A Study on Factors Influencing Reinforcement Corrosion in Cement-Based Materials Containing Recycled Aggregates

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Buali Sina University

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

3 Master's student, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculity of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

10.22124/jcr.2026.32294.1724

Abstract

Due to the weaker properties of recycled aggregates compared to natural aggregates, concretes containing these materials generally exhibit lower mechanical performance and durability. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of replacing natural aggregates with recycled aggregates on the mechanical and electrochemical properties of cement mortar. For this purpose, mortars containing 0, 50, 75, and 100 percent recycled aggregates were prepared and subjected to compressive strength, half-cell potential, linear polarization resistance, and potentiodynamic polarization tests. After 28 days of curing, the specimens were exposed to chloride conditions through eight two-week cycles (one week wet, one week dry). The results indicated that complete replacement of natural aggregates with recycled aggregates led to a 23–32% reduction in compressive strength and earlier initiation of reinforcement corrosion (third cycle versus sixth cycle). In contrast, 50% replacement resulted in only a slight reduction in compressive strength (about 7% at 90 days and negligible at 28 days), with corrosion initiation observed in the fifth cycle. Moreover, increasing the proportion of recycled aggregates reduced the quality of the passive layer and caused approximately an 80% decrease in linear polarization resistance. Overall, the findings demonstrated that the use of recycled aggregates up to a 50% replacement level has no significant effect on compressive strength and only a minor influence on electrochemical properties compared to the mix containing 100% natural aggregates.

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Main Subjects

Concrete Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 February 2026

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