Open Journal of Civil Engineering, 2013, 3, 99-103 doi:10.4236/ojce.2013.32011 Published Online June 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojce) Study of the Mechanical Performance of a Recycled Aggregate Concrete with Admixture Addition Larbi Belagraa 1* , Miloud Beddar 2 1 Laboratory of Materials and Electronic Systems (LMSE), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Bordj Bou Arreridj University, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria 2 Department of Civil Engineering, M’Sila University, M’Sila, Algeria Email: * Lbelagraa@yahoo.fr, beddarm@yahoo.fr Received January 13, 2013; revised March 2, 2013; accepted March 10, 2013 Copyright © 2013 Larbi Belagraa, Miloud Beddar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attri- bution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT The needs of the construction sector are still increasing for concrete. However the shortage of natural resources of ag- gregate could be a problem for the concrete industry. In addition, the negative impact on the environment is due to the construction demolition; where disposal wastes create a severe ecological and environmental hazard. In the last decade, a major interest has been developed for the reuse of recycled aggregates that present more than 70% of the concrete volume. The reused products should fulfill the requirements of lower cost and better quality, in order to establish its role in the concrete. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of the local admixtures on the mechanical behavior of recy- cled aggregate concrete (RAC). Physical and mechanical properties of RAC were investigated including density, com- pressive and flexural strength. The non-destructive test methods (NDT: pulse-velocity and rebound hammer) were used to determine the concrete strength. The results obtained were compared with crushed aggregate concrete (CAC) using the normal compressive testing machine test method. Thus, the convenience of indirect tests in the case of a recycled aggregate concrete were demonstrated. Keywords: Recycled Concrete Aggregate; Demolition Waste; Non-Destructive Tests; Mechanical Strength; Admixture 1. Introduction Concrete is still the mostly used material by the construc- tion industry and the highway construction sector. The industry need in this field for such a material has in- creased over the years. The conservation of natural re- sources coupled with the increase in aggregate require- ment for construction, further to the increasing cost of landfill beside the negative impact regarding the preser- vation of environment. These considerations urged the researchers and actors in the construction domain to fo- cus their efforts on the management wastes resulting from demolition [1,2]. In fact of the use of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) is acquiring particular interest in civil construction as regards to sustainable development. Many studies dem- onstrate the feasibility of the use of crushed concrete as coarse aggregate [3-9]. The reuse of recycled aggregate that comes from con- struction waste presents a major interest for users and researchers of concrete as it occupies 70% of concrete. The study herein concerns an investigation of the proper- ties of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) incorporating admixtures to formulate a much more durable concrete. The experimental programme has the objectives of studying the effect of a superplasticizer (S120) on the mechanical strength (Rc) of RAC. The non-destructive test methods were carried out to assess this hardened property and to see if methods such as rebound hammer and ultrasonic techniques can be conveniently adapted in this case [10]. Other physical properties like the density of RAC were studied. The third aim of this research study is the comparison of the performance of recycled aggregate concrete and a concrete based on ordinary crushed aggregate (CAC). The experimental programme to achieve these objec- tives includes a series of tests, such as to formulate a re- cycled aggregate concrete having the performance of a normal concrete with crushed stone aggregate. Recycled concrete specimens were cast using different percentages of admixtures 0%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%. The * Corresponding author. Copyright © 2013 SciRes. OJCE