Abstract:
Shear  behavior  of  a  reinforced  concrete  (RC)  beam  designed without  transverse  reinforcement  is  significantly  influenced  by  the properties of concrete. This paper investigates the effect of fly 
ash incorporation as 20 and 30% of the total binder content in 100% recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) beams designed without stirrups. To achieve greater packing density with higher aggregate proportions, particle packing mixture design was employed. Load-deflection diagram, load-strain diagram, and crack distri-
butions with critical crack formations were examined to study the shear  contributing  mechanisms  in  RAC  beams.  Natural  aggregate concrete (NAC) equivalent failure shear (within 10% variation) was obtained at low tension reinforcement percentage (ρ). However, 30% fly ash substituted RAC beams showed significant 
reduction in shear (approximately 20%) at high ρ. Applicability of 
shear resistance predictions of major standards (for NAC) to RAC 
beams are confirmed for the condition of low shear span-depth 
ratio and high ρ