Bond between steel and concrete made with ceramic waste aggregate

Abstract

The reduction of natural resources combined with a substantial increase in the generation of solid waste in large urban centers, justifies the search for methods of reusing the construction industry waste. The ceramic industry has a high disposal rate during the manufacturing, transportation and eventual replacement of its products. In this case, research on the reuse of ceramic materials is urgent. A possible solution is the employment of ceramic waste as a coarse aggregate in structural concrete. Therefore, the mechanical properties of this new mix of concrete have to be assessed. This study evaluates the bond strength between steel rebar and concrete with ceramic waste aggregates, by means of the pull-out test method, proposed by RILEM-FIP-CEB (1978). Three concrete mixtures were produced: a mixture without any replacement, and two other mixtures with gradual substitution of natural coarse aggregate by ceramic coarse aggregate (40% and 100% substitution, in volume). Nine cylindrical specimens, three for each of the concrete mixtures, were evaluated in laboratorial conditions. Results concerning bond stress between concrete and steel rebar indicated the feasibility of employing ceramic waste to replace part of the coarse aggregate in structural concrete.