Structural capacity and design of reinforced concrete elements made from recycled aggregate

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According to Statistics Canada, British Columbia is one of the largest producers of construction and demolition (C&D) waste which contributes to almost 25% of the municipal solid waste. Furthermore, the trend of construction waste generation is increasing every year since a large volume of Canadian infrastructure has reached to the end of their service lives, as they often need to be demolished for new construction. As their disposal is costly and occupies large amount of space in landfills, it is critical to find a way to reuse them so that this huge amount of waste can be turned into a natural resource for construction industry. Since natural aggregate sources are quickly depleting due to increasing infrastructure needs and less available alternatives, recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is a viable option to meet the demand. In order to encourage the use of RCA in concrete, Canadian Standard Association has incorporated some specifications in the new CSA standard (CSA A23.1-14/A23.2-14, 2014). The challenge, however, remains to date that the existence of proper guidelines for producing structural concrete with the use of recycled aggregate remains unresolved in Canada. The proposed research will determine the seismic performance of reinforced concrete elements (e.g., beams, columns, beam-column joints) made of RCA of different replacement level under reverse cyclic loading and develop proper design guidelines for such elements. This study will also determine the impact resistance of concrete road barriers made of RCA and determine its energy absorption capacity with and without fibers. Predicting the behavior of structural elements (made of RCA) under different loading conditions (seismic and impact loading) and developing their proper design guideline will help create a sustainable solution in construction sectors where practitioners, owners and contractors will feel comfortable of using recycled concrete products. Incorporation of such sustainable practice will further help the province as well as Canada to meet the target reduction of greenhouse gas emission.