| Summary: |
The proper use of natural resources is one of the fundamental pillars for the sustainable development demanded to modern societies. Consequently, the European Commission (EC) has presented the European Union Action Plan for Circular Economy, to help European businesses and consumers to make the transition to a circular economy, where resources are used in a more sustainable way. Construction and Demolition is among the priority sectors identified in this Circular Economy Package.
Construction and demolition wastes (CDW) have been identified by the EC as a priority stream because of the large amounts that are generated and their high potential for reuse and recycling. Despite this high potential, reuse and recycling rates vary widely across the EU.
Within this framework, the promotion of research studies showing the suitability of the use of recycled aggregates coming from CDW for specific purposes needs to be encouraged and supported.
A previous research project (funded by FCT and led by the PI) has shown that recycled CDW fulfil short-term requirements for their use as filling material of Geosynthetic Reinforced (GR) structures. This study has been used by some Portuguese companies as a stepping stone to implement the use of recycled CDW. However, being unconventional materials, their full implementation still finds significant resistance from owners and designers, especially due to lack of confidence regarding their long-term behaviour. It is thus of the utmost importance to demonstrate that GR structures constructed with CDW are durable and perfectly capable to maintain their excellent behaviour throughout their effective live.
In recent years, several studies and applications of recycled CDW have been carried out and reported in the literature, but the knowledge related to the long-term behaviour of these alternative materials is still fairly limited. The innovative character of this project, which we believe represents a step forward on the current sta  |
Summary
The proper use of natural resources is one of the fundamental pillars for the sustainable development demanded to modern societies. Consequently, the European Commission (EC) has presented the European Union Action Plan for Circular Economy, to help European businesses and consumers to make the transition to a circular economy, where resources are used in a more sustainable way. Construction and Demolition is among the priority sectors identified in this Circular Economy Package.
Construction and demolition wastes (CDW) have been identified by the EC as a priority stream because of the large amounts that are generated and their high potential for reuse and recycling. Despite this high potential, reuse and recycling rates vary widely across the EU.
Within this framework, the promotion of research studies showing the suitability of the use of recycled aggregates coming from CDW for specific purposes needs to be encouraged and supported.
A previous research project (funded by FCT and led by the PI) has shown that recycled CDW fulfil short-term requirements for their use as filling material of Geosynthetic Reinforced (GR) structures. This study has been used by some Portuguese companies as a stepping stone to implement the use of recycled CDW. However, being unconventional materials, their full implementation still finds significant resistance from owners and designers, especially due to lack of confidence regarding their long-term behaviour. It is thus of the utmost importance to demonstrate that GR structures constructed with CDW are durable and perfectly capable to maintain their excellent behaviour throughout their effective live.
In recent years, several studies and applications of recycled CDW have been carried out and reported in the literature, but the knowledge related to the long-term behaviour of these alternative materials is still fairly limited. The innovative character of this project, which we believe represents a step forward on the current state of knowledge, regards the study of the long-term behaviour of recycled aggregates coming from CDW and of a geotechnical structure as a whole. Other singularity of this proposal is the use of mixed recycled aggregates obtained from non-selected CDW (ie concrete, mortars, ceramics,...), since most of the laboratory studies are carried out with selected CDW.
The study of the long-term behaviour of GR structures constructed with recycled CDW requires the analysis of four main points: evolution with time of the environmental and mechanical behaviour of the recycled CDW; durability and creep behaviour of the geosynthetics inserted into recycled CDW; long-term behaviour of the interfaces between the geosynthetic and the recycled CDW; long-term overall behaviour of a full-scale GR structure. These four points are contemplated in the project.
This project aims to promote the valorisation of CDW and therefore, will represent a significant contribution towards a resource efficient Europe. |