Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash (BA) is widely available and has been increasingly explored for sustainable concrete production. While it is commonly used in Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)-based concrete, its application in alkali-activated concrete (AAC) remains rare. This study developed a new AAC using MSWI BA as coarse aggregate to evaluate whether this represents a more sustainable application pathway compared to its use in conventional concrete. To address issues associated with metallic aluminum (Al) in MSWI BA, a NaOH-based pre-treatment was applied to reduce its content and minimize surface cracking and volume expansion in AAC. The incorporation of treated MSWI BA increased the overall porosity of AAC. The interfacial transition zone (ITZ) surrounding MSWI BA exhibited characteristic microstructural features. While previous studies suggested that MSWI BA-induced porosity may enhance freeze-thaw resistance in OPC concrete, the opposite trend was observed in AAC. The increased pore volume, irregular pore shapes, and MSWI BA-related microcracking reduced freeze-thaw durability. Despite these challenges, the developed AAC retained mechanical performance within strength class C30/37 and achieved a substantially lower carbon footprint compared to OPC and CEM III/B concretes. Leaching assessments further confirmed that the developed AAC complied with environmental standards and did not release harmful contaminants. Overall, these findings demonstrate that MSWI BA is a promising coarse aggregate for AAC.

Temperature Stress Testing Machine (TSTM) is a universal testing tool for many properties relevant to early-age cracking of cementitious materials. However, the complexity of TSTMs require heavy lab work and thus hinders a more thorough parametric study on a range of cementitious materials. This study presents the development and validation of a Mini-TSTM for efficiently testing the autogenous deformation (AD), viscoelastic properties, and their combined results, the early-age stress (EAS). The setup was validated through systematic tests of EAS, AD, elastic modulus, and creep. Besides, the heating/cooling capability of the setup was examined by tests of coefficient of thermal expansion by temperature cycles. The results of EAS correspond well to that of AD, which qualitatively validates the developed setup. To quantitatively validate the setup, a classical viscoelastic model was built, based on the scenario of a 1-D uniaxial restraint test, to predict the EAS results with the tested AD, elastic modulus, and creep of the same cementitious material as the input. The predicted EAS matched the testing results of Mini-TSTM with good accuracy in 6 different cases. The viscoelastic model also provided quantitative explanations for why variations in early AD do not influence the EAS results. The testing and modelling results together validate the developed Mini-TSTM setup as an efficient tool for studying early-age cracking of cementitious materials. At the end, the potential limitations of the Mini-TSTM are discussed and its applicability for concrete with aggregate size up to 22 mm is demonstrated.

The Stiffness Damage Test (SDT), a cyclic test in compression, is considered as a reliable tool for assessing concrete structures affected by ASR. Depending on the extent of ASR damage in concrete, loading levels up to 40% of the compressive strength may contribute to increasing internal damage during testing. Nevertheless, previous research found that no additional damage was induced by the SDT. This confirmed the non-destructive character of the SDT making it valid to determine the compressive strength on the same test specimens following the SDT. However, other research suggests that loading levels above 15% of the compressive strength could lead to load-induced damage in the first load cycle. The implication of the non-destructive character and the loading level of the SDT needs more attention, especially when testing anisotropically ASR-damaged concrete structures. This paper thus presents a critical evaluation of the non-destructive character of the SDT by utilizing Acoustic Emission (AE) measurements. The SDT was used to evaluate an ASR affected concrete structure after 60 years in use. Several cores from cantilever slabs were extracted enabling damage assessment of the concrete structure in use. AE allowed to measure crack occurrence with a higher accuracy. Therefore, the critical load level could be more accurately identified using AE. The magnitude of enhancing internal damage during the SDT is related to the extent of ASR. From this study it can be concluded that the non-destructive character of the stiffness damage test depends the critical load level in relation to the internal degree of damage, which can be determined by means of Acoustic Emission.

Sample preparation is of utmost importance for any microscopy and microstructural analysis. Correct preparation will allow accurate interpretation of microstructural features. A well-polished section is essential when scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used in backscattering electron (BSE) mode and characteristic X-rays are to be quantified using an energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) detector. However, obtaining a well-polished section, especially for cementitious materials containing aggregates, is considered to be challenging and requires experience. A sample preparation procedure consists of cutting, grinding and polishing. Undercutting of soft and brittle paste between harder aggregates can be overcome by vacuum epoxy impregnation offering mechanical support in the matrix. Furthermore, most of the attention during the sample preparation is given to the polishing of the sample. There is a wide range of suggestions on polishing steps, ranging from grain sizes, time and applied force; however, the final assessment of a polish surface is often subjective and qualitative. Therefore, a quantitative, reproducible guidance on the grinding steps, effect of experimental parameters and the influence of different grinding steps on the surface quality are required. In this paper, the influence of grinding was quantitatively evaluated by a digital microscope equipped with optical profilometry tools, through a step-wise procedure, including sample orientation, grinding time and the difference between cement paste and concrete. Throughout the grinding procedure, the surface profiles were determined after each grinding step. This showed the step-wise change in surface roughness and quality during the grinding procedure. Finally, the surface qualities were evaluated using optical and electron microscopy, which show the importance of the grinding/prepolishing steps during sample preparation.

This paper presents the measurement and analysis of energy consumption of a laboratory jaw crusher during concrete recycling. A method was developed to estimate the power requirements of a lab-scale jaw crusher. The impact of material properties on the crusher performance is studied. Eight concrete strength classes (C20/25–C80/95) were considered in the approach. Concrete specimens were cured for 28 days; at which time, concrete properties were obtained through tests such as bulk density, compressive strength, tensile strength, rebound number and ultrasonic pulse velocity. The impact of different aperture size (5 mm and 25 mm) on the energy consumption was also studied. From the experimental results, it is demonstrated that there is a strong dependance of energy consumption on the compressive strength of concrete. Energy of crushing for specimens with a 90 MPa compressive strength was four times higher than the energy needed to crush specimens with a 28 MPa compressive strength. Furthermore, the crushing requires three times more energy when the smaller aperture size is used to process concrete specimens. The results of this study can form a basis for a future large-scale field analysis and a detailed determination of the energy and economic efficiency of concrete recycling.