Punching shear behavior of recycled aggregate concrete slabs with and without steel fibres

A study on the punching shear behavior of 8 slabs with recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) was carried out. The two main factors considered were the recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement percentage and the steel fibre volumetric ratio. The failure pattern, load-displacement curves, energy consumption, and the punching shear capacity of the slabs were intensively investigated. It was concluded that the punching shear capacity, ductility and energy consumption decreased with the increase of RCA replacement percentage. Research findings indicated that the incorporation of steel fibres could not only improve the energy dissipation capacity and the punching shear capacity of the slab, but also effectively improve the integrity of the slab tension surface and thereby changing the trend from typical punching failure pattern to bending-punching failure pattern. On the basis of the test, the punching shear capacity formula of RAC slabs with and without steel fibres was proposed and discussed.