Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Flexural and Crack Failure of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Bottom Ash and Fly Ash

Abstract

In this study, the effects of bottom ash and fly ash on the crack and flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete beams (RCBs) are observed considering experimental and 3D finite element analysing. For experimental tests, 3 different aggregate sizes are used for 4 different concrete series in the laboratory. Then, fly ash is added to concrete mixture with bottom ash to better seen the effect of fly ash ratio on the cracks and flexure behaviour of RCBs. Created RCBs are subjected to the flexural and crack testing in a fully organized laboratory. According to test results, flexural and crack behaviours of the RCBs are examined. Moreover, experimental tests are confirmed by numerical analyses by using ANSYS software. Accordingly, it is observed that each ash ratio in the concrete mixture has different flexural and crack effects on the RCBs for experimental and numerical tests. Then, a concrete structure is modelled using SAP2000 software to investigate the effects of fly and bottom ash ratio on the structures under earthquakes. Totally, 3 different seismic analyses are performed using SAP2000 software, and the seismic effects of bottom and fly ash ratio on the horizontal displacements of each floor are clearly seen in detail.