Compressive Strength Tests of Concrete Core Samples with the Addition of Recycled Aggregate
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- Cement CEM II/B-V 32.5R, 2.95 kg/dm3;
- Pure natural aggregate with a grain size of 0–2 mm (river sand), 2.67 kg/dm3;
- Pure natural aggregate with a grain size of 0–16 mm (mine gravel), 2.67 kg/dm3;
- Recycled aggregate with a grain size of 4–16 mm (crushed standard cubic particles of concrete containing natural aggregate: sand and gravel), 2.40 kg/dm3;
- Potable water taken from the municipal water supply, 1.0 kg/dm3;
- FK-88 plasticizer was added to the mixing water during the preparation of concrete mix, 1.18 kg/dm3.
2.1. Description of the Experiment
- I.
- The compressive strength of the produced concrete was checked in accordance with EN 12390-3 [45] on standard cubic samples with a side length of 150 mm. The samples were prepared in accordance with EN 12390-1 [46] and then tested according to standard EN 12390-3 [45] on a Toni Technik compression testing machine (with a rate of loading of 0.5 MPa/s).
- II.
- Concrete elements with a thickness of 260 mm were prepared. They were compacted for 5 min with the use of a ϕ 38 mm deep vibrator (with a frequency of 300 Hz).
- III.
- Core samples with a height-to-diameter ratio equal to 1 were cut from cores taken along the direction of concreting (Figure 1) and then tested. Core samples were taken in such a way that half of the sample’s height was placed as low as possible to the bottom layer, the other half was as high as possible to the top layer, and the middle of the sample was halfway up the thickness of the element. Core samples of the diameters 94 mm and 114 mm were taken from two cores to obtain a height-to-diameter ratio equal to 1. Core samples from the top and bottom layers were taken from the first core, and core samples from the middle layer were taken from the second core (Figure 2). According to research [28], the designed compressive strength is for a sample taken in the middle of the height of a concrete cylinder. The concrete elements, after removal from the mold, were stored at a temperature of 20 ± 2 °C and a humidity of 50 ± 15% until the cores were taken. The cores were cut into the core samples. After cutting, the core samples were stored for 30 days at a temperature of 20 ± 2 °C and a humidity of 50 ± 15% until their compressive strength was tested. The core samples were tested 90 days after concreting.
2.2. Processing of the Research Results
2.3. Statistics
3. Results
3.1. Compressive Strength
3.2. Compressive Strength Statistics
3.3. Conversion Coefficients
3.4. Recommendation
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- The compressive strength of the core samples of concrete with pure natural aggregate and with the addition of recycled aggregate from the top layers was about 17% lower (17.1% for the concrete with pure natural aggregate, 17.8% for the concrete with the addition of recycled aggregate) than the strength of the core samples from the bottom layer. This relationship corresponds to the designed compressive strength of the concrete equal to 40 MPa.
- The compressive strength of the core samples of concrete with pure natural aggregate and with the addition of recycled aggregate from the top layers was about 33% lower (33.3% for the concrete with pure natural aggregate, 33.6% for the concrete with the addition of recycled aggregate) than the strength of the core samples from the bottom layer. This relationship corresponds to the designed compressive strength of the concrete equal to 20 MPa.
- When determining the compressive strength of concrete in a structure, the variation in compressive strength across the thickness of the concrete element should be taken into account.
- Thin concrete elements must be carefully formed by the contractors. The contractors must have experience in pouring and compacting concrete mixtures of various structural elements.
- The quality of the concrete made or the technical condition of the building must be determined on the basis of the compressive strength of core samples taken from different layers (there is compression) of horizontally formed concrete elements.
- The conclusion coefficients are held if the height-to-diameter ratio is equal to 1 and if the concrete slab thickness is up to 260 mm.
- The conversion coefficients that enable the compressive strength of the concrete tested on core samples of various dimensions to be converted onto the normative compressive strength after 28 days.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
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fcm | Concrete Series | Components of the Concrete Mix | Mass of Components per 1 m3 [kg] |
---|---|---|---|
20 MPa | N20 | Cement | 275.0 |
Sand | 784.7 | ||
Gravel | 1083.7 | ||
Water | 206.3 | ||
R20 | Cement | 275.0 | |
Sand | 784.7 | ||
Gravel | 541.7 | ||
Recycled aggregate | 490.7 | ||
Water | 206.3 | ||
40 MPa | N40 | Cement | 300.0 |
Sand | 636.6 | ||
Gravel | 1352.7 | ||
Water | 150.0 | ||
Plasticizer | 3.0 | ||
R40 | Cement | 300.0 | |
Sand | 636.2 | ||
Gravel | 676.0 | ||
Recycled aggregate | 611.2 | ||
Water | 150.0 | ||
Plasticizer | 3.5 |
Concrete Series | U [MPa] | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ϕ 59 mm | ϕ 74.5 mm | ϕ 94 mm | ϕ 114 mm | |||||||||
Bottom Layer | Middle Layer | Top Layer | Bottom Layer | Middle Layer | Top Layer | Bottom Layer | Middle Layer | Top Layer | Bottom Layer | Middle Layer | Top Layer | |
N20 | 1.23 | 1.34 | 1.36 | 0.91 | 0.86 | 0.88 | 0.78 | 0.70 | 0.46 | 0.40 | 0.27 | 0.32 |
R20 | 1.36 | 0.46 | 1.02 | 0.50 | 0.63 | 0.93 | 0.51 | 0.51 | 0.49 | 0.42 | 0.40 | 0.54 |
N40 | 2.84 | 3.60 | 5.02 | 3.33 | 2.64 | 1.17 | 2.33 | 1.31 | 2.42 | 1.22 | 0.94 | 1.04 |
R40 | 4.00 | 2.44 | 1.73 | 2.05 | 1.68 | 2.31 | 2.20 | 2.08 | 1.75 | 1.37 | 0.98 | 1.17 |
Dimensions in mm | Conversion Coefficient | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Bottom Layer | Middle Layer | Top Layer | ||
N20 | ϕ 59 × 59 | 0.83 | 1.00 | 1.22 |
ϕ 74.5 × 74.5 | 0.91 | 1.11 | 1.35 | |
ϕ 114 × 114 | 1.20 | 1.45 | 1.77 | |
R20 | ϕ 59 × 59 | 0.83 | 0.93 | 1.01 |
ϕ 74.5 × 74.5 | 0.93 | 1.04 | 1.12 | |
ϕ 114 × 114 | 1.18 | 1.32 | 1.44 |
Dimensions in mm | Conversion Coefficient | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Bottom Layer | Middle Layer | Top Layer | ||
N40 | ϕ 59 × 59 | 0.82 | 1.00 | 1.21 |
ϕ 74.5 × 74.5 | 0.91 | 1.12 | 1.36 | |
ϕ 114 × 114 | 1.19 | 1.46 | 1.77 | |
R40 | ϕ 59 × 59 | 0.85 | 0.95 | 1.02 |
ϕ 74.5 × 74.5 | 0.96 | 1.09 | 1.16 | |
ϕ 114 × 114 | 1.21 | 1.37 | 1.46 |
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Szpetulski, J.; Sadowski, G.; Stawiski, B. Compressive Strength Tests of Concrete Core Samples with the Addition of Recycled Aggregate. Materials 2025, 18, 2631. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18112631
Szpetulski J, Sadowski G, Stawiski B. Compressive Strength Tests of Concrete Core Samples with the Addition of Recycled Aggregate. Materials. 2025; 18(11):2631. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18112631
Chicago/Turabian StyleSzpetulski, Jacek, Grzegorz Sadowski, and Bohdan Stawiski. 2025. "Compressive Strength Tests of Concrete Core Samples with the Addition of Recycled Aggregate" Materials 18, no. 11: 2631. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18112631
APA StyleSzpetulski, J., Sadowski, G., & Stawiski, B. (2025). Compressive Strength Tests of Concrete Core Samples with the Addition of Recycled Aggregate. Materials, 18(11), 2631. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18112631