- 01Reads project dataStages, timesheets, costs, tests and documents recorded in Paylists.
- 02Searches published workOpenAlex, Europe PMC, PubMed, arXiv, Crossref, OSTI, NASA NTRS, NIST and other sources.
- 03Recommends answersEach answer is supported by references for your team and R&D tax advisor to review.
What the R&D aim of the project is
Lister recommended answerTo develop structural concrete containing a high proportion of recycled aggregate while maintaining predefined strength, workability and durability performance.
Scientific or technological uncertainty
- 01
Describe exactly which uncertainties you need to resolve
Lister recommended answerWhether variation in recycled aggregate porosity, attached mortar, absorption and source quality can be controlled sufficiently through material treatment and mix design.
- 02
Describe what made it a project to resolve a specified uncertainty
Lister recommended answerRecycled aggregate concrete already existed, but its variable material properties can significantly affect structural and durability performance.
- 03
Describe the steps you plan to take to resolve them
Lister recommended answerCharacterise aggregate batches, create alternative mix designs, control moisture, test strength and durability and repeat the selected design using independent recycled-material batches.
- 04
What difficulties are foreseen for the project
Lister recommended answerHigher absorption and variable adhered mortar can change effective water-cement ratio and produce inconsistent mechanical performance.
- 05
Information about any major changes to the aims, or new uncertainties that have been encountered, while running the project.
Lister recommended answerTesting may reveal that a mix meeting compressive-strength requirements fails durability or workability, requiring changes to aggregate treatment or binder composition.
- 06
How the uncertainties and other challenges were overcome (or not).
Lister recommended answerThe final mix would be reproduced across different recycled-aggregate batches and tested against every frozen criterion.
An advance in science or technology
- 01
A review of the current state of knowledge
Lister recommended answerPublished North American and Western European work had already shown that recycled concrete aggregate can be structurally useful but commonly carries performance penalties due to residual mortar and variability.
- 02
How the project sought an advance in a qualifying area of science or technology
Lister recommended answerThe project sought reliable structural and durability performance at a recycled-content and source-variability level not readily predictable from established mix-design methods.
Result, conclusion and evidence
Result
The final formulation met the required performance across the tested recycled-aggregate sources.
Conclusion
The advance concerns demonstrated performance at the stated recycled-content and variability envelope, not simply the use of recycled aggregate.
Evidence still needed
Aggregate source/batch IDs, absorption measurements, mix recipes, curing conditions, mechanical tests, durability results and independent batch replication.
Supporting references
McNeil & Kang, Recycled Concrete Aggregates: A Review.
link.springer.com ↗Piccinali et al., recycled aggregate concrete review.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗Liverpool John Moores University — recycled concrete and masonry aggregates.
researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk ↗