Experimental Study on the Shear Performance of Recycled Concrete Self-Insulating Block Walls

Abstract

Recycled concrete self-insulating blocks (RCSBs) are an economic and environmentally friendly load-bearing building material that can save energy. In China, there is almost no systematic evaluations focusing on the shear performance of RCSB walls. To realize the effective utilization of RCSB, this paper makes a series of experimental research and theoretical analysis on the shear performance of 72 standard RCSB wall specimens. The key factors such as shear failure characteristics, shear strength calculation formula, and shear compression failure criterion are analyzed. The test results show that the shear strength of RCSB walls is higher than that of ordinary concrete block wall. Recommended formulas for the shear strength of RCSB walls are given, taking into account the actual situation, and having certain safety and reliability. The measured shear-pressure correlation curve of RCSB walls is given, including three modes of shear-friction, shear-compression, and diagonal compression. Additionally, an elastoplastic finite element analysis of RCSB walls is performed by separating the block model from the mortar model by using ABAQUS, which can accurately simulate the shear behavior of RCSB walls.