Performance evaluation of drying shrinkage and durability in pavement quality concrete with recycled aggregate, ggbs and I-crete

<p style="line-height:200%;text-align:justify;"><span>The study examines replacement of natural aggregates (NA) with Recycled Aggregate (RA) in Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) M40 grade (M1) with 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% RA replacing NA in M2, M3. , M4 and M5 mixes. The compressive strength decreases with higher RA, but all mixes reach the target strength at 28 and 90 days. M5 was tested by adding Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) in increments of 5% to 15% in M6, M7 and M8 to reduce the cement content. The main performance parameters include compressive strength, drying shrinkage, water penetration, Rapid Chloride Permeability Test (RCPT) at 28 and 90 days and sorptivity at 28 days. M5 reduced compressive strength but increased drying shrinkage, sorptivity, penetration depth and RCPT charge passage. Increasing the GGBS by 10% in M7 improved the strength, while increasing the GGBS by 15% in M8 decreased the strength compared to M1 and M5.</span> <span>To address strength degradation, the study incorporated 2% I-Crete along with GGBS in 5% increments from 15% to 35% in M9 to M13 mixes. M11 mix (2% I-Crete, 25% GGBS) showed better strength, reduced shrinkage and lower RCPT charge, ensuring better durability for SEM and XRD pavement applications.</span></p>