This work aims to study the influence of using construction and demolition waste in the replacement of coarse and fine aggregate to produce recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). A moderate compressive strength concrete made with usual fine and coarse aggregate was used as a benchmark material. Compressive and split tensile tests were performed using 120 cylindrical concrete specimens with 150 mm diameter and 300 mm length. Four-point flexural tests in reinforced beams made with conventional concrete and RAC were performed. The results obtained showed that the use of recycled fine aggregates, in both percentages of substitution investigated—50% and 100%— did not generate any deleterious influence on the values of compressive strength and split tensile strength of the RACs produced. Tin fact, the mechanical strengths of RACs produced with recycled fine aggregate were equal or higher than those from the reference concrete. The same behavior was not observed, however, when the recycled coarse aggregate was used. For this case, decreases in concrete mechanical strengths were observed, especially in compressive strength, with values around 35% lower when compared to the reference concrete. Tensile mechanical tests results confirmed the excellent behavior of all RACs made with replacement of usual fine aggregates by recycled. Bending tests performed in reinforced RAC beams had as objective to evaluate the deformation profile of the beams. The obtained results showed that RAC beams with full replacement of usual fine aggregate by the recycled aggregates have presented little changes in the global behavior, an aspect that encourages its use.

The work presents the results of an experimental campaign carried out on concrete elements in order to investigate the potential of using artificial neural networks (ANNs) to estimate the compressive strength based on relevant parameters, such as the water–cement ratio, aggregate–cement ratio, age of testing, and percentage cement/metakaolin ratios (5% and 10%). We prepared 162 cylindrical concrete specimens with dimensions of 10 cm in diameter and 20 cm in height and 27 prismatic specimens with cross sections measuring 25 and 50 cm in length, with 9 different concrete mixture proportions. A longitudinal transducer with a frequency of 54 kHz was used to measure the ultrasonic velocities. An ANN model was developed, different ANN configurations were tested and compared to identify the best ANN model. Using this model, it was possible to assess the contribution of each input variable to the compressive strength of the tested concretes. The results indicate an excellent performance of the ANN model developed to predict compressive strength from the input parameters studied, with an average error less than 5%. Together, the water–cement ratio and the percentage of metakaolin were shown to be the most influential factors for the compressive strength value predicted by the developed ANN model.

Resumo O trabalho apresenta reflexões acerca das edificações em alvenaria resistente no Estado de Pernambuco. São abordados temas relativos às principais características dessa técnica construtiva bem como as peculiaridades que influenciam diretamente seu desempenho estrutural. Aspectos relacionados aos desabamentos que ocorreram nos últimos anos são igualmente abordados, acompanhados da indicação da causa da ruptura e do ano em que ocorreram. O artigo contempla, adicionalmente, uma extensa caracterização dos materiais e componentes utilizados em construções em alvenaria resistente na região, constituindo-se numa das mais abrangentes investigações sobre essa temática desenvolvida no país. Foi analisado experimentalmente o comportamento compressivo de blocos, prismas e miniparedes confeccionados com esses materiais que integram um sistema de vedação que tem sido utilizado com função estrutural frequentemente na região. Os resultados obtidos permitem identificar a contribuição das camadas de argamassa de revestimento na capacidade de carga dos elementos ensaiados. Diversos fatores que interferem nessa contribuição foram igualmente estudados. Ao final, expõe-se uma súmula dos resultados de todos os ensaios realizados que esclarecem de maneira detalhada as formas de ruptura observadas que se mostraram marcadamente frágeis, a exemplo do que ocorreu na maior parte dos acidentes com esse tipo de edificação na região.

The environmental impact of cement production increased significantly in the previous years. For each ton of cement produced, approximately a ton of carbon dioxide is emitted in decarbonation (50%), clinker furnace combustion (40%), raw materials transport (5%), and electricity (5%). Green strategies have been advanced to reduce it, adding natural or waste materials to substitute components or reinforce the mortar, like fibers or ashes. Sugar cane bagasse ash is a by-product generated from sugar boilers and alcohol factories with capacity to be used in concrete production. Composed mainly of silica, it can be used as mortar and concrete mineral admixture, providing great economic and environmental advantages, particularly in regions with sugar culture and industrial transformation like Brazil. In this research, a study of partial substitution of Portland cement by sugar cane bagasse (SCB) is analyzed, in order to reduce clinker in concrete volume, responsible for high emission of CO2 to the atmosphere. An experimental campaign with cementitious pastes was carried out to evaluate the durability properties’ changes due to SCB ash use. Samples containing 15% of sugarcane bagasse ash unveiled good results in terms of durability, indicating that concrete structure with sugar cane ash research is a new and important scientific topic to be highlighted.

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