Small-strain stiffness of selected anthropogenic aggregates from bender element tests

This article presents a study on the stiffness of mixtures of anthropogenic materials derived from construction or demolition waste, specifically fine recycled concrete aggregates (fRCAs) with different fine fraction (FF) contents. The study investigated small-strain shear moduli via various signal interpretation methods, examining, above all, the time domain approaches and considering the influence of FF content. However, the inconclusive results from the bender element (BE) tests highlight the complexity of factors affecting shear wave velocity, which requires further research to refine the methodology and assess long-term performance in geotechnical applications.

Selecting the correct test frequency and interpretation method is crucial to obtain accurate results. The BE test method should consider all relevant factors. At low input frequencies (≤5 kHz), the near-field effect affected the received signal for fRCA mixtures. At higher frequencies (around 14 kHz), the noise levels increased, thereby interfering with the S-wave travel time determination. Intermediate input frequencies (10.0 and 12.5 kHz) provided the representative shear modulus (G) values. The small-strain shear modulus (G_max) of the fRCA compounds from the resonant column and BE tests was found to be in good agreement, despite differences in the test procedures themselves.