Experimental and Analytical Study on Recycled Aggregate RC Columns: Short and Slender Loaded Axially and Eccentrically

Abstract

To protect the environment and preserve natural resources, it is crucial to use recycled aggregate (RA) in construction. The recycled coarse aggregate reinforced concrete columns with the addition of steel fiber evaluated under concentric and eccentric loadings for short and slender columns were examined experimentally and analytically in this research. Twenty-four column specimens were built for this study to examine the impact of steel fiber, recycled aggregate, slenderness, and eccentricity on the behavior of reinforced concrete columns. This research examined the failure mode, maximum load-carrying capacity, strain in the concrete, strain in the reinforcement, and ductility. Based on the results, it can be concluded that employing recycled concrete aggregate is a potential approach to meet design codes. The addition of 1% steel fiber effectively prevents concrete from crushing and spalling. Steel fiber, however, improved the columns’ ductility and strength. The results showed the maximum load-carrying capacity of the specimens and the results of using ACI-318 code equations agreed very well. Furthermore, a model is proposed for columns with both natural and recycled aggregate and which accounts for the eccentricity and slenderness to forecast the load-carrying capacity. The outcomes demonstrated that the design principles were met well. Plots of load–moment interaction diagrams for short and slender columns made with the ACI-318 method are compared to the findings of the experiments.