Development of low-carbon and cost-effective ultra-high performance concrete using carbonated recycled fine aggregate

This paper studied the influence of carbonated recycled fine aggregate (RFA) on mechanical and microstructural performance of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), aiming to develop a low-carbon and cost-effective UHPC. This includes the changes in strength, hydration kinetics, RFA-to-paste interfacial microstructure, and pore structure with the use of carbonated RFA. The environmental and economic effect of using carbonated RFA in UHPC is evaluated. The RFA content was investigated at 0–30%, by mass of total sand. Experimental results showed that a reduction greater than 10% in crushing index and water absorption of RFA was achieved by carbonation. The increase of carbonated RFA content from 0 to 30% led to 45% reduction in autogenous shrinkage of UHPC. The use of 20% uncarbonated RFA resulted in 12% and 10% reduction in 28-d compressive and flexural strengths, respectively, while such use of carbonated RFA can secure similar 28-d compressive and flexural strengths compared to those without RFA. Despite the reduced cement hydration, the use of carbonated RFA can secure a denser RFA-to-paste interfacial microstructure and refine the pore structure of UHPC compared to those made with uncarbonated RFA, given the chemical bonding and nucleation effect of carbonated RFA. Moreover, the use of 20% carbonated RFA can enable 5% decrease in the Global Warming Potential value evaluated by life cycle assessment compared to that without RFA. Such use of RFA led to a decrease greater than 15% in UHPC cost. This indicated the low-carbon and cost-effective characteristics of the developed UHPC made with carbonated RFA.