INVESTIGATION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF RECYCLED CONCRETE WITH ITS RELATED EMBODIED ENERGY AND PRODUCTION COST: SAUDI ARABIAN BASED STUDY

Abstract

This paper presents research results for evaluating effects of utilizing recycled concrete
aggregates on the mechanical properties of concrete and its related production cost and embedded energy.
The research methodology of this paper includes an experimental work has been designed to determine the
mechanical properties of the alternative concrete mix at ages 7, 14, and 28 days, then production cost and
embedded energy for each concrete mix were calculated. The results show that the strength of proposed mix
design concrete has been negatively affected by recycled concrete aggregate, and the cost of producing
recycled concrete is more expensive than ordinary concrete. However, the embedded energy that is utilized in
producing recycled concrete is less than ordinary concrete. The originality of this research is based on
experiments that are conducted to determine the mechanical properties of concrete made by recycled concrete
aggregates and its related cost of production and embedded energy.