The huge quantity of natural aggregates extracted every year and used in the concrete industry is causing harmful consequences on biodiversity, water turbidity, water table level and landscape, and global warming as well. In this context, many studies focused on the possibility to use waste tyre recycled aggregates as partial replacement for stone aggregates in concrete production. Generally, it has been observed that several mechanical properties, such as compressive strength and modulus of elasticity, significantly decrease when rubber content is increased. On the other hand, rubberized concrete (RuC) showed a more ductile behavior than ordinary Portland cement concrete, in addition to a greater damping and energy dissipation capacity. In this paper, the compressive and flexural strength, water permeability, and thermal conductivity of five concrete mixtures with increasing percentages of rubber particles as a partial replacement for natural aggregates have been investigated. As a result, a reduction in compressive strength has been observed only in RuC mixtures with substitutions greater than 12% of the total aggregates, whereas the flexural strength remained roughly constant. Moreover, the results of water permeability and thermal conductivity tests showed respectively a decrease in water penetration and an improvement of the concrete thermal isolation due to the presence of rubber particles.

During the diagnostics of 100-year-old concrete bridges carried out between 2014 and 2022-4 mm (0.078- 0.157 in.) protective render coats (PRC) were found on nine bridges in Slovakia. Most of the PRCs measured appeared almost impermeable, showing a permeability coefficient below 0.246 × 10-16 m2 (0.293 × 10-16 yd.2). At these sites, the underlying concrete was carbonated to a depth of 0 up to 2 mm (0.078 in.), while under spalled PRC was the measured depth of carbonation of concrete up to 80 mm (3.15 in.). The field experiments were followed in a laboratory by the development of PRC from currently available materials. The newly-developed PRCs are characterized by a high weight ratio of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to natural silica sand, low water content, and, at the same time, capable of being applied in thin layers. The PRCs were applied to a surface of a concrete panel and were tested for permeability (the Torrent method), adhesion (the square target method), crack propagation, microstructure, and pore structure. The resistance to carbonation of the C20/25 strength class (2900/3625 psi) base concrete and those that were PRC-protected were verified by an accelerated carbonation test [20 °C (68 °F)/60% RH/20% vol. CO2].

In order to improve the durability of concrete, a novel waterproofing agent was developed and its effect on concrete performance was studied in detail. Through the research, it is found that when stearic acid is present in the form of ammonium salt in the waterproofing agent, concrete has the highest compressive strength and the best waterproof performance, and the optimum n_NH3: noctadecanoic acid is 1.34, woctadecanoic acid: wamines is 6.45. When the dosage of the waterproofing agent in concrete is 10-30 kg/(1 m³ concrete), the 48h water absorption rate of concrete is reduced by 44.7%~57.4%, and strength increases by at least 30%. By comparing with other waterproofing agents of the same type at home and abroad, it is found that the waterproofing agent provided in this paper has the lowest chloride ion permeability, concrete compactness, and water absorption. After adding a waterproofing agent to the concrete, the chloride migration coefficient and electric flux of concrete are reduced, and the reduction was 37.7% and 22.6%, respectively. The waterproofing agent is a solid-liquid mixture.

The new San Giorgio bridge replaced the Polcevera viaduct, built between 1963 and 1967 and collapsed during a storm in summer 2018. The new bridge was designed by Renzo Piano and is made by 19 steel spans supported by 18 concrete pillars. Beside the architectural aspects, special attention was devoted to the mix-design of the pillars, to ensure the production of durable concrete in the marine environment. The use of slag cement combined with limestone filler and polycarboxylate superplasticizers allowed to cast flowable concrete associated with low water to cement ratio and high final compressive strength. A new generation accelerating admixtures, working on the homogeneous nucleation technology, was used to accelerate the cement hydration and gain early compressive strength to speed-up the elevation of the pillars. In the present paper, the advantage of using the new admixture is discussed both in terms of early strength development and microstructure of the cement paste. Beside the improvement of the early strength development, the new admixture reduced the water permeability and the chloride diffusion and improved the resistance to carbonation of the concrete used for the pillars, with further advantages for the durability of this structure.

A layer of 2-4 mm (0.08-0.16 in) protective render coat (PRC) has proven to be an effective anticarbonation barrier at two bridges protecting the underlying concrete against carbonation for 100 years. The carbonation of concrete under the PRC with low permeability was found to be less than 2 mm (0.08 in). It is assumed that the PRC was placed for aesthetic purposes. Taking into account the considered XC3 exposure class according to EN 206, to which concrete structures were subjected and compressive strengths of the underlying concrete between 20 - 25 MPa (2900 - 3625 psi), low carbonation depth can be explained by the presence of the PRC applied on concrete surface. The main scientific goal of this article is to explain the cause of extremely low carbonation depth of concrete under the PRC. Its composition has been unknown until now but the present research reveals the secret of this substance. Investigations of the aspects of low carbonation depth thoroughly focused on the PRC role covering concrete beneath as well as material development of new current PRC based on the present cement and sand, without the use of chemical admixtures, are also the subject of ongoing research.