Seismic performance of reinforced concrete columns made of post‐filling coarse aggregate concrete

As a new type of green concrete, post‐filling aggregate concrete not only reduces the amount of cement but also improves the strength and stiffness of pumping concrete, which has wide application potential. In this study, the post‐filling ratio of coarse aggregate (0%, 10%, 15%), shear span to depth ratio (2.5, 3.0, 3.5), and axial compression ratio (0.35, 0.60, 0.85) were selected as variables. Nine post‐filling aggregate concrete column specimens were designed and fabricated. Through the quasi‐static test, the seismic performance of post‐filling aggregate concrete columns was explored, including failure mode, load displacement, ductility coefficient, stiffness degradation, energy dissipation capacity, and residual displacement. The results show that the seismic performance of the specimens with a 15% coarse aggregate post‐filling ratio is significantly better than that of ordinary concrete specimens at medium and high design axial compression ratios (0.6–0.85). It shows that when the axial compression ratio is 0.6 and the shear span ratio is 3, the ductility coefficient of the specimen is increased by 171% when PFR increases from 0% to 15%. Results also indicate that the cumulative energy consumption of the PFCC specimen with the PFR of 15% is about 2.4 times that of the specimen with the PFR of 0% and 10%, which is almost equal.