Shear Performance in Reinforced Concrete Beams with Partial Aggregate Substitution Using Waste Glass: A Comparative Analysis via Digital Imaging Processing and a Theoretical Approach

Abstract

The usage of waste glass aggregate (WGA) associated with the replacement of fine aggregate (FA) and coarse aggregate (CA) is observed to reduce the number of raw materials for sustainable concrete. For this aim, a total of 15 beams were produced, and then investigational experiments were implemented to observe the shear performances. The stirrup spacing and WGA proportion were chosen as the main parameters. FA and CA were exchanged with WGA with weight proportions of 0, 10, and 20%. The experimental investigation results showed that changing stirrup spacing and WGA proportion affected the fracture and shear properties of reinforced-concrete-beams (R-C-Bs). Furthermore, the findings of the test results revealed that the proportion of WGA could be efficiently consumed as 20% of the partial replacement of FA. With the addition of FA to the mixture, the load carrying capacity of R-C-Bs increases. On the other hand, increasing the WGA ratio by more than 10% using CA, together with increasing the stirrup spacing, can significantly reduce the capacity of R-C-Bs. It was observed that the calculated shear strengths of R-C-Bs with inadequate stirrup spacing, based on ACI 318 and EC2 design codes, can be up to 52 and 79% higher than the experimental results for R-C-Bs containing coarse glass aggregate and 21 and 56% higher for R-C-Bs containing fine glass aggregate, respectively. Additionally, an image processing method was applied to describe the damages/microdamages in R-C-Bs. At that point, the findings obtained from the experimental part of the study were confirmed by the results of the image processing method. Although the strains obtained with the image processing method are reliable, it has not been determined exactly where the crack will occur due to the very sudden development of the shear crack at the moment of beam failure.