Abstract:The inferior physical and mechanical properties of recycled coarse aggregates (RCA) are the main reasons for the poor performance and high discreteness of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). To improve the performance of recycled concrete and accelerate its engineering application, this study investigated a composite modification method combining cement slurry pretreatment with methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer impregnation-polymerization. The effects of water-cement ratio of cement slurry, as well as polymerization temperature, duration, and environment on the performance of MMA-modified RCA were systematically examined. Results demonstrate that optimal modification was achieved with a 0.5 water-cement ratio cement slurry pretreatment, followed by 24-hour MMA impregnation and 24-hour polymerization at 70°C in a sealed environment. The modified RCA showed remarkable improvements: 70.3% reduction in water absorption, 41.9% decrease in crushing index, and 83.1% reduction in porosity. The most probable pore diameter decreased from 625? to 59.3?, with total harmful and multi-harmful pore content reduced by 74.9% (from 0.0331 mL/g to 0.0083 mL/g), indicating significant enhancement in both physical properties and pore structure. Based on these findings, mechanical properties of MMA-modified RAC with different replacement rates (0%, 33%, 66%, 100%) were investigated. Compared with conventional RAC, the 28-day cube compressive strength of modified RAC increased by 5.9%, 9.5%, and 12.7% respectively at corresponding replacement rates, while the axial compressive strength improved by 4.1%, 9.1%, and 14.1%. These results The mechanical properties of RAC were significantly enhanced following MMA composite modification RCA.