EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL INVESTIGATION OF AXIAL COMPRESSION BEHAVIOR OF SHORT COLUMNS WITH RECYCLED COARSE AGGREGATE

The behavior of axially loaded columns constructed from recycled coarse aggregates (RCA) was studied. Two different concrete mixes with varying ratios of RCA (0, 20, 40 and 60%) are conducted to achieve a compressive strength of 35 MPa. The test variables include the two different mixtures and replacement ratio of RCA. The results of specimens with RCA not more than 40%, showed that the structural performance of specimens using superplasticizer was similar to that of natural aggregate concrete specimens. The specimens were analyzed using the finite element program ABAQUS (version 6.14). The models show acceptable correlation and are used to conduct a thorough parametric study on various design configurations. It is found that increasing the ratio of RCA plays a significant role in decreasing the columns ultimate capacities especially when the ratio exceeds 40%.