The Social Model Of Disability Health And Social Care Essay

The Social Model Of Disability Health And Social Care Essay In this essay I will be looking at models of disability, focusing mainly on the social model of disability and drawing upon the academic writing of disabled people and others as well as looking at a case study of David; a fifty five year old male who was admitted to hospital six months ago from having being diagnosed with a mild stroke. I will then go on to discuss the social models relevance to the practice of therapists. Disability is a major issue faced by our society. An attempt to describe the term disability can be very challenging. At present, there is no legal definition of disability as described in the social model of disability. Under the Equality Act, (2010) a disabled person is described as someone with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This also covers people with progressive conditions such as HIV, cancer or Multiple Sclerosis, and those with hidden disabilities like dyslexia. There are two main models of disability, the medical model and the social model. The medical model of disability, sees disabled peoples inability to join in society as a direct result of having an impairment and not as the result of features of our society which can be changed (Swain, French, and Cameron, 2003).The World Health Organisation (1980) categorises disability into three main groups; Impairment, Disability and Handicap. They state impairment is different to disability, from this it is easy to see how people with disabilities might become stigmatised as lacking or abnormal. The medical model of disability, assumes that the first step solution is to find a cure or, using the World Health Organisation Classification (1980) to make disabled people more normal (cited in Reynolds,2005). When policy makers think about disability in this individual way they tend to focus on compensating people with impairments, for example, targeting specific benefits such as the Disability Living Allowance (1992) for those individuals and providing segregated special services for them. This model of disability has been criticised as it does not offer a realistic perspective from the viewpoint of disabled people themselves, disabled people can be led to believe that their impairments automatically prevent them from participating in social activities. This view was rejected by disabled people who then advocated a different way of looking at disability (Oliver, 1983). In 1983 lecturer Mike Oliver, proposed the social model of disability. He adapted the model from the Fundamental Principles of Disability published by the Union of Physically Impaired Against Segregation (1975), where an impairment is defined as lacking all or part of a limb, or having a defective limb, organ or mechanism of the body and disability as the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by contemporary social organisation which takes no or little account of people who have physical impairments and thus excludes them from participation in the mainstream of social activities.(Swain and Cameron,1999, p.69). Central to this model is the belief that individuals with disabilities have a right to access, belong to, contribute to, and to be valued in society. The social model focuses on the strengths, abilities, and experiences of people with disabilities. Supporting individuals with disabilities in this model does not mean helping them to become normal, but instead focuses on tackling the social or physical barriers the individual faces in daily living (Oliver, 1983). In contrast to other models of disability, the social model is based on knowledge of the experiences, views, and practices of people with disabilities. The model understands individuals with disabilities as experts on their own lives and as experts on disability; it does not necessarily see difference as problematic or necessarily negative. Oliver (2004) goes on to argue that people with disabilities have faced prejudice and discrimination, therefore those who support this model believe that attention should be focused on restructuring society, not treating the individual. The social model views disability as a consequence of structural, environmental and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with a disability or impairment from maximum participation in society (Oliver, 2004, cited In Swain, French, Barnes and Thomas, 2004). For example, short-sighted people living in the United Kingdom are not classified as disabled. Eye-tests and visual aids, which are available means that this impairment does not prevent them participating fully in life. If, however, they live in a third world country where such eye care is not available they are severely disabled. The inability to read, subsequently learn, and gather information would be considered as a severe impairment in any society. If we apply the social model to the case study of David: Adapting to life after stroke, we are able to identify hidden attitudinal barriers that may exist in support of the social model, in the way society may view individuals with disabilities as being dependant and an inability to function fully due to their impairment. An example of this is when David states sometimes in shops, if I struggle to find the right money or to put away change, I feel really patronised, he may also experience these as hidden barriers from family members, this is indicated when David states At times I think they get annoyed with me being slower than before. In addition to these barriers, David may also encounter structural barriers; this may prevent him from being able to continue drive after his stroke due to legislations in place whereby you are not allowed to drive for one month following the event. This is a legal requirement even if your symptoms have fully resolved. The Driving Vehicles Licensing Authority would need to be contacted if one month after the stroke you are still suffering from weakness of the arm or legs, visual disturbance, or problems with co-ordination, memory or understanding. (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, 2011). Other structural barriers in insurance policies mean David may also have to pay more for his car insurance due to suffering a stroke, this can be viewed as society penalising him for having a disability. Environmental barriers may also exist which prevent David using public transport to get to work. Oliver (1990) argues that the removal of these structural, environmental and attitudinal barriers will improve the lives of disabled people, giving them the same opportunities as others. For example in the case study, David was able to return to his job as a Health and Safety Advisor on a part time basis under the Employers and the Equality Act (2010) employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to their policies or practices. By making adjustments, employers are removing the barriers that disable according to the social model, they are effectively removing the disability. The strength of this model lies in its placing the responsibility upon society and not the individual. At the same time, it focuses on the needs of the individual whereas the medical model uses diagnoses to produce categories of disability, and assumes that people with the same impairment have identical needs and abilities. It also offers positive solutions that have been proven in the United Kingdom (Reynolds, 2005). The social model however has limitations. Firstly, Crow (1992) criticises the model for its failure to emphasize certain aspects of disability such as the pain of impairment, both physical and psychological. In other words, the struggle may be over for disabled people in terms of obtaining human rights but the personal struggle of just getting out of bed in the morning remains. This struggle means that no matter how accommodating society is for disabled people, disabled people will always be disabled people. Morris (1991, p.10) then goes on to argue While environmental barriers and social attitudes are a crucial part of our experience of disability and do indeed disable us to suggest that this is all there is, is to deny the personal experience of physical and intellectual restrictions, of illness of the fear of dying. Further criticisms made of the social model, is its failure to take into account that as the population gets older the numbers of people with impairments will rise and making it harder for society to adjust. Lastly, the models concepts can be difficult to understand, particularly by professionals in rehabilitation. These professionals have to be persuaded that their role must change from that of cure or care to a less obtrusive one of helping disabled people take control of their own lives (Morris,2004). If we look at the relevance of the social model in the practice of therapists; Occupational therapists and Physiotherapists working with people with disabilities would be able to align themselves to the model, by identifying barriers that may exist for the client and implement interventions to overcome these disabling barriers and promote social integration. Assessments based on the social model of disability do not ask What is wrong with this person? but instead ask What is wrong for this person? At the core of an assessment based on the social model of disability. (Morris, 2004, p.24). In the case study of David, he identifies fatigue and mobility as key areas he wishes to address with the help of therapists. A therapist may assess the client in their own environment whether that is in their home or work and then suggest adaptations such walking aids or assistive aids to help enable the client to carry out occupations while removing barriers in order to live a more independent life. In the case of Speech and Language Therapists they may work towards bringing about changes in the individuals environment in order to maximise the opportunities for communication. This might, for example, involve teaching carers how to adjust their language to suit the clients level of understanding, or use gesture in addition to verbal communication when conveying their message (Coles, 2001). The social model of disability is a key mechanism for ensuring that Social Care services and resources work in partnership with people who need support. Assessments should identify the barriers, external to the individual, which are getting in the way of human rights. The planning and delivery of services should be focused on tackling these disabling barriers. All of this opens up exciting possibilities of using public resources in ways, which really make a difference to peoples lives (Morris, 2005). To conclude, models of disability are tools for defining impairment and disability, and ultimately for providing a basis upon which government and society can devise strategies for meeting the needs of disabled people. They are a useful framework in which to gain an understanding of disability issues, and of the perspective held by those creating and applying the models. Previous models of disability were essentially devised by people about other people, however the social model of disability provides an alternative perspective from those who experience disability. The social model proposed by Oliver (1990) has played a key part in promoting ways of overcoming disabling barriers for disabled people and a move forward to empower those individuals to be apart society.One of the major criticisms that have made of the social model is its detachment with having to deal with of impairment and its experiences. It is important to acknowledge that therapists play an important role in overcoming disabling barriers and adopting a holistic approach to enable individuals to carry out everyday meaningful activities as well promoting social inclusion, through adaptations to their environment. Models of disability provide us with a continuum on changing social attitudes to disability and where they are at a given time. Models change as society changes; therefore, we should develop and implement various models, which will empower people with disabilities, giving them full and equal rights as others within their society. References Coles, J. (2001) The Social Model of Disability: what does it mean for practice in services for people with learning difficulties? Disability and Society, 16(4), pp. 501-510. Crow, L. (1992). Renewing the Social Model of Disability. Coalition pp.5-9. HM Government (2011) Directgov: Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (2011) Available at: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/MedicalRulesForDrivers/MedicalA-Z/DG_185787 [Accessed on 10 November 2011]. HM Government (2011) Directgov: Employers and the Equality Act (2010) Available at: (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Employmentsupport/YourEmploymentRights/DG_4001071) [Accessed: 5 November 2011]. HM Government (2011) Directgov: Disability Living Allowance (1992) Available at: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_10018702 [Accessed on 10 November 2011]. HM Government (2011) Directgov: Equality Act (2010) Available at: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/RightsAndObligations/DisabilityRights/DG_4001068 [Accessed: 5 November 2011]. Morris, J.1991: Pride Against Prejudice-Personal Politics of Disability, London: The Womens Press. Morris, J. (2004) Social Model Assessment Team Pilot Project Essex Social Services: Report of Evaluation. p24 [PDF online]. Available at: www.leeds.ac.uk [Accessed: 5 November 2011]. Oliver M (1983) Social Work with Disabled People. Basingstoke, Macmillan. Oliver, M. (1990) The individual and social models of disability. Available at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/disabilitystudies/archiveuk/Oliver/in%20soc%20dis.pdf 4 [Accessed: 5 November 2011]. Oliver, M. (2004) If I had a hammer: The Social Model in action. In Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C. and Thomas, C. (eds) (2004) Disabling barriers enabling environments. 2nd ed. Los Angeles, SAGE Publications. Reynolds, F. (2005) Communication and clinical effectiveness in rehabilitation. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Swain, J. and Cameron, C. (1999) Unless otherwise stated: Discourses of labelling and identity in coming out. In Corker, M. and French, S. (eds) Disability Discourse. Buckingham: Open University Press. Swain, J., French, S. and Cameron, C. (eds) (2003) Controversial issues in a disabling society, London: Sage in Association with the Open University. Section B : word count 879 Juvenile Chronic Arthritis (JCA) is a condition, which causes pain and inflammation of the joints and bones. The main symptoms include pain, stiffness, restricted movements of the joints, swelling, and warmth and redness of the skin over the joint. About 12,000 children in the UK under the age of 16 have a form of Arthritis.(Arthritis care, 2011). The purpose of this leaflet is to provide information on support services available and coping strategies for Helen, a fourteen-year-old female who suffers from JCA. The leaflet focuses on three main support services which address the identified needs of Helen.The case study of Helen highlights swimming as a meaningful leisure activity, so one of the programmes offered in the leaflet is an Arthritis foundation aquatic programme, there is evidence based research to suggest swimming can help to ease stiffness, improve movement in joints, and strengthen muscles. The program incorporates the buoyancy of water and the soothing warmth of a heated pool to make a safe and ideal environment for relieving pain and stiffness (Arthritis, 2011). Other Programmes aimed at Helen and her family focus on teaching knowledge and skills to better manage JCA and providing the opportunity to meet others who share similar experiences. This acknowledges the need for support for the whole family, which is strength of the leaflet however a limitation is the lack of in depth information provided. The use of a case study of a teenager with JCA, is an effective way of providing reassurance and encouraging Helen to remain positive. Coping strategies are also included as a way of offering practical advice on how to manage JCA on a daily basis, and takes into account if reader is not ready join they can still take away some useful tips. An important factor in whether health information will appeal to this target audience is design (Houts et al 2006). According to Hoffman and Worrall (2004), a health education leaflet should be patient centred and designed with the principles of good health education material design in mind, including layout of both illustration and text. Often leaflets in clinical areas are ignored; however leaflets with pictures draw the attention of patients and encourage attention to the information contained within and as the leaflet selected is vibrant and colourful it catches the eye. There is a blue background for the leaflet, on which the text is placed on; this makes the black of the main body of the text stand out as well as the use of suitable images Helen can relate too. In terms of content of information, written material should contain accurate content and be written in a simple manner which can be understood easily. The front cover of a leaflet is particularly important as it is the main device used to initially attract the target audience (NHS,2003).To attract Helen to the leaflet an image of a group of teenagers is used for the cover as she would be able to identify more with as most leaflets on Arthritis have images of older people and can be off putting for a teenager. A logo is also used so it is clear to the reader who is responsible for producing the leaflets and if she wants to seek additional information then the logo will help her to remember the organisation. The heading If you are a teenager with Juvenile Chronic Arthritis, you are not alone is clear and written in a large front so it immediately addresses the target audience and provides reassurance. Bearing in mind that an average person will only look at a leaflet for a few minutes, this is very important as the information and the purpose of the leaflet comes across clearly and immediately on the front cover which is one of the main strengths of the leaflet. However, the contact details on the back of the leaflet with extra support services is not clear enough to the reader in regards to whom to contact if interested in joining the programme. The language used throughout the leaflet is simple in order to appeal to young teens, but a Flesch test has not been carried out to indicate this, as Standard texts should have an FK Grade level of about 7-8 which is similar to a reading age of 13-14 years, therefore suitable for the target audience. (Frances, 2005) NHS Toolkit for producing patient information (2003) recommends using a 14 point or larger for those with sight difficulties, therefore an Ariel 14 point sized font has been used in the main body of the text so that the leaflet is both clear and easy to read and a more bolder style of font is used for subheadings inside so it is more eye-catching. This takes into account the reader who has JCA may have deterioration in sight as one of the symptoms of their condition. To conclude, the overall content and presentation of the leaflet successfully addresses the needs of Helen, focusing on providing information on support services. The leaflet has been designed so it is not overly cluttered but provides basic information by including a case study, coping strategies and facts that may encourage her to join. However, Improvements can be made in the design layout and incorporating more depth of information.

The History of the Metis :: World History

The History of the Metis The Metis were partly french and partly indian. Their leader was called Louis riel. Following the Union of the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company in 1821, trading had been reorganized in order to reduce expenses. Since there was no longer competition in the fur trade, it was unnecessary to have two or more posts serving a single trading district. For this reason, some posts had been closed and the number of brigades reduced. This reorganization had led to some unemployment amoung Metis who for years had been working in the fur trade. The Hudson Bay Company had attempted to assist these these men by encouraging them to engage in farming in what is now South Manitoba. A few families take to agriculture, but most of the metis found it difficult. To them, the excitement and the adventure of the buffalo hunt held more appeal than farming. Hundreds of Metis were content to earn a living by hunting buffalo, making pemmican or finding employment as freight drivers. After a while Canada bought Rupertsland from Hudson Bay Company. When the Metis heard this they were alarmed. They feared their religion,their language, their lands and their old, free way of* life. They had known for some time that Canada was busy constructing a colonists highway from Lake Superior to the Red River. The situation became tense surveyors were sent into the flow of settlers, and it was considered a wise move to have the surveying well under way before settlement began in earnest. It was decided to use a system or land survey similar to that used in the western part of the United States. Townships were to be divided into thirty-six sections, each containing one square mile or 640 acres. The sections were then to be divided into, the quarter-section was thought to be enough land for each family settling in the North West. (An interesting aspect of the survey system was the plan of the setting asside two sections in each township for the future support of education. The idea to sell these sections at a later date and use the money for the construction of schools.) When th survey began, friction occured in those areas where the french specking Metis had settled along the river, occupying long narrow strips in the manner common in New France. Attempts were made by the surveyors to avoid disturbing the pattern, but in some cases the survey lines crossed the narrow holdings,

Cosmetics and Revlon

Introduction of the Company Revlon Inc. is a leading cosmetics company offering cosmetic, skin care, fragrance, and personal-care products. Revlon was formed in 1932, and started out with selling only nail enamels. Over the course of the past 75 years, Revlon has become a leading brand in the cosmetic market, recognized both in the United States and worldwide. Revlon owns popular brands such as Revlon, Charle, Mitchum, and Almay. Revlon has recently been struggling with debt, posting losses for the past eight years. Mission Statement AnalysisRevlon’s vision is to glamour, excitement, and innovation through quality products at affordable prices. The key objective of Revlon is to offer high quality beauty products while keeping the costs down for the consumers. I believe Revlon has been holding true to that vision; however they could be following it too closely. Revlon’s recent losses and issues with debt could be attributed to their vision. While the answer to solve thei r issues is uncertain it is clear a new strategy is needed to help Revlon recover. External Analysis External| | | | Opportunities| Weight| Rating| Score| 1. Men are using cosmetics more| 0. 6| 1| 0. 06| 2. Weakening of the US dollar making foreign markets more appealing| 0. 15| 2| 0. 3| 3. Growing trend of using personal care products| 0. 1| 3| 0. 3| 4. The increase in the mini-baby boomers (young teens)| 0. 1| 2| 0. 2| 5. Baby boomer females entering retirement| 0. 12| 3| 0. 36| | | | | Threats| | | | 6. Concern for product safety growing| 0. 05| 2| 0. 1| 7. Concerns about environment and animal testing growing| 0. 07| 2| 0. 14| 8. Increased gas prices greatly reduce disposable income| 0. 15| 1| 0. 15| 9. Natural fashion trends| 0. 05| 2| 0. 1| 10. Intense competition| 0. 15| 2| 0. 3| 1| | 2. 01| 1. There is a growing trend of men using cosmetic products. Product lines marketed specifically for men will be necessary to profit in this market segment. Men will be reluctant to use pr oducts made for women, so separate product lines are necessary. 2. Weakening of the US dollar makes any US based product more appealing in the foreign markets. Not only will people with other currencies favor the currency advantage of buying Revlon, are huge emerging markets growing in Latin America, Asia, and India. 3. There has been an overall growth in the use of cosmetic and personal care products worldwide.As countries become more developed, more people are earning income to spend on these products. Especially in the United States, appearance is strongly valued and cosmetics play a large part. 4. As with the increasing trend in cosmetics, there has been a significant increase in the mini-baby boomer market. Young teens are using cosmetic, personal care products more, and more. This market of teenage women is huge, especially in the United States. 5. The original group of baby boomers are beginning to reach the age of retirement. Most have reached their peak earning potential an d now have large amounts of disposable income.With old age comes the need for cosmetics to help people maintain a youthful look. Retired women of the baby boom era are a significant market segment for Revlon. 6. There have been growing concerns for product safety. Most cosmetics are applied to the face, and some if not properly tested can have adverse side effects. The population is becoming more health aware, and is always looking at the health effects of everyday products. Most companies now advertise the use of natural ingredients to market to health conscious consumers. 7. There is also growing concern for the environment and the use of animal testing.Animal testing had always been an issue for the cosmetic industry; however it is becoming more prominent in recent times. Even more is the growing concern for the environment. Consumers are looking for products that are not harmful to the environment and are eco friendly from the manufacturing process all the way to packaging and d isposal. 8. Increase in gas prices has hurt many industries across the board. Gas is something that the majority of consumers have to buy, and they are forced to pay whatever price is asked. The more consumers have to spend on gas the less to have to spend on items that are not considered a necessity.Costly cosmetics are probably one of the first things to be forgotten when spending needs to be cut back. 9. There is a trend of using natural products from food to cosmetics. There is a trend of going for a completely natural look altogether, meaning no cosmetics whatsoever. Even natural cosmetics discourage the use of other similar or supplementary products that would normally be used. 10. Competition is fierce in this industry. Marketing, price wars, and product differentiation among the cosmetic industry make it an extremely competitive industry. Each company has numerous brands that are recognized globally.Breaking consumer brand loyalty can be a hard task to accomplish. Revlon has a score of 2. 01 which is average. Revlon has been lacking in taking advantages of the different opportunities that it has. Failure to seize these opportunities will allow competitors to move in and gain the upper hand. Revlon should definitely take advantage of the growing foreign markets, especially in light of the weakening US dollar. In terms of threats, Revlon has been passive in responding to are preparing against them. Revlon has to make sure it markets its products in a way that is fitting for the changing view of the consumer.Product quality is becoming less important, as image is becoming everything. Completive Analysis Competitive Analysis: Porter’s Five-Forces Model | | Potential development of substitute products| | | | | I| | | Bargaining Power of Suppliers| -| Rivalry Among Competing Firms| -| Bargaining power of consumers| | | I| | | | | Potential Entry of new competitors| | | Rivalry Among Competing Firms Rivalry is high in the cosmetic industry. A few huge cosmetic makers dominate the market. They all have to deal with the decline in disposable income due to rising gas prices.Companies fight with marketing and cost reduction. Consumers have many ways to purchase these products. While a large amount of cosmetics are sold in drugstores and large retailers such as Wal-Mart there is still a significant sales done door to door. Competition is getting so strong that there has been a move to increase door-to-door sales to help steal market share from competitors. Potential of New Entrants The cosmetic industry is a 200 billion dollar industry. Competition is already high, and the industry as a whole has been faced with difficulties in these economic times.So the threat of new entrants is unlikely. However, new entrants to the industry could be successful if they can make a quality product at affordable prices. While there is a significant amount of brand loyalty, a consumer would easily switch to a more affordable quality product. Potential Development of Substitute Products As mentioned before rivalry is intense in this market. While brand loyalty does exist, price is becoming a very important factor. As a whole the market for cosmetics is very dynamic. While price is important, quality is just as significant if not more significant for some consumers. Companies re faced with the difficult task of balancing the two. Consumers will likely switch to a cheaper product with quality even though they might have loyalties to a particular brand. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers is low to moderate. Rising commodity prices affect all industries. The raw materials used in cosmetics are used mainly by cosmetic and personal care companies. The cosmetic companies do have some leverage, and these companies are able to keep costs down to offer lower prices to consumers. Bargaining Power of Consumers The bargaining power of consumers in this market is relatively high.Products are easily substitutable and pri ce is probably the most significant factor. Customers have all of the buying power, and often lean towards the cheaper products in these hard economic times. Since consumer bargaining power is high, companies in the cosmetic industry are forced to drive their prices down to stay competitive. While there are segments of the market that will pay a premium for a quality product, are majority of consumers will chose with their wallets. Generic Forces | Approach| Focus| Cost Minimization| Product Differentiation| Broad| X| | Narrow| | |Revlon offers various product lines focused at different segments of the market. The company was founded on the idea of providing affordable cosmetics. While many cosmetic companies attempt to differentiate their products from competitors it is almost an impossible task. Cosmetic products are easily substitutable so cost becomes the more significant factor. A broad focus cost minimization strategy is the one I would recommend for Revlon, there are some pot ential risks. As for any company, introducing new product lines can be a hit or miss. Revlon had recently introduced a product line called Vital Radiance that was aimed towards older women.The new line was not successful and was eventually discontinued, but not without taking losses. I believe Revlon should continue to use the same approach, they just need to make sure enough research is done before introducing new products to minimize the chances of failure. Competitive Profile Matrix Revlon Estee Lauder Avon Critical Success Factors| weight| Rating| Score| Rating| Score| Rating| Score| 1. Financial Position| 0. 3| 2| 0. 6| 3| 0. 9| 4| 1. 2| 2. Brand Recognition| 0. 1| 4| 0. 4| 3| 0. 3| 3| 0. 3| 3. Market Share| 0. 35| 3| 1. 05| 4| 1. 4| 4| 1. 4| 4. Global Expansion| 0. 15| 3| 0. 45| 3| 0. 5| 4| 0. 6| 5. Marketing| 0. 1| 4| 0. 4| 3| 0. 3| 3| 0. 3| Total| 1| | 2. 9| | 3. 35| | 3. 8| Out of the three companies, Revlon is in the worst position. While Revlon does excel in marketing, th e amount spent on advertising is piled on to the already massive amount of debt. The most important factors here in this situation are market share and financial position. In both areas, the competition is clearly ahead of Revlon. Another significant area is global expansion, and Avon is the leader in expansion. The global market is the key to success in the cosmetics industry and Avon's overall score proves that.If Revlon can fix its financial position, then they can begin to look at competing toe-toe with Avon. However, the longer they wait to straighten out the longer they will continue to fall behind. Internal Assessment Internal| | | | Strengths| Weight| Rating| Score| 1. Strong marketing efforts| 0. 15| 1| 0. 15| 2. Large distribution network| 0. 1| 3| 0. 3| 3. Produces Quality Product| 0. 05| 2| 0. 1| 4. Tailors product lines to different segments| 0. 05| 2| 0. 1| 5. Strong Brand Recognition| 0. 1| 2| 0. 2| | | | | Weaknesses| | | | 6. Limited Locations| 0. 15| 2| 0. 3| 7. In crease in long-term Debt| 0. 1| 1| 0. | 8. Weak overall financial position| 0. 15| 1| 0. 15| 9. Risk of Investing in a Project with No Return| 0. 1| 2| 0. 2| 10. Relatively high prices| 0. 05| 2| 0. 1| | 1| | 1. 7| 1. Marketing plays a large part in the cosmetic industry. Most companies compete on price. So ultimately the consumers’ choice is based on the perception of the product. Certain cosmetic lines are marketed towards different groups of people. The success of certain products is directly related to the effectiveness of the marketing campaigns. 2. The channels of distribution also play a large part in the success of any cosmetic company.Today most companies sell their products in a variety of different stores. Having their products available at many different locations helps to keep he competitiveness. Cosmetics are sold at drugstores, grocery stores, and large retailers such as Wal-Mart. Some companies even use door-to-door sales such as Avon. Revlon is beginning to u se that approach in certain regions such as China. 3. While price is the most important factor for most consumers, quality plays a large part with cosmetics. Furthermore actual quality is probably less important than perceived quality. 4.Ultimately people are willing to pay a premium for a higher quality product. In the case of cosmetics, quality is less about the product itself and more about the result to the consumer. 5. In order to make market campaigns successful the products themselves need to be designed differently for different market segments. For example, cosmetics aimed for the older population usually focuses on wrinkle education and skin firming ingredients, whereas cosmetics aimed for young women might offer a lot of color variety and other flashy designs. There clearly exists a different fashion trend among different age groups and different cultural groups.Having product lines tailored specifically for each group can help drive sales for each product line. 6. While Revlon does sell its products globally there are large markets outside of the United States that are yet to be entered. Because of the weakening of the US dollar US products are more favorable to foreigners. This event, along with the recent growth and development of these foreign countries form a large untapped market for cosmetic companies. India, China, and South America are becoming huge unsaturated markets waiting to be taken over. The first company to enter and successfully market to regions will become profitable.If Revlon continues to stay in its concentrated markets it will continue to fall behind the pack. 7. One of Revlon’s largest pitfalls is its failure to reduce its long-term debt. This is due largely to a few failed product lines that Revlon has launched in recent years, with Vital Radiance being the latest disaster. A lot of resources are required to launch new products. Not only are there the costs of production, but also the research and developments before the products are actually made. If the new lines do not yield the expected results the company is left in a net loss.In Revlon’s case, they never get a chance to pay off their debt, and are constantly playing catch-up. 8. Having a large amount of long-term debt is one thing, but for Revlon their overall financial performance is in need of repair. If Revlon able to generate enough income to balance out of their debt they would be much better off. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The amount of income and addition of new assets is not enough to keep out with the increase in liabilities. Because of this their overall financial position is very weak. Something needs to be done in order to set the company on the right path. . The main risk involved in launching new product lines is the potential for complete failure. So much research, time, and capital are spent to launch new product line. If the product does not sell as expected then none of those costs are recovered. Even wit h proper research of both the product and market, there is always a risk of failure. Already having such a large amount of debt, Revlon needs to take its time and do all the necessary research involved to increase its chance of launching a successful new line. 10. Price is the most important factor involved in the consumers’ purchasing decision.Cosmetic companies must find a balance between price and quality. Cost reduction is key to the success of any company in the cosmetic industry. If consumers decide to ignore quality, then price becomes the deciding factor. Though some cosmetic companies might sacrifice quality to keep prices low, they tend sell better when consumers have less money to spend. Revlon obtained a score of 1. 7 which is below average. Revlon’s biggest struggles are faced internally. The inability to pay off their long-term debt and their willingness to acquire new debt leave them in an extremely unstable financial position.Revlon needs to focus on it s marketing and product strategies. In these hard economic times Revlon should focus on price minimization. Consumers are more concerned about price these days with all of their purchases because money is tight. Revlon needs to focus on fixing its internal problems before they can begin to adjust to external factors. Financial Analysis Revlon’s main area of focus should be reducing its debt. Revlon posted net losses from 2004 to 2006. Sales had been leveling off during the same period. Net loss per share went from (. 47) to (. 2) from 2004 to 2006. Overall Revlon had been performing poorly, and failed new product launches helped contributed to the losses. By the end of 2006 Revlon’s long term debt amounted to 2. 3 billion dollars. Because of their ongoing issues with debt, Revlon has been undergoing debt restructuring. Moving forward Revlon must change its strategy to help increase sale, while minimizing the addition of new debt. In 2006 Revlon had a current ratio or l iquidity ratio of 1. 29 which improved slightly from 1. 25 in 2005. However, Revlon’s long-term debt still outweighs their assets.Revlon needs to look at its current product lines, and consider liquidating lines that are not generating expected returns. They are better off canceling unsuccessful product lines, then continuing to take on losses. While it may cost more in the short term, reevaluating existing product lines, and doing the research and development to launch new product lines will be more profitable in the long run. SWOT Matrix | Strengths – S 1. Strong marketing efforts| 2. Large distribution network| 3. Produces Quality Product| 4. Tailors product lines to different segments| 5. Strong Brand Recognition| | | | | | | Weaknesses – W 6. Limited Locations| . Increase in long-term Debt| 8. Weak overall financial position| 9. Risk of Investing in a Project with No Return| 10. Relatively high prices| | Opportunities – O 1. Men are using cosmetics m ore| 2. Weakening of the US dollar making foreign markets more appealing| 3. Growing trend of using personal care products| 4. The increase in the mini-baby boomers (young teens)| 5. Baby boomer females entering retirement| | SO Strategies1. Create product lines for new markets. (O1,2,5+S1,S4)2. The company should expand in to global markets. (O2+S1,S5)3. Focus existing product lines to their targeted demographics. (O1,3,4,5+S4)| WO Strategies1.Open new locations worldwide. (O2,O3+W6,W9)2. Reduce costs. (O4+W10)3. Conduct research before starting new product line. (O1,3,4,5+ W7,W9)| Threats – T 6. Concern for product safety growing| 7. Concerns about environment and animal testing growing| 8. Increased gas prices greatly reduce disposable income| 9. Natural fashion trends| 10. Intense competition| | ST Strategies1. Expand into global markets. (T10+S1+S5) 2. Reduce costs. (T8+S3)| WT Strategies1. Open New Locations. 2. Carefully plan new projects to maximize their profitabilit y. 3. Research safer ways of product testing and formulate safer and environmentally friendly cosmetics. T6,7,9+W9)| Space Matrix ————————————————- Financial StrengthRatings Decrease in Debt1. 0 Increase in Assets 2. 0 Net Income Per Share1. 0 4. 0 ————————————————- Industry Strength Growth Potential2. 0 Profit Potential 2. 0 4. 0 ————————————————- Environmental Stability Competitive Pressure-3. 0 Going Green Trend-3. 0 Economy Dependent-4. 0 ————————————————- -10. 0 —————————†”——————- Competitive Advantage Market Share-5. Brand Loyalty -4. 0 -9. 0 Conclusion ES Average is -3. 33, IS Average is 4. 0 CA Average is -6. 0, FS Average is 1. 33 Directional Vector Coordinate:x-axis: -4. 5+(+2. 0) = -2. 5 y-axis:-3. 33+(+1. 33) = -2. 0 Insert Space matrix The SPACE Matrix shows that Revlon has a defensive profile. They are financially unstable, which is why the point falls in the negative quadrants. BCG Matrix High| Medium| Low| Medium| StarsRevlon Brand| ? ’sAntiperspirants/Deodorants| Low| Cash CowRevlon Beauty Tools| DogsVital Radiance Brand| Revlon’s star product is their Revlon brand.The cosmetic market is still showing considerable growth, and Revlon has a total market share of 13%. Globally the market for cosmetics is expected to grow with the help of the weakening U. S. dollar. Revlon Beauty tools are the cash cow for the company. The overall market share for that product line is almost 25% which makes Revlon a dominant player. Growth in that market is expected, but not nearly as much as the cosmetics segments. Market share of Antiperspirants and Deodorants has dropped within the past year. While growth in that segment is expected, Revlon maintains a small share of the market.However, with the right strategy that segment could become another star for Revlon. Lastly, Revlon’s Vital Radiance line dropped to less than 1% in market share in the most recent year. That segment showed negative growth along with minimal market share. It was a wise decision on Revlon’s part to discontinue that line as it was generating any net profits for the company. Strategy Recommendation Revlon should follow to strategies to help turn things around. The first recommendation I have is for Revlon to expand its business in foreign markets. Currently the US dollar is weak, which makes US products more favorable in foreign countries.There are huge emerging markets in India and China. As these countries become more developed women have more income to spend on cosmetic products. In these countries Revlon might have a better chance at success if they try more direct forms of marketing such as door-to-door sales. There are rumors that Revlon is considering that strategy for China. While I believe times have changed, and marketing has changed especially with the age of the internet, I believe direct marketing works well for cosmetics. The typical users of cosmetics are more likely to buy a product if they get to see it in person, or get to try it themselves.I think door-to-door sales would be successful and could be used in the United States and in other countries. I also believe free samples would be another good form of marketing. I’ve noticed that a lot off cosmetic products are sold on the home shopping network in the United States. I think consumers feel more comfortable buying a cosmetic product when they can see how it is used and what results they generat e. There are cultural differences between the United States and foreign countries. Revlon should create new product lines tailored to each culture.I believe they are better off making fewer product lines focused on broader groups of people, rather than making too many product lines. They need to test the waters of each region, and determine the most effective ways to gain market share. The second recommendation that I have for Revlon is an internal one. Revlon has serious issues with debt. Part of the reason they are in this situation is because of the launch of unsuccessful product lines such as their most recent Vital Radiance. It takes a lot of time and resources to launch a new product line or to acquire new manufacturing locations.Any new product launch poses a great risk for any company. Revlon is not in any financial position to be taking these risks. I believe they need to do two things. First Revlon needs to look at its existing product lines and reevaluate their effectiven ess. Lines that are not meeting sales expectations need to be modified or discontinued altogether. It is better for Revlon to accept its losses and start fresh. The second thing Revlon needs to do is to spend all the time and resources necessary to make a successful new product launch. This was obviously not what happened with the Vital Radiance brand.While it may cost more time and money initially, a successful product line will easily be able to recover those expenses. As they make the decision to launch new brands or re-launch existing brands, Revlon needs to make sure all of its advertising spending is put to good use. Revlon is already deep in debt, and they need to make sure than any additional expenses will generate concrete returns. Revlon needs to refocus some of their brands, and launching new ad campaigns can help them do so. Revlon needs to find out which of its products are successfully marketed, and follow those same strategies to market their less successful product l ines.Focus is necessary in getting Revlon back on track. Effective marketing can help to increase sales both in the United States and abroad. Pro Forma The US market accounts for over half of Revlon’s sales. There is great potential for Revlon to expand its global markets. Realistically their sales in the foreign markets should be more than half of their overall sales. Revlon’s international sales have increased over the past three years, but the growth could be far more rapid. With the reorganization of Revlon’s current brands they could possibly cut some advertising costs by not having to market every product line to the same extent.Refocusing their brands with successful marketing, they might experience a slight increase in sales. I can estimate maybe a 5% increase in sales, and hopefully expenses can remain the same. Whatever extra cash is earned should be used to begin to pay off their debt. However, if neither of the strategies help turn things round, Revl on might consider be bought out by another company. Epilogue Section Revlon had made little improvement since 2007. The company maintains a debt in excess of over 1. 3 billion dollars. Although the company stock price has increased from 13 dollar per share to around 16 dollars. Google Finance) In general Revlon is still in the same boat it was in four years ago. Over half of Revlon’s sales are still from the United States. There has been little progress made in foreign markets. However, things are starting to turn around for the company. Revlon has been facing declines in sales since 2007. Now, in the first quarter of 2011 they managed to increase sales. (WikiInvest) They are estimated to increase overall sales by 2% this year. These sales are attributed to an increase in spending of advertising. Apparently the marketing efforts are beginning to pay off.This additional spending has helped to strengthen some of the Revlon brands. While things are beginning to look positive, th ey are going to need a much greater increase in sales to help pay off the debt. If they continued to lose sales in today’s times I would say it would be smart to consider selling out to another company. The recent albeit small turn around might give Revlon one last chance pay off its debt and become a big player in the industry. Resources: http://www. wikinvest. com/stock/Revlon_(REV)/News/2566033/Revlon_Reports_First_Quarter_2011_Results http://www. google. com/finance? q=NYSE:REV

Natural Recycling Waste

Sample details Pages: 31 Words: 9257 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Ecology Essay Tags: Recycling Essay Did you like this example? Natural Recycling Waste Introduction For many years peoples have been trying to keep the environmental clean and mention the natural balance of life. The scientific studies provide us the information and methods to achieve these objectives and the recycling of waste and by product materials represent the main role in these studies [1-4]. As a result of reconstruction of existing buildings and pavements, wars and natural disasters such as earthquakes the amount of construction and demolition materials are increasing every year. At the same time approval of additional facilities for waste disposal or treatment are become more difficult to obtain. Furthermore increasing restrictive environmental regulations have made waste disposal more difficult and expensive. Also the available natural aggregate in some countries decreases and may be become insufficient for the construction projects in these countries in the future [5]. So, the reuse of construction and demolition materials in construction has benefits not only in reducing the amount of materials requiring disposal but also can provide construction materials with significant saving of the original materials. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Natural Recycling Waste | Construction Dissertations" essay for you Create order According to the third Building Waste Monitoring Report [6], there is an increase in the recorded amount of building waste in the sectors of the building debris, road scarification and building site waste. It has arisen in Germany by 11.5 million tons, from 77.1 million tons in the period 1997/1998 to 88.6 million tons in the period 1999/2000. According to Rahlwes and Schmidt [7, 8], for concrete only, the annual crushed concrete quantity in west Germany only is about 30 million tones and in the European Union is approximately 130 million ton. Due to intensive building activities in the last decades, these amounts are expected to considerably increase after the year 2000. Figure 1.1: Recycled Aggregate The properties of recycled coarse aggregate with a grain size above 4 mm and its reuse in concrete production and pavements construction have been evaluated and described in many. It has been estimated that approximately 50 million tons of concrete are currently demolished each year in the European Economic Communities [1], Equivalent figures are 60 million tons in the United States ([2], [3]), and in Japan [12] the total quantity of concrete debris available for recycling on some scale is about 10 to 12 million tons. Very little demolished concrete is currently recycled or reused anywhere in the world. The small quantity which is recovered is mainly reused as unstabilized base or subbase in highway construction. The rest is dumped or disposed of as fill. For Environmental and other reasons the number of readily accessible disposal sites around major cities in the world has decreased in recent years. Both disposals volume and maximum sizes of wastes have been restricted. In Japan disposal charges from USD 3 to 10 per ton are not uncommon. Moreover, distances between demolition sites and disposal areas have become larger and transportation costs higher. At the same time critical shortages of good natural aggregate is developing in many urban areas, and distances between deposits of natural material and sites of new construction have grown larger, and transportation costs have become correspondingly higher, It is estimated that between now and year 2,000, three times more demolished concrete will be generated each year than is today. For these reasons it can be foreseen that demolition contractors will come under considerable economic and other pressure to process demolished concrete for reuse as unscreened gravel, base and subbase materials, aggregates for production of new concrete or for other useful purposes. Large-scale recycling of demolished concrete will contribute not only to the solution of a growing waste disposal problem. It will also help to conserve natural resources of sand and gravel and to secure future supply of reasonably priced aggregates for building and road construction purposes within large urban areas of the world. Applications of Recycled Aggregate The recycled concrete aggregate shown in Figure 1.1 can be defined as crushed concrete composed of aggregate fragments coated with cement paste or cement mortar from the demolition of the old structures or pavements that has been processed to produce aggregates suitable for use in new concrete. The processing, as with many natural aggregates, generally involves crushing, grading and washing. This removes contaminant materials such as reinforcing steel, remnants of formwork, gypsum board, and other foreign materials. The resulting coarse aggregate is then suitable for use in concrete. The fine aggregate, however, generally contains a considerable amount of old cement paste and mortar. This tends to increase the drying shrinkage and creep properties of the new concrete, as well as leading to problems with unworkable mix and strength. Therefore, many transportation departments have found that using 100% coarse recycled aggregate but with only about 10% to 20% recycled fines works well. Regarding the results of most of the previous research that has been done so far, the application of Recycled Aggregate is mostly currently in low quality/strength concrete, for example, pavement base and slab rather than used in structural concrete. The most common application of Recycled Concrete Aggregate is the use in concrete sub-base in road construction, bank protection, noise barriers and embankments, many types of general bulk fills and fill materials for drainage structures. After the removal of contaminants through selective demolition, screening, and/or air separation and size reduction in a crusher to aggregate sizes, crushed concrete can be used as new concrete for pavements, shoulders, median barriers, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and bridge foundations; structural grade concrete; soil-cement pavement bases; moulded concrete bricks and blocks; bituminous concrete etc. However, there is an example of recycled concrete being used for part of the structural slabs in a high-rise building in Japan but there was no too much detail available on this project. According to research that has been conducted in Australia, current use of recycled aggregates is still only around 7% of road construction material in South Australia. Victoria Road also use recycled aggregate for their road base construction projects in Victoria but MainRoads in Queensland does not currently. Traditionally, the application of recycled aggregate is used as landfill. Nowadays, the applications of recycled aggregate in construction areas are wide. The applications are different from country to country. Concrete Kerb and Gutter Mix Recycled aggregate have been used as concrete kerb and gutter mix in Australia. According to Building Innovation Construction Technology (1999), Stone says that the 10mm recycled aggregate and blended recycled sand are used for concrete kerb and gutter mix in the Lent hall Street project in Sydney. Granular Base Course Materials According to Market Development Study for Recycled Aggregate Products (2001), recycled aggregate are used as granular base course in the road construction. It also stated that recycled aggregate had proved that better than natural aggregate when used as granular base course in roads construction. They also found that when the road is built on the wet sub grade areas, recycled aggregate will stabilize the base and provide an improved working surface for pavement structure construction. Embankment Fill Materials Market Development Study for Recycled Aggregate Products (2001) stated that recycled aggregate can be used in embankment fill. The reason for being able to use in embankment fill is same as it is used in granular base course construction. The embankment site is on the wet sub grade areas. Recycled aggregate can stabilize the base and provide an improved working surface for the remaining works. Paving Blocks Recycled aggregate have been used as paving blocks in Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong Housing Department (n.d.), recycled aggregate are used as typical paving blocks. A trial project had been started to test the long term performance of paving blocks made with recycled aggregate in 2002. Backfill Materials Recycled aggregate can be used as backfill materials. Mehus and Lillestol (n.d) found that Norwegian Building Research Institute (n.d) mentioned that recycled concrete aggregate can be used as backfill materials in the pipe zone along trenches after having testing in laboratory. Building Blocks Recycled aggregate used as building blocks. Mehus and Lillestol (n.d) stated that Optiroc AS had used recycled aggregate to produce the masonry sound insulation blocks. The masonry sound insulation blocks that produced had met all the requirements during the laboratory testing. International Status Mehus and Lillestol (n.d.) stated that RESIBA had constructed a new high school in Sorumsand, outside the city of Oslo, Norway in 2001. Recycled concrete aggregate had been used in this project. Thirty five percent of coarse aggregate were replaced by recycled concrete aggregate in the foundations, half of the basement walls and columns. Several tests were conducted based on fresh and hardened concrete properties and the results shown that the concrete with thirty five percent of recycled concrete aggregate have good freeze thaw resistance. The use of recycled concrete aggregate did not shown any noticeable increase in cracking. According to Grubl, Nealen and Schmidt (n.d.), there is a building project, the Waldspirale by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, made from concrete with recycled aggregate in Darmstadf from November 1998 to September 1999. Numerous tests were evaluated for freshly missed and also hardened concrete properties. The result shown that the consistency controlled method for concrete with recycled aggregate is applicable. And it leads to concrete of equal quality when compared with concrete made from natural aggregate. According to Regain (1993/94), recycled aggregate were used as capping and sub-base layers in housing development at North Bracknell, UK in 1993/94. Visual inspections and condition surveys were carried out by using the falling weight deflectometer in 1998. The result shown that the sections with recycled aggregate did not show any difference in appearance compared to the sections that using natural aggregate. The tests gave the larger values of elastic modulus in the recycled aggregate sections. According to Regain (2001), footway paving slabs are being replaced gradually in London Borough of Bexley. Recycled aggregate are used as coarse aggregate in the concrete mix with a 12:1 aggregate to cement mix Advantages There are many advantages through using the recycled aggregate. The advantages that occur through usage of recycled aggregate are listed below. Environmental Gain The major advantage is based on the environmental gain. According to CSIRO (n.d.), construction and demolition waste makes up to around 40% of the total waste each year (estimate around 14 million tones) going to land fill. Through recycled these material, it can keep diminishing the resources of urban aggregated. Therefore, natural aggregate can be used in higher grade applications. Save Energy The recycling process can be done on site. According to Kajima Technical Research Institute (2002), Kajima is developing a method of recycling crushed concrete that used in the construction, known as the Within-Site Recycling System. Everything can be done on the construction site through this system, from the process of recycled aggregate, manufacture and use them. This can save energy to transport the recycled materials to the recycling plants. Cost Secondly is based on the cost. The cost of recycled aggregate is cheaper than virgin aggregate. According to PATH Technology Inventory (n.d.), the costs of recycled concrete aggregate are sold around $3.50 to $7.00 per cubic yard. It depends on the aggregate size limitation and local availability. This is just around one and half of the cost for natural aggregate that used in the construction works. The transportation cost for the recycled aggregate is reduced due to the weight of recycled aggregate is lighter than virgin aggregate. Concrete Network (n.d) stated that recycling concrete from the demolition projects can saves the costs of transporting the concrete to the land fill (around $0.25 per ton/ mile), and the cost of disposal (around $100 per ton). Beside that, Aggregate Advisory Service (n.d.) also state that the recycling site may accept the segregates materials at lower cost than landfill without tax levy and recycled aggregate can be used at lower prices than primary aggregate in the construction works. Job Opportunities There will be many people involved in this new technology, such as specialized and skilled persons, general workers, drivers and etc. According to Scottish Executive (2004), a Scottish Market Development Program is developed. The purpose of this program is to recycle the materials that arising in Scotland. This program will provide 150 new jobs in the Scottish industry. Sustainability The amount of waste materials used for landfill will be reducing through usage of recycled aggregate. This will reduce the amount of quarrying. Therefore this will extend the lives of natural resources and also extend the lives of sites that using for landfill. Market is Wide The markets for recycled concrete aggregate are wide. According to Environmental Council of Concrete Organization (n.d), recycled concrete aggregate can be used for sidewalk, curbs, bridge substructures and superstructures, concrete shoulders, residential driveways, general and structural fill. It also mentioned that recycled concrete aggregate can be used in sub bases and support layers such as unstabilized base and permeable bases. Disadvantages Although there are many advantages by using recycled aggregate. But there are still some disadvantages in recycled aggregate. Hard to have permit Jacobsen (1999) stated that it is hard to get the permit for the machinery that needed air permit or permit to operate during the recycling process. These has to depend on the local or state regulations whether this technology is implemented or not. Lack of Specification and Guidelines According to Kawano (n.d), there is no specification or any guideline when using recycled concrete aggregate in the constructions. In many cases, the strength characteristic will not meet the requirement when using recycled concrete aggregate. Therefore, more testing should be considered when using recycled concrete aggregate. Water Pollution The recycled process will cause water pollution. Morris of National Ready Mix Concrete Association (n.d) had mentioned that the wash out water with the high pH is a serious environmental issue. According to Building Green (1993), the alkalinity level of wash water from the recycling plants is pH12. This water is toxic to the fish and other aquatic life. Project Aim The aim for this on going project is to determine the strength characteristic of recycled aggregate for application in high strength structural concrete, which will give a better understanding on the properties of concrete with recycled aggregate, where can be an alternative material to coarse aggregate in structural concrete. Project Scope Review and research of recycled aggregate. Construct the concrete specimens by using different percentage of recycled aggregate. Investigation and laboratory testing on high strength concrete with recycled aggregate. Analysis the results and recommendation for further research area. Dissertation Overview This dissertation is structured in the following format. Chapter 2 provides a review of relevant literature, overview of recycling process, as well as comparison of recycled aggregate and natural aggregate. This chapter also discussed the previous investigation and testing done with recycled aggregate. Chapter 3 includes the preliminary design and information on the recycled aggregate testing and design of the concrete mix. Chapter 4 describes the experimental methodology carried out in order to obtain the required data. Chapter 5 discusses the results and analysis of all experimental results obtained from the testing procedures. Chapter 6 contains the conclusions of the research and recommendations on further work. Literature review of Recycled Aggregate Literature review of Recycled Aggregate Conventional concrete aggregate consists of sand (fine aggregate) and various sizes and shapes of gravel or stones. However, there is a growing interest in substituting alternative aggregate materials, largely as a potential use for recycled materials. While there is significant research on many different materials for aggregate substitutes (such as granulated coal ash, blast furnace slag or various solid wastes including fiberglass waste materials, granulated plastics, paper and wood products / wastes, sintered sludge pellets and others), the only two that have been significantly applied are glass cullet and crushed recycled concrete itself. Even though aggregate typically accounts for 70% to 80% of the concrete volume, it is commonly thought of as inert filler having little effect on the finished concrete properties. However, research has shown that aggregate in fact plays a substantial role in determining workability, strength, dimensional stability, and durability of the concrete. Also, aggregates can have a significant effect on the cost of the concrete mixture. Certain aggregate parameters are known to be important for engineered-use concrete: hardness, strength, and durability. The aggregate must be clean, without absorbed chemicals, clay coatings, and other fine materials in concentrations that could alter the hydration and bond of the cement paste. It is important to note the difference between aggregate and cement, because some materials have found use both as a cementitious material and as aggregate (such as certain blast furnace slags). Materials that have been researched or applied only as cement substitutes are addressed in another Technology Inventory article Cement Substitutes. Aggregate composed of recycled concrete generally has a lower specific gravity and a higher absorption than conventional gravel aggregate. New concrete made with recycled concrete aggregate typically has good workability, durability and resistance to saturated freeze-thaw action. The compressive strength varies with the compressive strength of the original concrete and the water-cement ratio of the new concrete. It has been found that concrete made with recycled concrete aggregate has at least two-thirds the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of natural aggregate concrete. Field-testing has shown that crushed and screened waste glass may be used as a sand substitute in concrete. Nearly all waste glass can be used in concrete applications, including glass that is unsuitable for uses such as glass bottle recycling. Some of the specific glass waste materials that have found use as fine aggregate are non-recyclable clear window glass and fluorescent bulbs with very small amounts of contaminants. Possible applications for such waste-glass concrete are bike paths, footpaths, gutters and similar non-structural work. Lack of widespread reliable data on aggregate substitutes can hinder its use. To design consistent, durable recycled aggregate concrete, more testing is required to account for variations in the aggregate properties. Also, recycled aggregate generally has a higher absorption and a lower specific gravity than conventional aggregate. Research has revealed that the 7-day and 28-day compressive strengths of recycled aggregate concrete are generally lower than values for conventional concrete. Moreover, recycled aggregates may be contaminated with residual quantities of sulfate from contact with sulfate rich soil and chloride ions from marine exposure. Glass aggregate in concrete can be problematic due to the alkali silica reaction between the cement paste and the glass aggregate, which over time can lead to weakened concrete and decreased long-term durability. Research has been done on types of glass and other additives to stop or decrease the alkali silica reaction and thereby maintain finished concrete strength. However, further research is still needed before glass cullet can be used in structural concrete applications. The applications of recycled aggregate in highway construction as a road base material are very board and have been in use for almost 100 years. There has been much research based on the use of recycled aggregate that has been carried out all around the world. The research on recycled aggregate that has been carried out indicated that the successful application of crushed aggregate in concrete can be achieved. This successful research has been achieved in many countries, in particular in Europe; United States; Japan and China. This chapter presents literature reviews on the effects of various factors on the recycled aggregate from research from those countries. The major objective of most of the experiments or research on recycled aggregate is to find out the results in the strength characteristic area and what is the best method to achieve high strength concrete with recycled aggregate. Strengths of Recycled Aggregate Concrete Made Using Field- Demolished Concrete as Aggregate Tavakoli M. (1996) studied the compressive; splitting tensile and flexural strengths of 100% recycled coarse aggregate concrete and 100% natural sand to compare them with normal concrete made of natural crushed stone. The water-cement ratio was 0.3 and 0.4 in the concrete mix design. The test result shows the compressive, tensile and flexural strengths of RCA are little higher than the natural aggregate at the same size of 25.4mm at 28-day specimen. This indicates that if the compressive strength of the original concrete that is being recycled is higher than that of the control concrete, then the recycled aggregate concrete can also be made to achieve higher compressive strength than the control concrete. The results also indicates increase L.A. abrasion loss and water absorption capacity of recycled aggregates, which partly reflect the increased amount of water, adhering to the original stone aggregate, generally lead to reduced compressive strength of recycled aggregate concrete. Dhir et al. (1998) studied the effect of the cleanliness and percentage of the replacement of RCA. They found out that the degree of cleanliness of aggregate has significantly affected on the results of the properties of both the plastic and hardened concrete. The workability and compressive strengths both were lower than the quarried aggregate from 17% to 78% depending on the percentage of replacement of RCA. The results also indicated recycled aggregate has very high air content. Limbachiya and Leelawat (2000) found that recycled concrete aggregate had 7 to 9% lower relative density and 2 times higher water absorption than natural aggregate. According to their test results, it shown that there was no effect with the replacement of 30% coarse recycled concrete aggregate used on the ceiling strength of concrete. It also mentioned that recycled concrete aggregate could be used in high strength concrete mixes with the recycled concrete aggregate content in the concrete. Sagoe, Brown and Taylor (2002) stated that the difference between the characteristic of fresh and hardened recycled aggregate concrete and natural aggregate concrete is relatively narrower than reported for laboratory crush recycled aggregate concrete mixes. There was no difference at the 5% significance level in concrete compressive and tensile strength of recycled concrete and control normal concrete made from natural aggregate. Limbachiya (2003) found that there is no effect by using up to 30% of coarse recycled concrete aggregate on the standard 100mm concrete cube compressive strength. But when the percentage of recycled concrete aggregate used increased, the compressive strength was reducing. Behavior of Construction and Demolition Debris in Base and Subbase Application Pappjr et al (1998) studied using recycled aggregates in Base and Subbase applications. They found that recycled concrete yielded higher resilient modulus than the dense graded aggregate currently used. Furthermore, the results have been shown that recycled concrete have less permanent deformation than dense graded aggregate. They concluded that recycled concrete could be a valuable alternative to natural materials for base and subbase applications. Influence of recycled aggregate quality on concrete properties Sanchez de Juan et al. (2000) studied what is the maximum percentage, from 20% to 100%, replacement of recycled aggregate in concrete. The results showed that the compressive strength of recycled concrete is lower than that of a control concrete with equal water/cement ratio and same cement content. Recycled concretes with a percentage of recycled coarse aggregate lower than 50% show decreases in the range 5-10%, while for concretes with 100% recycled aggregates, decreases ranged from 10-15%. Experimental results also indicated that properties of conventional concretes and recycled concretes with same compressive strength when less than 20% of recycled coarse aggregate are used. The exception being modulus of elasticity was decreased until 10% can be found in recycled concretes. When the percentage of recycled aggregate is lower than 50%, tensile strength and drying shrinkage of recycled concrete is similar to conventional concrete with same compressive strength. As a result of the testing, all properties of concrete with a 100% of recycled coarse aggregate are affected. Some studies on durability of recycled aggregate concrete Mandal et al. (2002) studied the durability of recycled aggregate concrete and found that recycled aggregate had less durability than natural aggregate. However, when 10 percent replacement of cement by fly ash was used with recycled aggregate, the durability observed was increased. It significantly improved the compressive strength up to 46.5MPa, reduced shrinkage and increased durability to a level comparable to natural aggregate. Therefore, the results of this study provide a strong support for the feasibility of using recycled aggregate instead of natural aggregate for the production of concrete. Use of recycled aggregates in molded concrete bricks and Blocks Poon et al. (2002) developed a technique to produce concrete bricks and paving blocks from recycled aggregates. The test result showed that replacing natural aggregate by 25% to 50% had little effect on the compressive strength, but higher levels of replacement reduced the compressive strength. The transverse strength increased as the percentage of recycled aggregate increased. The concrete paving blocks with a 28-day compressive strength of at least 49MPa can be produced without the incorporation of fly ash by using up to 100% recycled aggregate. According to the study, recycled aggregate has been used in structural engineering. For example, a viaduct and marine loch in the Netherlands in 1998 and an office building in England in 1999. The project in the Netherlands had shown that 20 percent of the coarse aggregate was replaced by recycled aggregate. The project also indicated even there are some disadvantage of recycled aggregate such as being too weak, more porous and that it has a very higher value of water absorption. However, the study showed that these weaknesses could be avoided by using mechanized moulded concrete bricks. The workability also could be improved by poring the mix into the mould. Therefore, the performance of the bricks and blocks was also satisfactory in the shrinkage and skid resistance tests. Concrete with Recycled materials as Coarse Aggregates: Shrinkage and Creep Behavior Tawrwe et al. (1999) compared limestone aggregate with concrete rubble. They found the concrete rubble had a very high water absorption compared to the limestone aggregate (0.74% against 6.83% of dry mass). Furthermore the porous aggregate absorbed water slowly in some tests. For example, it was difficult to determine accurately the amount of water that had to be added to obtain suitable workability. The critical shrinkage of the limestone aggregate concrete was higher than the concrete rubble, but after a year the shrinkage was greater for the concrete rubble based aggregate. Treatments for the improvement of recycled aggregate Katz (2004) stated two methods to improve the quality of the recycled aggregates. The superplasticizer (1% weight of silica fume) was added to the solution of 10L of water and 1 kg raw silica fume to ensure proper ispersion of silica fume particles. After the silica fume impregnation, the SF treatment seems to improve significantly the compressive strength up to 51MPa at ranged from 23% to 33% at 7 days of the recycled aggregate concrete. Ultrasonic cleaning of the recycled aggregate to remove the loose particles and improve the bond between the new cement paste and the recycled aggregate, which, in turn, increased 7% of strength. Kantawong and Laksana (1998) mentioned that the fineness modulus and percentage of water absorption used instead with the recycled aggregate is higher than natural aggregate. The results of compressive strength of added reduce water admixture concrete is higher than the one that not added reduce water admixture concrete, ane the compressive strength of concrete produced that using recycled aggregate is higher than concrete using natural coarse aggregate. Sawamoto and Takehino (2000) found that the strength of the recycled aggregate concrete can be increased by using Pozzolanic material that can absorb the water. Mandal (2002) stated that adjusted the water/cement ratio when using recycled concrete aggregate during the concrete mixing can improved the strength of the recycled aggregate concrete specimens. From the obtained result, recycled aggregate concrete specimens had the same engineering and durability performance when compared to the concrete specimens made by natural aggregate within 28days design strength. Chen and Kuan (2003) found that the strength of the concrete specimens was affected by the unwashed recycled aggregate in the concrete. The effect will more strange at the low water cement ratio. These effects can be improved by using the washed recycled aggregate. Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Reuse as Aggregate in Concrete Production Limbachiya (2004) studied the properties of recycled aggregate compared with natural aggregates and found out the density of RCA is typically 4-8% lower and water absorption 2-6 times higher. The results showed that a reduction in slump value with increasing RCA concrete mix. The results also slowed that up to 30% coarse RCA has no effect on the standard concrete cube strength but thereafter a gradual reduction with increasing RCA content occurs. This means that some adjustment is necessary of the water/cement ratio to achieve the equivalent strength with high proportions of RCA. Review on Recycled Process This section discusses the recycling process and method. Recycling Plant Recycling plant normally located in the suburbs of cities due to the noise pollution that make by the equipments that used during recycling process. According to Aggregate and Quarry (n.d.), all the machinery used have to fit with the effective mufflers to reduce the noise from the processing activity. Sources of Recycled Aggregate Traditionally, Portland concrete aggregate from the demolition construction are used for landfill. But nowadays, Portland concrete aggregate can be used as a new material for construction usage. According to Recycling of Portland Cement Concrete (n.d), recycled aggregate are mainly produced from the crushing of Portland concrete pavement and structures building. It stated that the isolated areas of 1 inch of asphalt concrete can be used to produce the recycled aggregate. The main reason that choosing the structural building as the source for recycled aggregate is because there is a huge amount of crushed demolition Portland cement concrete can be produced. Equipments used during Recycling Process The equipments that used during recycling process are various from the site conditions and also country to country. There are few different types of equipment had been used effectively to break up the Portland cement pavement and structural building. Portland Cement Pavement Recycling of Portland Cement Concrete (n.d) mentioned that there are few different types of equipment had been used for crushing the Portland cement pavement. The equipments are as below: Diesel pile driving hammer. It is mounting on a motor grader that sticks in the Portland cement pavement on around 30cm grid pattern. Figure 2.1: Diesel Pile Driving Hammer (Source: Recycling of Portland Cement Concrete, (n.d)) Rhino horn tooth ripper equipped hydraulic excavator. It is used to remove all the steel reinforcement that remaining in the Portland cement pavement. Figure 2.2: Rhino horn tooth ripper equipped Hydraulic Excavator (Source: Recycling of Portland Cement Concrete, (n.d)) Structural Building Hong Kong Building Department (n.d) mentioned that the following methods had been used to crush the structural building. 1-Mechanical by hydraulic crusher with long boom arm . The concrete and steel reinforcements are broken by the crusher through the long boom arm system. This method is suitable for the dangerous buildings. Figure 2.3: Hydraulic Crusher with Long Boom Arm (Source: Hydraulic Circuit Technology, 2000) 2-Wrecking ball. The building is demolished by the impact energy of the wrecking ball which suspended from the crawler crane. Figure 2.4: Wrecking Ball (Source: The Trading Tribe, 2003) 3-Implosion. A design included pre weakening of the structure, the placement of the explosives and the building collapse in a safe manner have to develop. Figure 2.5: Kingdome Implosion (Source: Davinel, 2000) Transportation After the structural buildings and Portland cement pavements are demolished, the concrete debris has to send to the recycling plants for processing. Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Information (n.d.) mentioned that it is good to use the roll off containers or large dump body trailers to transport the mixed load of construction and demolition debris. This is the most effective and cost effective means of the transportation. It also mentioned that the construction and demolition debris can be transport by the closed box trailers and covered containers. Crushing Plant Crushing is the initial process of producing the construction and demolition debris into recycled aggregate. The concrete debris is crushed into pieces in this process. Aggregate and Quarry (2001) stated that generally the equipments used for crushing process are either jaw or impacted mill crushers. It also stated that all the recycling crushers have a special protection for conveyor belts to prevent damage by the reinforcement steel that in the concrete debris. They are fitted with the magnetic conveyors to remove all the scrap metal. According to Recycling of Portland Cement Concrete (n.d.), the equipments used to crush and size the existing concrete have to include the jaw and cone crushers. The concrete debris will break down to around 3 inches by the primary jaw crusher. It also mentioned that the secondary cone crushers will breaks the materials to the maximum size required which vary between and 2 inches. During the crushing process, all the reinforcing steels have to remove away. Professor S L Bakoss and Dr R Sri Ravindarajah (1999) stated that there are three methods of sorting and cleaning the recycled aggregate, which are electromagnetic separation, dry separation and wet separation. Electromagnetic separation process is removal of reinforcing steel by the magnet that fitted across the conveyor belt in the primary and secondary crushers. Dry separation process is removing the lighter particles from the heavier stony materials by bowing air. This method always causes lot of dust. Wet separation process is the aquamator, which the low density contaminants are removed by the water jets and float sink tank, and this will produces very clean aggregate. According to COST 337 Unbound Granular Materials for Road Pavements (n.d.), the wood pieces that contained in the concrete debris can be removed by hand picking from a special platform over the discharge conveyor. After finish the crushing process, the materials are then sent to the screening plant. Screening Plant and Washing Plant Screening is the process that separates the various sizes of recycled aggregate. The screening plant is made of a series of large sieves separates the materials into the size required. Recycling of Portland Cement Concrete (n.d.) stated that the size of screen that used to separate the coarse recycled concrete aggregate and fine recycled aggregate is 3/8 inch. The size of screen used to separate the coarse recycled aggregate can be under or over inches. It also stated that one more screen should be used to separate those particles that more than the specified size. After the screening process, the recycled are then sent to the washing plant. COST 337 Unbound Granular Materials for Road Pavements (n.d.) stated that the recycled aggregate that produced have to be very clean when using in the high quality product situation. Stockpile After all the recycling process, recycled aggregate are stored in the stockpile and ready to use. All the recycled aggregate are stored according to the different size of aggregate. According to Recycling of Portland Cement Concrete (n.d.), the stockpile has to prevent from the contamination of foreign materials. It also mentioned that the vehicles used for stockpiling have to be kept clean of foreign materials. Comparison of Recycled Aggregate and Natural Aggregate Recycled aggregate has the rough textured, angular and elongated particles where natural aggregate is smooth and rounded compact aggregate. According to Portland Cement Association (n.d.), the properties of the freshly mixed concrete will be affected by the particle shape and surface texture of the aggregate. The rough texture, angular and elongated particles require much water than the smooth and rounded compact aggregate when producing the workable concrete. The void content will increase with the angular aggregate where the larger sizes of well and improved grading aggregate will decrease the void content. Natural Aggregate Recycled Aggregate Figure 2.16: Comparison between Natural Aggregate and Recycled Aggregate Quality The quality is different between recycled aggregate and recycled aggregate. According to Sagoe and Brown (1998), the quality of natural aggregate is based on the physical and chemical properties of sources sites, where recycled aggregate is depended on contamination of debris sources. It also stated that natural resources are suitable for multiple product and higher product have larger marketing area, but recycled aggregate have limited product mixes and the lower product mixes may restrain the market. Density The density of the recycled concrete aggregate is lower than natural aggregate. Sagoe and Brown (1998) stated that when compare with natural aggregate, recycled concrete aggregate have lower density because of the porous and less dense residual mortar lumps that is adhering to the surfaces. When the particle size is increased, the volume percentage of residual mortar will increase too. Strength The strength of recycled aggregate is lower than natural aggregate. Sagoe and Brown (1998) stated that this is due to the weight of recycled aggregate is lighter than natural aggregate. This is the general effect that will reduce the strength of reinforcement concrete. Further discussion on the strength of recycled aggregate will be mentioned in chapter 5. Location Natural aggregate are derived from a variety of rock sources. The processing plant for natural aggregate depends on the resource. It usually occurs at the mining site and outside the city. Recycled aggregate are derived from debris of building constructions and roads. The locations of recycling plants are depended on where the structures are demolished. The recycling process is often located in the urban area. Properties and Testing of Aggregate Recycling of concrete is a relatively simple process similar to crushing natural aggregate. It involves breaking, removing and crushing existing concrete into a material with a specified size and quality. For a good quality product it is essential to separate out different types of material before it enters the crusher. A high level of cleanliness of the material is essential to creating a quality end product that can be reused. Water Absorption of Course and Aggregate Water absorption is the amount of moisture absorbed in the aggregate. The water absorption capacity is based on saturated surface dry condition and oven dried condition. Australian Standard HB64 (2002) mentioned that the amount of water in a concrete mix has direct effect on the setting time and compressive strength of concrete. It also stated that moisture content of the aggregate had to determine first before preparing a mix design for a particular aggregate. If the moisture content of the concrete is not met the target, then more water have to add to avoid a loss of workability. If the moisture content exceeds the target, then less water should be added. The determination of water absorption of aggregate was according to AS1141.5 and AS 1141.6.1. In this project, determination of water absorption of aggregate were based on natural aggregate with grain size of 10mm, recycled aggregate with gain size of 10mm. All the testing was carried out in the engineering laboratory of University of Wolverhampton. Apparatus and Test Procedure of Course Aggregate The following apparatus and equipments used were complied with AS1141.2. Water Bath Balance: Oven Container Dishes The test procedure was according to AS1141.6.1 2000. The procedures were as below: 1. Immersed the aggregate in the water at room temperature with the 20mm height of water above the top of aggregate. The aggregate was stirred occasionally to dislodge the air bubbles. The aggregate was immersed for one day (24hours). 2. All the aggregate was transferred to a dish to weight and record. 3. The aggregate was dried in the oven at the temperature of 105C to 110C to get the constant mass. Result and Analysis Table 3.1: Weight of course aggregate in the test. Natural aggregate Recycled aggregate A, Mass of oven dried aggregate (g) 2732 3023 B, Mass of immersed aggregate (g) 2899 3317 Absorption ratio =*100 Natural Aggregate Absorption ratio = * 100 = 6.11 % Recycled Aggregate Absorption ratio = * 100 = 9.73 % Mix Design Before having any concrete mixing, the selection of mix materials and their required materials proportion must done through a process called mix design. There are lots of methods for determine concrete mix design. According to Sullivan (2003), the method called British Method was widely used. In this project, altogether five batches of mixtures were determined in this project. The initial mix batch will be 100% natural coarse aggregate mix batch (control mix). Second mix batch was 75% natural coarse aggregate and 25% recycled coarse aggregate. There was increased of every 25% of recycled coarse aggregate added into every series of mix batch. To fully compare the different types of full recycled aggregate concrete. The design of a concrete mix, refer to Table 5.1, is usually based on a compressive strength which is sufficient to achieve both of two principal requirements of the hardened concrete for obtaining good quality concrete. The water/cement ratio should be low enough to give the required strength for structural and durability purposes. The mix should be workable and cohesive enough to ensure a thoroughly compacted and homogenous material Percentage of aggregate used in all 5 batches of mixes. Batch 1 Batch 2 Batch 3 Batch 4 Batch 5 Natural aggregate (%) 100 75 50 25 0 Recycled aggregate (%) 0 25 50 75 100 Initial data for mix design. Target strength (MPa) 25 Water/cement ratio 0.55 Aggregate / cement ratio 3 Proportion and weight of each mix materials. Replacement % of recycled Cement kg Water kg Sand kg New coarse Agg kg Recycled Coarse Agg kg 0 12.16 6.70 18.24 36.48 0 25 12.16 6.70 18.24 27.36 9.12 50 12.16 6.70 18.24 18.24 18.24 75 12.16 6.70 18.24 9.12 27.36 100 12.16 6.70 18.24 0 36.48 Mixing Concrete The performance of the recycled aggregate concrete was influenced by the mixing. This means that a proper and good practice of mixing can lead a better performance and quality of the recycled aggregate concrete. The quality of the concrete also can influence by the homogeneity of the mix material during the mixing and after the placement of fresh concrete. A proper mix of concrete is encouraged to the strength of concrete and better bonding of cement with the aggregate. Once the concrete mix design was calculated, the mixing of the concrete can be carried out. The mixing of recycled aggregate concrete was carried out with a manually pan mixer, which was conducted in the concrete laboratory of University of Wolverhampton. Before the concrete mixing begins, all of the mix materials were weighted and prepared according to the mix design. The apparatus and equipments used for mixing were as below: 1. Mixer: A pan mixer with capacity of 25 litres mixing. In this project the mixing was manually. 2. Buckets: Suitable size of buckets for containing the materials before mixing. 3. Wheel Barrier: A suitable size of wheel barrier to contain the fresh concrete for workability tests and also place the fresh concrete into the moulds. The test procedure for the process of mixing was as below: 1. All of the material was weighted and prepared according to the mix design. 2. Before the mixing begins, the surface of the mixer was damped with a wet cloth. 3. All of the aggregate were added into the mixer till the aggregate uniformly distributed throughout the mixer. 4. The cement was poured into the mixer after the aggregate were added. 5. The water was added into the mixer slowly while the mixing of the aggregate and cement was going on. 6. The concrete was mixed approximately 8 minutes after the water was added. 7. The concrete fill into the wheel barrier for make slump test than casting of concrete. Placing, Compaction and Casting of Concrete Specimens Before the placing of concrete, the concrete mould must be oiled for the ease of concrete specimens stripping. The oil used is a mixture of diesel and kerosene. Special care was taken during the oiling of the moulds, so that there no concrete stains and left on the moulds. Once the workability test of recycled aggregate concrete was done, the fresh concrete must placed into the concrete moulds for hardened properties tests. Every batch of recycled aggregate concrete required 8 cubes 100*100*100mm size, and two reinforcement beams with dimensions 100*150*700mm (height*width*length) with still reinforcement 2 in the top and the bottom. During the placing of fresh concrete into the moulds, vibrations were done using an immersion vibration. The vibration of concrete allows full compaction of the fresh concrete to release any entrained air voids contained in the fresh concrete. If the concrete specimens were not compact in a proper manner, the maximum strength of the concrete cannot be achieved. The vibration was done every sufficient one third layer of the fresh concrete was poured into the moulds. It is found that the placing and compacting of concrete is getting difficult when the percentage of recycled aggregate increased. This shows that the workability of recycled aggregate used in the concrete is very poor. The levelling of concrete was done on the surface of the concrete. Levelling is the initial operation carried out after the concrete has been placed and compacted. After the levelling of the fresh concrete specimen was done, the concrete in the mould was left overnight to allow the fresh concrete to set. Stripping and Curing of Concrete Specimens After leaving the fresh concrete in the moulds to set overnight, the concrete specimens in the moulds were stripping. The identification of concrete specimens was done and the moulds were cleaned and oiled for the next batch of concrete mix. All concrete specimens were placed into water tank for curing with a controlled temperature of 27c in further for 7 and 17days for the hardened properties test of recycled aggregate concrete. Summary It shows that the mix design depends on the variables of aggregate/cement ratio, water absorption and proportioning of the aggregates. It seems that volume of aggregate for each mix batches were different. Once the fresh concrete was mixed, the workability test of the fresh concrete will be conduct. Moreover, after required days of the concrete specimens were cured, the compression test was conducted on day 7 and14.All the test procedures and methods on workability and hardened properties were discussed in chapter 4. Experimental Methodology This chapter discussed on the testing procedure for the workability test and hardened concrete specimens test. Workability test included slump test. Hardened concrete specimens tests included compression test, Absorption test, ultrasonic test, and flexure strength test. Workability Tests of Fresh Concrete Sabaa and Ravindrarajah (1999) had mentioned that workability is a very important property of concrete which will affect the rate of placement and the degree of compaction of concrete. Cement Association of Canada (2003) stated that the workability is the ease of placing, combining and finishing freshly concrete mixed and the degree to which it resists segregation. According to Cement Manufacturers Association India (n.d), a good concrete must has workability in the fresh state and also develop sufficient strength. It also mentioned that there are four factors that can affect the workability. They are as below: 1. Consistency: The degree of consistency is depended on the nature of works and type of compaction. 2. Water/cement Ratio or Water Control of a concrete: Water/cement ratio is the ratio of water in a mix to the weight of cement. The quality of water that required for a mix is depended on the mix proportions, types and grading of aggregate. 3. Grading of Aggregate: The smooth and rounded aggregate will produce a more workable concrete than the sharp angular aggregate. 4. Cement Content: The greater workability can be obtained with the higher cement content. Slump Test Slump test is used to determine the workability of fresh concrete. The test is simple and cheap. It is suitable to use in the laboratory and also at site. Although the test is simple, but the testing has to be done carefully due to a huge slump may obtain if there is any disturbance in the process. Logic Sphere (n.d.) mentioned that the slump test will give a reasonable indication of how easily a mix can be places although it does not directly measure the work needed to compact the concrete. It also mentioned that a slump less than 25mm will indicate a very stiff concrete and a slump that more than 125mm will indicates a very runny concrete. Australia Standard (2002) stated that slump test will not indicate well for the concrete with very high workability and also very low workability. This is because a very high workability concrete will lose the shape by flowing and collapse, where a very low workability concrete will not collapse. Apparatus and Test Procedure of Slump Test 1. Mould: A hollow frustum of a cone that made from galvanized steed sheet. The thickness is between 1.5mm to 2mm. The mould has a foot piece, and handles on outer surface, and smooth internal surface. The bottom diameter of the mould is 200mm, the top diameter of the mould is 100mm and the vertical diameter of the mould is 300mm. 2. Rod: A metal rod of 16mm diameter, 600mm long and having a 25mm height of spherical shape at one end with a radius of 5mm. 3. Base plate: A 3mm thickness of a smooth, rigid and non absorbent material base metal plate. 4. Scoop: A suitable size to carry the aggregate of concrete. 5. Ruler: A suitable steel ruler to measure the height of slump. Figure 4.1: The Apparatus for Slump Test The test procedure 1. Before the test, the internal surface of the mould was cleaned and moistened with a damp cloth. 2. The mould was placed on a smooth and horizontal surface that free from vibration or shock. While the mould was being filled, it was hold firmly by standing on the foot pieces. 3. The mould was filled in three layers. Each layer was around one third of the height of the mould. Each layer was being rod with 25 strokes of rounded end of the rod. Each stroke has rod in a uniform manner that over the cross section of the mould. 4. The surface concrete was rolled off after the top layer has been rod. Then, remove the mould immediately by raising it slowly and carefully in the vertical direction. 5. Measured the height of slump immediately. It was determined between the height of the mould and the average height of the top surface of the concrete. Testing on Hardened Concrete Specimens Concrete is a combination of Portland cement, water and aggregate that consists of rocks and sand. Normally, concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension. The testing for the strength if concrete is very important in the civil works. University of Florida (n.d.) mentioned that the engineers can compare the value of the testing to the designed value used for the building structure. This is to make sure that the structure was built well. This chapter consists of four of hardened concrete testing. They are compression test, flexure strength test, ultrasonic test, and Absorption test. Compression Test According to Cement Association of Canada (2003), compressive strength of concrete can be defined as the measured maximum resistance of a concrete to axial loading. Compression test is the most common test used to test the hardened concrete specimens because the testing is easy to make. The strength of the concrete specimens with different percentage of recycled aggregate replacement can be indicating through the compression test. The specimens used in the compression test were 100*100*100mm. There are two specimens were used in the compression testing in every batches. Differences of the strength among the different percentage of recycled aggregate used in the age of 7and14days also indicated through the compression test. The compression test was carried out in the engineering laboratory of University of Wolverhampton. Apparatus and Test Procedure of Compression Test Testing Machine: Avery testing machine. Ruler: 400mm long ruler to measure specimen dimensions. The test procedure 1. The testing for the specimens should be carried out as soon as possible after took out from the curing tank. The specimens need to get the measurements before the testing. 2. The dimensions of the specimens were measured and recorded. The weight of each specimen was measured and recorded too. 3. The platens of the testing machine were cleaned with a clean rag. 4. Cleaned the uncapped surface of the specimen and place the specimen in the testing machine. 5. Carefully placed the rubber cap on the specimen. 6. The platen was lowered to the rubber cap until the uniform bearing was obtained. 7. The force was applied and increased continuously at a rate equivalent to 20MPa compressive stress per minute until the specimen failed. 8. Recorded the maximum force from the testing machine. Water absorption test Apparatus: Balance of capacity with a limit of performance not exceeding 0.5g. Rack with wire hangers for suspending the specimen in water. Water tank could provide cover of at least 50mm above the top of the Drying oven with controlled temperature of 100C to 110C. Test Procedure: Flexural Strength The flexural strength of the concrete specimens was determined according to ASTM C78-84, Test Method for Flexural Strength of Concrete (Using Simple Beam with Third-Point Loading) [5]. For each beam specimen, the flexural strength was determined by loading the beam at third points over a 305 mm (12 inch) clear span. To minimize the torsion effect that is possible due to the specimens not having perfectly square bottoms, one support was manufactured so as to be free to rotate in the direction transverse to the beams longitudinal axis. The 100 x 150 x 700 mm, beams were tested at the ages of 14 days. Beam specimens were loaded to failure at a rate of 3.6 KN per minute. The test setup for the flexural test is shown in Figure 2.7. Ultrasonic test Ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements are used extensively as a non-destructive test method to establish the in-situ strength of hardened concrete. This method used in combination with drilled cores and rebound test gives reliable information regarding the quality of the concrete used. Ultrasonic pulse velocity is also used to locate crack and non homogeneous areas in concrete. The velocity of ultrasonic pulses traveling in a solid material depends on the density and elastic properties of that material. The quality of some materials is sometimes related to their elastic stiffness so that measurement of ultrasonic pulse velocity in such materials can often be used to indicate their quality as well as to determine their elastic properties. Materials which can be assessed in this way include, in particular, concrete and timber but exclude metals. When ultrasonic testing is applied to metals its object is to detect internal flaws which send echoes back in the direction of the incident beam and these are picked up by a receiving transducer. The measurement of the time taken for the pulse to travel from a surface to a flaw and back again enables the position of the flaw to be located. Such a technique cannot be applied to heterogeneous materials like concrete or timber since echoes are generated at the numerous boundaries of the different phases within these materials resulting in a general scattering of pulse energy in all directions. Method of testing For assessing the quality of materials from ultrasonic pulse velocity measurement, it is necessary for this measurement to be of a high order of accuracy. This is done using an apparatus that generates suitable pulses and accurately measures the time of their transmission (i.e. transit time) through the material tested. The distance which the pulses travel in the material (i.e. the path length) must also be measured to enable the velocity to be determined from:- Pulse velocity = Path length / Transit time Path lengths and transit times should each be measured to an accuracy of about 1%. The instrument indicates the time taken for the earliest part of the pulse to reach the receiving transducer measured from the time it leaves the transmitting transducer when these transducers are placed at suitable points on the surface of the material. The direct transmission arrangement is the most satisfactory one since the longitudinal pulses leaving the transmitter are propagated mainly in the direction normal to the transducer face. The indirect arrangement is possible because the ultrasonic beam of energy is scattered by discontinuities within the material tested but the strength of the pulse detected in this case is only about 1 or 2% of that detected for the same path length when the direct transmission arrangement is used. Pulses are not transmitted through large air voids in a material and, if such a void lies directly in the pulse path, the instrument will indicate the time taken by the pulse that circumvents the void by the quickest route. It is thus possible to detect large voids when a grid of pulse velocity measurements is made over a region in which these voids are located.