Recent studies on mechanical properties of recycled aggregate concrete in China-A review

Numerous experimental and theoretical studies on recycled aggregate concrete have been carried out in China in the past 10 years. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the related findings of research on the mechanical properties of RAC in China. The influences of the RCA on the strength and deformation characteristics of concrete, the statistical characteristics for the strength of RAC, fracture energy, stress-strain relationships under uniaxial compression, uniaxial tension as well as pure shear, and the residual strength of RAC after exposure to high temperatures, the bond between RAC and different kinds of steel rebar were also reviewed. Furthermore, some recent studies on the numerical simulation of the failure mechanism for RAC at the meso-structure level were discussed. © 2012 Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg