Seismic behavior of semi-precast column with recycled aggregate concrete

In this study, one cast-in situ natural aggregate concrete (NAC) column, one cast-in situ recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) column and four semi-precast RAC columns are experimentally investigated under the low cyclic horizontal loading. This work mainly focuses the effects of three parameters, i.e., the recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement percentage (0 vs. 100%), the construction sequence (partially precast and partially cast-in situ vs. fully cast-in situ). and the size of core column (150 x 150 mm vs. 200 x 200 mm) on the seismic behavior of the semi-precast RAC columns based on their hysteretic feature, stiffness, energy dissipation and failure pattern. It is concluded that the semi-precast RCA columns have similar seismic behavior as that of the fully cast-in situ columns. The construction sequence and column core size can also affect the seismic behavior of the semi-precast column. Furthermore, the effects of the concrete strength of the core column and the hollow column as well as the interface on both the loading capacity and deformation of the semi-precast columns are studied through numerical simulations by the commercial finite element program ANSYS. Both the experiments and the numerical analysis indicate that the seismic behavior of the semi-precast RAC column is well suitable for general engineering applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.