Investigation of the structural behavior of reinforced concrete columns produced with perlite under cyclic loading test.

Today, reinforced concrete structures are widely used. This widespread use increases the need for this field day by day. The increase in the need for use of reinforced concrete in different areas and the increasing need for natural aggregates have led to some developments in the field of concrete technology. This need for concrete makes the emergence of alternative materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag and perlite inevitable. This need leads to the consideration and use of alternative materials for aggregate, which is its raw material. Perlite has been the subject of research because it is a lighter, sustainable and economical material compared to the aggregate used in conventional concrete. In order to examine the structural behavior of perlite, a structural element was produced using natural perlite aggregate. Within the scope of the study, 2 reinforced concrete columns of each compressive strength, traditional and perlite, with compressive strengths of 21 MPa and 35 MPa, were produced. In order to examine the structural behavior of the produced reinforced concrete columns, reversible and repeated lateral loading tests were carried out under constant axial load. In terms of load-displacement, ductility, stiffness and energy absorption capacities, structural behavior differences for these two materials were revealed and the usability of perlite instead of traditional aggregate was investigated. As a result of the experimental findings, although positive results were obtained in terms of bearing capacity with the use of perlite in reinforced concrete columns, it was observed that perlite columns performed less than conventional reinforced concrete columns in terms of ductility, rigidity and energy absorption capacity. As a result, it is thought that the reasons why the structural behavior of reinforced concrete columns produced with perlite aggregate are significantly different can be revealed in future studies by investigating mechanical properties such as stress-strain behavior of this type of concrete.