Shear Strength of RC Beam Made with Recycled Brick Aggregate

Abstract

In the last couple of decades, however, there has emerged greater importance on sustainability. Unfortunately, concrete, our most common construction material uses a significant amount of non-renewable resources. Consequently, recycled brick aggregate (RBA) has been considered as an alternative construction material to conventional natural aggregates. Most research to date has consisted only of the evaluation of the strength and durability of RBA mixtures, while only a limited number of studies have implemented full-scale testing of specimens constructed with RBA to determine its potential use in the industry. For this research, the shear strength of reinforced concrete (RC) beams made with recycled brick aggregate was investigated. As control specimens, RC beams made with virgin brick aggregate were also investigated. For the investigation, 32 reinforced concrete beams of size 200 mm by 300 mm by 2100 mm and 200 mm by 300 mm by 2400 mm were made. The variables were steel ratio (0.82% and 1.23%), shear span to depth ratio (2.04 and 2.45), and compressive strength of concrete (24 MPa and 29 MPa). In the shear span of the beam specimens, shear reinforcements were not provided and the beams were designed to ensure shear failure according to ACI 318-14. Shear strength of the beams without shear reinforcement was evaluated by four-point loading test. Shear strength of concrete beams was also evaluated by using different codes and fracture mechanics approaches. These results were compared with the experimental results. The results obtained from this study were also compared with the shear database. It is revealed that the RC beam made with recycled brick aggregate shows similar shear strength as of RC beam made with virgin brick aggregate. Existing code provisions, as well as fracture mechanics approach, can be used for predicting shear strength of concrete beams made with recycled brick aggregate.