Long-term performance of sustainable pavements using ternary blended concrete with recycled aggregates

The purposes of this study were to (a) design concrete pavement mixtures with recycled concrete aggregates using ternary blends of cementitious materials and a low water-to-binder ratio, (b) measure the fresh and hardened properties of the proposed concrete mixtures and (c) assess the long-term performance of the concrete implementing the use of recycled coarse aggregates. Preliminary investigation into ternary blend combinations via the compressive testing of mortar cubes and isothermal calorimetry was used to predict an optimal blend of cementitious material. Mixes using recycled concrete aggregates at varying replacement rates were tested for fresh and hardened properties using the proposed blend. It was found that a blend of portland cement, Class C fly ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag produced the highest strength of ternary binder. Ternary blended cement mixtures showed improvement in hardened properties in late-age testing. At 50% replacement of virgin aggregates, specimens showed comparable mechanical performance to the control mix.