Shear Strength of Concrete Beams without Stirrups Made with Recycled Coarse Aggregate

Eco-friendly concrete that considers waste material and requires less energy for production is in demand because it produces less carbon dioxide, reduces the consumption of raw material, and can be a cheaper option to conventional concrete. The objectives of this study are to investigate the shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams made with locally produced recycled coarse aggregate from construction demolition waste, study the important parameters that affect the shear strength and ductility, and check the applicability of the available theoretical shear strength predictive equations to recycled concrete. An experimental program that involved the testing of fifteen half-scale beams in shear without stirrups was carried out with a theoretical component. Results of the study showed that recycled concrete beams employing 50% recycled coarse aggregate had on average 27% lower shear strength than corresponding beams made with natural aggregate when tested at a shear span-to-depth ratio equal to 1.15, and almost the same strength as the natural aggregate beams when subjected to a shear span-to-depth ratio equal to 2.5. On the other hand, the average shear strength of beams utilizing 100% recycled aggregate was lower by 5% than the strength of their natural aggregate counterparts, irrespective of the shear span-to-depth ratio. The longitudinal steel reinforcement ratio had less effect on the shear strength provided by recycled concrete beams than on those made with natural aggregate, possibly due to the reduced ability of such concrete to develop strong dowel action. Although the use of higher strength concrete improved the shear strength of recycled aggregate beams, there was no clear correlation between the square-root of the concrete compressive strength and the shear strength provided by the concrete. The theoretical part of the study showed that the ACI 318 code and the strut-and-tie method can be reliably used to predict the shear strength of concrete made with recycled coarse aggregate employed in shallow and deep beams, respectively.