Characterization of Flexible Concrete Pavements Using Demolition Waste and Laterite

In the present era of road construction industry, lot of scope is there with respect to alternate materials used for cement concrete roads. In the case of rural road construction, under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme, lot of scope is there for new initiatives for the replacement of natural aggregates. In this context, the present research work aims to replace the natural coarse aggregates using construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Also the project aims to replace the fine aggregates using Laterite. As the current population trend is increasing to a greater extent, a lot of construction and demolition waste is being generated. Construction and demolition waste causes adverse effects on the environment that can be effectively used for concrete works. Laterite is a product that is widely available in Western parts of Karnataka. Here the associated problem is that Laterite alone cannot directly be used for agricultural purposes contains iron and aluminum oxides. Hence, an attempt has been made to consider C&D waste and Laterite for the concrete work. Various test proportions were done to determine optimum percentage of replacement. Physical properties were obtained from the laboratory tests and correlated with the natural aggregate test results values. From the literature study, it is an evident that 30–40% of replacement can be done as coarse aggregate using C&D waste (Murali in Int J Eng Res Technol 09:128, 2021). Even in the case of major structural work, C&D waste can be used with significant results (Novakova in Properties of concrete with partial replacement of natural aggregate by recycled concrete aggregates from precast production, 2016). In case of Laterite, literature study suggests 20–30% of replacement can be done effectively for fine aggregate (Srivastava in J Environ Nanotechnol 02:17–20, 2013). At an outset, the significant reduction in natural coarse/fine aggregates, results in both economical and financial benefit for the society. In this regard, combination of C&D waste and Laterite waste can be used effectively thereby producing eco-friendly or sustainable concrete roads for rural areas. In this research work, the compression test and flexural test were conducted to analyze the strength parameters. Low volume roads/rural roads were usually of flexible or rigid pavements.