Failure Process of Recycled Concrete Aggregate Mortars Based on Digital Image Correlation

This study addresses the failure process of mortars made of three different sands. Prismatic 40 x 40 x 160 mm(3) specimens were tested less than three points bending after 28 days of curing. Compressive tests were conducted on the two fragments of each mortar resulted from above flexural tests. The three different materials were: standard mortars performed with 0/2 mm natural rolled sand, mortars performed with 0/2 mm crushed sand and mortars performed with 0/2 mm fine recycled concrete aggregate (FRCA). The main aim of this experimental campaign was to study the influence on the mechanical properties of the substitution of natural sand (standardized or crushed gravel) with recycled sand when granular skeletons are identical. Crack propagation, displacement and strain fields, mechanical properties and other model parameters were obtained using 2D-DIC. The findings in these investigations could also be useful to understand the failure process and to improve the mechanical properties of mortars performed of FRCA by optimizing the granular skeleton.