1. Introduction
In order to contribute to sustainable construction processes, some building materials, no longer able to fulfill their original task, can be reused as aggregate for concrete after being adequately processed [
1]. Replacing natural aggregate (Nat) with recycled aggregate (Rec) in concrete allows the protection of the environment, since it reduces both the impact of quarries from which virgin aggregates are extracted and the volume of rubble disposed to landfills.
Similarly, the employment of fly ash (FA) in concrete enables the recycling of an industrial waste product. In particular, due to its pozzolanic activity, FA can partially replace cement, thus reducing the energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions related to cement production [
2].
Unlikely, replacing Nat with Rec can significantly reduce the performances of concrete in terms of workability. Moreover, Rec, due to its higher porosity with respect to Nat [
3,
4], also penalizes the concrete’s compressive and tensile strength, the stiffness, the permeability, and the adherence between steel reinforcing bars and cement paste.
However, the literature has reported that the addition of mineral admixtures as fly ash (FA), metakaolin, silica fume, and ground granulated blast furnace slag in the mix is able to mitigate these worsening effects both in traditional [
5] and in self compacting concretes (SCC) [
6]. In fact, generally, these additions seem able to improve more the properties of Rec concrete than those of Nat concrete [
7].
Previous experiments [
1,
8] have already shown the feasibility of manufacturing structural concretes with Rec and high-volume fly ash (HVFA) since FA, by refining the pore structure, reduces the macro-pores volume. In this way, performance similar to Nat concrete can be achieved except for somewhat lower stiffness of the Rec mixture.
Water absorption [
9], chloride ion penetration [
10], sulphate attack [
11], and shrinkage [
12] increase with the increasing incorporation level of Rec. However, the addition of HVFA counteracts this effect [
5] thanks to the chemical reaction between some particles of FA, that act as a pozzolanic addition instead of a filler, with Rec [
12].
Wei et al. [
13] have indicated that an adequate amount of Rec can even increase the frost resistance of concrete, especially when a low amount of FA is added, thanks to optimization of the concrete pore distribution [
14].
Moreover, since the thermal expansion coefficient of the new cement paste is similar to that of the cement paste adhered to Rec, Rec concrete deteriorates less in terms of mechanical and durability properties than Nat after high temperature exposures [
15], especially when FA is used as mineral admixture [
16,
17]. FA as bacteria immobilizer also improves the crack healing capacity of Rec concrete [
18].
Concerning carbonation resistance, Rec and HVFA concrete suffer a deeper carbonation depth with respect to Nat concrete [
19], also in SCC [
20]. However, again, the incorporation of FA in Rec concrete allows the counteracting of this problem thanks to a synergistic effect between Rec and FA [
9,
21,
22].
According to Limbachiya et al. [
11], the best amount of coarse Rec in concrete is 30%, whereas up to 30% Rec does not significantly affect the concrete’s properties. Regarding FA, European standards EN 197-1 and EN 206 limit the incorporation level of FA to 35% by cement mass, since at higher amounts, FA behave as a filler rather than as a binder. However, these two limits for Rec and FA can be exceeded in concrete mixes incorporating both FA and Rec [
5]. After 90 days of curing, concretes manufactured with about 50% Rec and 50% FA can be generally classified at the same strength class of the control mix.
Rawaz Kurda et al. [
22], thanks to a multicriteria decision method for concrete optimization (CONCRETOP), have shown that the best concrete mixes in terms of both concrete properties and cost and environmental impact, are those manufactured with both FA and Rec additions, rather than with only FA or Rec. In particular, the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of concrete mixes depends on the FA and Rec dosage ratio rather than the dosage of the single materials [
23]. Moreover, the GWP of Rec strongly depends on the transportation scenario, but this effect significantly decreases with FA addition [
24].
Therefore, it has been already widely proved that replacement of Nat with Rec and the replacement of cement with HVFA, given a little bit of compromise towards strength and durability aspect, can give great benefits to both economic and ecological aspects.
As reported above, many researchers have already studied the different properties of Rec concrete with HVFA. However, durability, which is a key property to ensure sustainable application of these materials in the construction sector, still needs more research to be fully investigated.
In this field, in particular, the literature still reports very few works on the protection offered by HVFA and Rec concrete to the corrosion of reinforcing bars. Stambaugh et al. [
25], thanks to the theoretical development, validation, and implementation of a 1D numerical service-life prediction model for RCA, have affirmed that the use of either FA or slag allows the achievement of a 50-year service life for Rec concrete in chloride-laden environments. By the salt ponding test, Rehvati et al. [
26] have stated that impermeable and high-quality Rec concrete, able to give high corrosion resistance to reinforcements, can be produced by replacing 20–30% cement with FA. In Gurdián et al. [
27], no significant differences in the corrosion resistance of reinforced Rec concretes, manufactured with 15% of spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst and 35% of FA, and Nat concretes under a natural chloride attack have been observed.
Moreover, in our knowledge, the corrosion behavior of galvanized steel reinforcements in reinforced RCA in HVFA has never been investigated.
Therefore, the purpose of this work is to determine whether the sustainability issue introduced in concrete design by Rec and HVFA would have any adverse effect on the durability of reinforced concrete in terms of penetration speed of chloride and carbon dioxide, and in terms of corrosion of bare or galvanized steel reinforcement embedded in concrete, if cracked.
To investigate the single and combined effect of Rec and HVFA addition on concrete properties, four different concrete mixes were prepared and compared:
The different mixtures were compared in terms of mechanical performances, carbonation and chlorides penetration, and corrosion behavior of embedded bare and galvanized steel reinforcements.