Structural behavior of high‐strength reinforced concrete columns incorporating agricultural and industrial recycled waste materials as partial cement substitutes

Abstract This research aims to investigate the effects of incorporating agricultural and industrial recycled waste materials, including rice husk ash (RHA), sugarcane bagasse (SCBA), glass powder (GP), fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast‐furnace slag (GGBS), and metakaolin (MK), as partial substitutes for cement on the load‐carrying capacity and structural behavior of high‐strength reinforced concrete (HSRC) short columns. Thirteen distinct concrete mixtures were developed: one control mixture without waste materials and 12 mixtures incorporating waste materials, with cement replacement ratios of 10% and 20% by cement weight. The columns were subjected to concentric loading to evaluate the axial capacity, stiffness, and toughness. The findings indicated that the capacities of the columns containing RHA, SCB, GP, and MK were significantly enhanced compared to the control column, whereas the capacities of the columns with GGBS and FA were negatively impacted. The capacities of columns containing 10% RHA, SCB, GP, FA, GGBS, and MK surpassed those with 20% of the same materials, respectively. The incorporation of RHA, SCB, GP, and MK in RC columns enhanced the secant stiffness while decreasing the toughness of the columns. Furthermore, analytical equations from international design codes, including ACI 318–19, ECP 203, and CSA A23.3, were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of these equations in predicting the failure load of the HSRC columns. The predicted ultimate loads were compared with the experimental findings, demonstrating the accuracy of the equation from ACI 318–19 and ECP 203 in forecasting the ultimate loads; however, the outcomes of CSA A23.3 were relatively imprecise in comparison to those of the experiment.