Simulation study on the shear transfer behavior of recycled aggregate concrete

In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) model of push-off tests for specimens made with recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) was presented. The FEM model used ABAQUS/Standard module software. The model considered the plasticity of concrete and the concrete-to-concrete contact properties, and was found to agree with experimental data from shear transfer tests. The verified model was then used for a parametric study that investigated lateral reinforcement, concrete strength, and recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement ratio. The parametric study shows that the ultimate shear strength increases by 23.1% when the lateral reinforcement ratio increases from 0.56% to 1.12%; the ultimate shear stress increases almost linearly when the concrete strength increases from 30MPa to 60MPa; the ultimate shear stress is reduced by 13.8% when the RCA replacement ratio increases from 0% to 100%.