Utilization of recycled aggregates in cement-treated bases: a state-of-the-art review

Recycled materials with suitable engineering properties can be used as substitutes for natural aggregates (NA), an economically feasible and environmentally friendly alternative. Various recycled materials such as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), crushed brick (CB), fine recycled glass (FRG), Steel Slag, waste rock (WR), recycled masonry aggregate (RMA), electrolyte manganese residue (EMR), red mud (RM) and plastic wastes, were used globally in pavement construction. Extensive research is in progress to utilize recycled materials in flexible and rigid pavement bases with and without stabilization. Cement stabilization is widely used among the various stabilization techniques due to the proven process/technology and benefits. The recycled aggregates content, type, cement content, gradation, curing period, and other factors influence the mechanical properties of the cement-treated bases. In the process, there is a need to assess the performance of cement-treated bases at varying percentages of recycled materials to understand the real-time conditions for different climatic conditions. The optimization of the recycled materials and cement is necessary to improve the performance and make the recycled bases economically viable. A detailed review of cement-treated bases using different recycled materials is carried and presented in the current paper. Besides, the indigenous characteristics of various recycled materials with cement stabilization are presented. The extensive literature survey concluded that Cement-treated bases showed better performance than conventional bases in terms of stiffness, strength, economic, environmental, and sustainable perspectives.