strength
(N/mm2
)
A3 13.6 5.92 5.94
B3 13.6 5.92
C3 13.7 5.97
A7 16.4 9.15 9.21
B7 16.7 9.78
C7 16.5 9.99
A14 18.8 13.19 13.19
B14 18.8 13.89
C14 18.8 13.99
A28 20.5 19.08 19. 60
B28 20.8 19.68
C28 21.0 20.15
The graphical representation of the above results is as
shown in figure 1.It could be clearly inferred that the
compressive strength for all the varying aggregate
content shows more or less same behavior at all the days
strength. Also, the strength of pervious concrete seems
to show almost linear behavior with respect to time. For
all the three different aggregate content, it seems that
concrete accelerates in its strength after 14 days.

4. NCEVT’16 Mihir Shah 4
Figure 1 : Compressive strength for 1:4
Figure 2 : Compressive strength for 1:4.5
Figure 3 : Compressive strength for 1:5
From above graph it is very much clear that with
increase in the Recycle concrete aggregate there is not
much effect in the strength Further, the passing ability
of the concrete are as follows:
Table 4: Passing ability of Concrete
G
R
A
D
E
1:4
1:4.5
1:5
CONCLUSION
The above study was just an basic attempt to
understand the effect of recycle aggregate on the
pervious concrete. The important conclusions that
could be driven out from the study are as follows:
1. The Recycle Concrete Aggregate can be
beneficiated by crushing and screening to
acceptable limits.
2. Recycling and reuse of building wastes have
been found to be an appropriate solution to the
problems of dumping hundreds of thousands
tons of debris accompanied with shortage of
natural aggregates. The use of recycled
aggregates in concrete proves to be a valuable
building material in technical, environment
5.92
9.15
13.19
19.08
0.
5.
10.
15.
20.
25.
3 7 14 28
comprissivestrength
Number of days
For C/A =1:4
1:04
5.92
9.78
13.89
19.68
0.
5.
10.
15.
20.
25.
1 2 3 4
compressivestrength
Number of days
For C/A =1:4.5
01:04.5
5.97
9.99
13.99
20.15
0.
5.5
11.
16.5
22.
1 2 3 4
Compressive
strength
Numbers of day
For C/A =1:5
1:05

5. NCEVT’16 Mihir Shah 5
and economical respect. Use of RCA in
concrete saves the disposal and land filling
cost and produce a sustainable concrete for
construction.
3. The recycle Concrete Aggregate has great
potential for used in concrete and asphalt
products with better performance over
comparable virgin aggregates.
4. Recycled aggregates are lighter weight per
unit of volume, which means less weight per
cubic yard, resulting in reduced material costs,
haul costs, and overall project costs.
5. Such type of concrete should be encouraged to
be used for the paces were water is not a big
problem and were low grade of concrete is
needed.
6. The cost benefit ratio of pervious concrete is
much more compared to normal concrete.
Along with it usage of the recycle aggregate
still reduces the cost of the concrete.
7. The strength of concrete seems to be
increasing linearly in all the cases. Thus, there
is no much impact of the aggregate content on
the strength gaining capacity of pervious
concrete.
8. Experimentally, it was found that weight of
the pervious concrete cube almost reduced to
20% of the weight of normal concrete cube
while the strength obtained seems to have
negligible change. Hence for the places where
we cannot increase the weight of structure but
want to increase the strength, then pervious
concrete proves to be the best option.
REFERENCES:
1. M. C. Limbachiya, T. Leelawat, and R. K. Dhir,
(1998) “RCA concrete: Astudy of Properties in the
Fresh state, Strength Development and
Durability”, Proc of the IntConf on the Use of
Recycled Concrete Aggregates. Edited by:R. K.
Dhir, N. A. Henderson and M. C.Limbachiya,
Thomas Telford, UK.,pp227-238.
2. H. M. Raje (1999), PhD Thesis, Indian Institute of
Technology,Pawai,Bombay.
3. J.D. Brito and R. Robles, “Recycled aggregate concrete
(RAC) Methodology for estimating its long-term
properties” for Indian Journal of Engineering &
materials Sciences, Vol. 17, Dec 2010, pp, 449-462.
4. Y.R.Tank, “Experimental study of compressive strength
of
Recyle concrete aggregate” for International Journal of
Engineering and technology,Vol III. pp- 1485-1491.
5. M.S. Shetty (1982), “Concrete Technology”, ISNB: 81-
219-0003-4.
6. S.K.Singh, scientist, Structural Engineering Division,
Central building research institute, Roorkee and P. C.
Sharma, head (retd.), material science, SERC, “use of
recycled aggregates in concrete”.