Résumé
Recent studies focused on the quality of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) of ordinary concretes made from recycled aggregates (RA), without however focusing on High Performance Concretes (HPC).This paper aims to formulate HPC from RA that are exclusively derived from concrete, whose composition is controlled. These concretes are made in a ready-mixed concrete plant and then undergo a crushing and riddling process to produce RA. Partially saturated gravels are substituted up to 100% in the HPC composition in order to accentuate internal cure phenomenon. This phenomenon was observed and demonstrated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in the low Water/Cement (W/C) paste up to a distance of 150 μm from the RA and compared by image processing, to a reference concrete made from natural aggregates (NA).The comparison of the mechanical performances and the microscopic analysis of HPC show that the characteristics transfer of the RA seem to favor a hydration of the paste by a mechanism of desorption of their absorbed water, in a process of “internal cure”. The internal cure appears optimal for concrete C60. In addition to this observation, there was an increase in the strength of the recycled HPCs compared to control natural-aggregate HPCs.