Weather effects on recycled concrete used as a paving material for roads

Transportation is vital for the economic and social development and prosperity of every country. Weather phenomena can significantly affect transportation, having huge impacts on the economy and transport user safety. Research indicates that the road transportation system is the most vulnerable system to weather effects. Results from a nine-year period in Cyprus showed that extreme weather conditions resulted in a 5.8 % increase in fatalities on the roads. On the other hand, there is pressure to develop more environmentally sustainable materials to be used in roads, considering the availability of natural aggregate resources and the amount of waste concrete material arising from construction and demolition. This paper describes the use of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) as a paving material in roads and its properties related to weather effects. Eight different concrete mixtures containing recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) were tested for the weather-related parameters of sorptivity, porosity and permeability. Results showed that the use of RCA and eventually RAC will affect the behaviour of road pavements, due to their higher sorptivity, porosity and permeability. However, it is believed that this will not be detrimental to the quality of road surfaces. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014