Efficiency factors for bottle-shaped struts in deep beams Made of recycled coarse aggregate

Abstract

Based on reanalysis of the shear test results of reinforced concrete beam specimens made of recycled coarse aggregates reported in the literature, this study points out that the strut-and-tie modeling (STM) provisions developed for natural coarse aggregate concrete can be applied to recycled coarse aggregate concrete with no reduction in the efficiency factors of bottle-shaped struts. The experimentally obtained strut efficiency factors in beams made of recycled coarse aggregate concrete were comparable to those in beams made of natural coarse aggregate concrete. The study also highlights lack of conservatism in the STM provisions of current design codes irrespective of the type of coarse aggregates used.