Experimental study on seismic performance of recycled aggregate concrete shear wall with high-strength steel bars

Abstract

In order to investigate the seismic behavior of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) shear wall using high-strength steel bars (HSS), five concrete walls with an aspect ratio of 2.2 were tested under the horizontal cyclic load. The influence of various parameters which include replacement percentage of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA), concrete strength, and the grade of longitudinal bars at boundary elements on the seismic performance of shear walls were analyzed. The failure mode, hysteresis behavior, skeleton curve, stiffness and energy consumption of RAC shear walls were analyzed. The results showed that as the replacement rate of RCA increased, the seismic performance of the wall hardly changed. The use of higher concrete strength could significantly improve the bearing capacity, initial stiffness and energy dissipation of the shear walls, while the ductility was similar. Almost all seismic indexes of the shear wall reinforced with HRB400 bars decreased. Reasonable matching of HSS and RAC could help the shear wall to achieve better seismic performance. The flexural strength and secondary stiffness of the RAC wall with ultra-high-strength steel bars (UHSS) were significantly improved and the concrete damage was reduced. In addition, the restoring force model based on experimental data was established and the hysteretic behavior of RAC shear walls was well predicted.