A Mesoscale Modeling of Recycled Aggregate Concrete
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70567/mc.v42.ocsid8321Keywords:
Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC), Mechanical Behavior, Mesoscale Modeling, Finite Element AnalysisAbstract
In this study, a mesoscale model of Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) is implemented using the Finite Element software ABAQUS. RAC is characterized by the partial or complete replacement of natural coarse aggregates with recycled aggregates obtained from crushed hardened concrete. Due to its composition, RAC exhibits a heterogeneous composite structure consisting of multiple phases: new cement paste, natural aggregates, and recycled aggregates partially or completely covered by a layer of old cement paste. In this approach each phase is modeled based on a different constitutive theory. A key objective of this work is to investigate the mechanical response of RAC, with particular focus on the degradation of the paste–aggregate interfaces. Numerical results from the mesoscale model are compared with those obtained using a macroscopic constitutive approach, the Performance Dependent Model (PDM), to evaluate the predictive capabilities and advantages of each modeling strategy.
References
Buttler A. and Machado E. Properties of concrete with recycled concrete coarse aggregates. ACI Special Publication SP-229-32, pages 497–510, 2005. http://doi.org/10.14359/14756.
Casuccio M., Torrijos M., Giaccio G., and Zerbino R. Failure mechanism of recycled aggregate concrete. Construction and Building Materials, 22:1500–1506, 2012. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2007.03.032.
Corinaldesi V. Mechanical and elastic behaviour of concretes made of recycledconcrete coarse aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 24:1616–1620, 2010. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.02.031.
Dassault Systèmes. ABAQUS Finite Element Software. Simulia Academic, Version: Abaqus 2022 QRX. 2022a.
Dassault Systèmes. ABAQUS Unified FEA: Theory Manual. Dassault Systèmes Simulia Corp., Providence, RI, USA, 2022b. Version 2022.
Djerbi Tegguer A. Determining the water absorption of recycled aggregates utilizing hydrostatic weighing approach. Construction and Building Materials, 27(1):112–116, 2012. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.08.018.
Etxeberria M., Vázquez E., Marí A., and Barra M. Influence of amount of recycled coarse aggregates and production process on properties of recycled aggregate concrete. Cement and Concrete Research, 37:735–742, 2007. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2007.02.002.
Folino P. Numerical analysis of Recycled Aggregate Concrete mechanical behavior. Computational Modelling of Concrete Structures - Proceedings of EURO-C 2014, 2014. http://doi.org/10.1201/b16645-29.
Folino P. and Etse G. Performance dependent model for normal and high strength concretes. International Journal of Solids and Structures, 49(5):701–719, 2012. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2011.11.020.
Folino P. and Xargay H. Recycled aggregate concrete - mechanical behavior under uniaxial and triaxial compression. Construction and Building Materials, 56:21–31, 2014. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.01.073.
Ge P., Song Y., Zhou J., and Ma X. Study on stress–strain relationship and constitutive model of recycled aggregate concrete under axial cyclic compression. Structural Concrete, 25(5):3902–3938, 2024. http://doi.org/10.1002/suco.202300838.
Jin L., Wang Z., Wu T., Liu P., Zhou P., Zhu D., and Wang X. Mesoscalebased mechanical parameters determination and compressive properties of fully recycled coarse aggregate concrete. Journal of Building Engineering, 90:109366, 2024. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2024.109366.
Poon C., Shui Z., and Lam L. Effect of microstructure of itz on compressive strength of concrete prepared with recycled aggregates. Construction & Building Materials, 18(6):461–468, 2004. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2004.03.005.
Xiao J., Li W., Fan Y., and Huang X. An overview of study on recycled aggregate concrete in china (1996-2011). Construction and Building Materials, 31:364–383, 2012. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.12.074.
Xu F., Tian B., and Xu G. Influence of the itz thickness on the damage performance of recycled concrete. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, 2021(1):6643956, 2021. http://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6643956.
Yang H., Liu C., and Jiang J. Damage constitutive model of stirrup-confined recycled aggregate concrete after freezing and thawing cycles. Construction and Building Materials, 253:119100, 2020. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119100.
Zhuo J., Zhang Y., Ma M., Zhang Y., and Zheng Y. Uniaxial compression failure and size effect of recycled aggregate concrete based on meso-simulation analysis. Materials, 15(16):5710, 2022. http://doi.org/10.3390/ma15165710.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Argentine Association for Computational Mechanics
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This publication is open access diamond, with no cost to authors or readers.
Only those papers that have been accepted for publication and have been presented at the AMCA congress will be published.
