Flexural Testing of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Recycled Concrete Aggregates

Abstract

Owing in part to the fact that appropriate structural design guides for recycled concrete materials have not been established, only approximately 14% of all waste concrete is made into aggregate and recycled. This is an inefficient method of recycling the concrete materials, under-utilizing an important and valuable asset. To promote the use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs), flexural tests of 28 reinforced high-strength and normal-strength concrete beams were performed. The main objectives of this research were the structural investigation of flexural performance and the evaluation of the potential application of RCA for concrete structures. In comparing the RCA specimens to the natural aggregate specimens, the overall crack patterns were similar to each other. The flexural behavior was also not affected significantly by the use of RCA up to 30% RCA replacement ratio. The current test data and data from other researchers' studies were examined in evaluating the flexural strength of reinforced concrete beams with RCA.