Flexural performance of reinforced concrete beams containing timber waste

This study investigates the flexural performance of reinforced concrete beams incorporating timber waste as a partial replacement for aggregates. Nine reinforced concrete beams were tested under four-point bending, with woodchips replacing coarse aggregates and sawdust replacing fine aggregates at varying percentages (5 %, 10 %, 15 %, and 20 % by volume). Test results show that beams with 20 % replacement for woodchips and 15 % for sawdust retained over 90 % of the ultimate load capacity of the control beam. Moreover, the ductility of the beams with sawdust was higher than the beams with woodchips. With a 15 % replacement of sawdust and woodchips, the ductility was reduced by 22 %, and 50 %, respectively, than the ductility of the control beam. Finally, the accuracy of the design model specified in American design codes (ACI 318–19) in predicting the flexural performance of RC beams with timber waste was examined. It is found that ACI 318–19 can well predict the test yield and ultimate moment of the beams with timber waste, particularly up to 15 % of the replacement rate. This study shows that beams containing up to a 15 % replacement rate can provide comparable structural performance to the normal RC beam.