The influence of recycled concrete aggregates on the behavior of beam–column joints under cyclic loading

• Analysis of the cyclic behavior of beam–column joints using recycled aggregate.
• Analysis of the mechanical properties of concrete using recycled aggregate.
• Suggestions for design of concrete joints using recycled aggregate.

In this paper the behavior of three beam–column joints under cyclic loading was analyzed. The concrete joints, manufactured in a scale of 2/3 with respect to current size, were designed with reference to Eurocode 8, one made with ordinary concrete and the other two made with concrete containing 30% coarse recycled concrete aggregates as a partial replacement of the coarse natural aggregates, by taking into proper account the lower tensile strength and elastic modulus of the recycled aggregate concrete.The experimental results allowed to observe a behavior under cyclic loading of the concrete made with 30% replacement of natural by recycled aggregates quite similar to ordinary concrete.