The behaviour of one-hollow interlocking concrete block made from recycled concrete aggregate under flexural loading

Building structures are often subjected to excessive loads during their lifetime, which can significantly affect the stability of the structural elements, including the interlocking concrete blocks. In this paper, the performance of concrete blocks made from a combination of 50% recycled concrete aggregate and 50% natural fine aggregate under static loading to failure was investigated. Two types of interlocking blocks were studied: a solid interlocking block and a one-hollow interlocking block with dimensions 100 mm (depth) x 100 mm (width) x 360 mm (length). Both types of blocks were loaded to failure with a three-point load, and the maximum load, deflection and strain were recorded and evaluated. The maximum load of each type of block was recorded after 7, 14 and 28 days. The results showed that the solid interlocking block had a higher maximum load capacity of 14.455 kN after 28 days than the one-hollow interlocking block, which had a maximum load capacity of 6.63 kN. Although the performance of the one-hollow block was lower than that of the solid block, it still has potential for use as a non-load-bearing component in building structures. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.