Eccentric compressive behavior of recycled aggregate concrete columns after freezing and thawing cycles

The eccentric compressive behavior of 18 recycled aggregate concrete columns after freezing and thawing cycles were investigated. The effect of the number of freezing and thawing cycles, the replacement ratio of recycled coarse aggregate, and the eccentricity of axial loading on the eccentric compressive behavior of columns was analyzed. The results show that the strain distribution along the depth of cross section of columns was plane during the eccentric compression test after freezing and thawing cycles. With the increase in the freezing and thawing cycles and the replacement ratio of recycled coarse aggregate, the failure modes of partial specimens turned from ductile tension failure to brittle compression failure. Two existing design methods for calculating the bearing capacity of conventional concrete columns subjected to eccentric compressive loading were verified to be effective for evaluating that of recycled aggregate concrete columns after limited freezing and thawing cycles.