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.