Experimental investigation on uniaxial tensile strength of hybrid fibre concrete

In an experimental study on fracture properties of hybrid fibre concrete, specimens with varying fibre content (mixtures of short and long fibres) were loaded in uniaxial tension. Dog-bone shaped specimens of four different sizes in a size range of 1:8 were tested. Focus of the study was the determination of the size effect on nominal strength and fracture processes. A vacuum impregnation technique was used to investigate the fracture process. Experiments showed that multiple cracks, which formed before the peak, localised into one major crack beyond peak. Multiple cracking could be obtained by increasing the amount of thin short fibres whereas the large fibres can enhance the bridging of localised macrocracks. With decreasing strength, the size effect on the strength appears to increase. It is observed that the size effect on nominal tensile strength decreases with increasing material ductility. Preliminary analysis of the results showed that the observed size effect can be considered as a combination of statistical and structural size effects.     

Experimental investigations on the durability of fibre–matrix interfaces in textile-reinforced concrete

Changes in the strength and toughness of textile-reinforced concrete with increasing age are determined essentially by the durability of the armouring fibres, the matrix itself, and the bond between the matrix and the fibres. Based on new experimental results, important mechanisms influencing the durability of the fibre–matrix bond are treated in this article and discussed as to their significance. The investigations were conducted on multi-filament yarns of AR-glass which were imbedded in matrices of varying alkalinity and hydration kinetics. The loading capacity of the fibre–matrix bonds was determined in direct tension tests on under-reinforced specimens after they had undergone accelerated aging. Further, the condition of the microstructure between fibre and matrix was ascertained with both image analysis and analytical procedures. It was concluded that measured reductions in the toughness of the composite material could be attributed to the diminishing protective effect of organic polymer sizing on the surface of the filaments as well as to the disadvantageous new formation of solid hydration phases (mainly Portlandite) in the fibre–matrix interface.     

Experimental analysis on bond between PBO-FRCM strengthening materials and concrete

The effectiveness of externally bonded strengthening for reinforced concrete (RC) elements strongly depends on the bond between the strengthening material and the concrete and on the mechanical properties of the concrete cover. In this paper the bond between fiber reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) materials made out of a poliparafenilenbenzobisoxazole (PBO) net embedded in a cement based matrix and the concrete is experimentally analyzed. Experimental results of double shear tests involving different bond lengths and fibers cross sections are presented. The results allow to estimate the effective anchorage length and evidence that the debonding occurs at the fibers/matrix interface after a considerable fibers/matrix slip. They also confirms the effectiveness of the FRCM materials as external reinforcements for concrete. The obtained experimental results can be used to calibrate a local bond-slip relation to be used in the design of the external reinforcement.     

GFRP筋与自密实混凝土黏结性能的试验研究

为了研究玻璃纤维增强树脂复合材料(GFRP)筋与自密实混凝土(SCC)的黏结性能,制作了66个GFRP/SCC试件进行中心拉拔试验,研究SCC混凝土保护层厚度、GFRP筋直径和黏结长度以及SCC中添加纤维种类等因素对两者黏结性能的影响,并对试件的破坏形式进行分析。结果表明:试件主要出现了三种破坏形式,即劈裂破坏、拔出破坏、拔出带缝破坏;通过电镜扫描发现SCC浇筑方向对GFRP筋与SCC黏结界面的结构有一定影响,GFRP筋上部界面与SCC黏结更紧密。当SCC保护层厚度由4D增大至7D时,黏结强度提高了约44.05%;当GFRP筋黏结长度由5D增大至15D时,黏结强度降低了约65.43%;当GFRP筋直径由12 mm增大至16 mm时,黏结强度降低了约22.57%;SCC中添加聚丙烯纤维、钢纤维、聚丙烯纤维+钢纤维的试件黏结强度比不添加纤维的试件黏结强度分别提高12.80%、15.16%、15.09%。可以通过适当增加SCC保护层厚度、在SCC中添加纤维等措施来提高GFRP/SCC试件的黏结强度。      

Shear bond strength in repaired concrete structures

A good bond between old and new concrete is necessary for a successful repair of concrete structures. The bond is usually determined through pure tension tests,e.g., the common pull off test. However, in most applications, the shear bond strength is more interested. A test apparatus for torsion tests has been developed. Laboratory and field tests have been carried out on cast in place concrete and shotcrete repairs. For waterjetted surfaces, the obtained shear bond strength exceeds 3 MPa,i.e., considerably more than the tensile bond strength which usually varies between 1 and 2 MPa. The shear bond strength is also markedly higher than design strength values found in international codes.

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Résumé Une bonne adhérence entre l'ancien béton et le nouveau est nécessaire à la réussite de la réparation des structures en béton. L'adhérence est habituellement déterminée à partir d'essais en traction pure, comme par exemple un essai classique d'adhérence. Cependant, pour la plupart des applications, la résistance au cisaillement de l'adhérence est un problème plus pertinent. Un équipement pour des essais de torsion a été développé. Des tests en laboratoire et sur site, concernant du béton coulé sur place et du béton projeté, ont été menés. Pour les surfaces traitées par hydrodémolition, la résistance au cisaillement de l'adhérence dépasse 3 MPa, ce qui est largement supérieur à la résistance à la traction, qui varie habituellement entre 1 et 2 MPa. Ainsi, la résistance au cisaillement de l'adhérence est sensiblement plus élevée que les valeurs préconsisées par les codes internationaux.

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Editorial note Prof. J. Silfwerbrand is a RILEM Senior Member. He is the Director of the Swedish Cement and Concrete Research Institute, a RILEM Titular Member.     

Double shear tests to evaluate the bond strength between GFRP/concrete elements

Externally bonded reinforced systems have been widely used in civil engineering. However, the problems associated with bond between structural elements are not yet fully solved. As a consequence, many researchers have been proposing tests and techniques to standardize procedures and reach better agreement for design purposes. In the present paper, an experimental program is described that was developed to characterize the glass FRP/concrete interface by double shear tests made on 15 cm side cubes with GFRP bonded on two opposite faces. The GFRP wrap had two layers applied by the wet lay-up technique and three classes of concrete were considered. With the support of the experimental program, cohesion and friction angle for GFRP-concrete interfaces were found leading to different envelope failure laws, based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion for each concrete class, capable of predicting GFRP debonding. Results are discussed.     

Effects of thaumasite on bond strength of reinforcement in concrete

The conditions necessary for the formation of thaumasite are well known and much work is in progress to identify concrete mixes resistant to thaumasite form of sulfate attack (TSA). However, there have been no data to indicate how TSA affects the nature and strength of the bond between reinforcement steel and concrete and hence the load capacity of reinforced concrete elements.

During works to repair and strengthen the thaumasite-affected Tredington–Ashchurch Overbridge in Gloucestershire, sections of column were removed and placed in storage. These column sections presented an opportunity to perform pullout tests on full size TSA-affected structural elements and unaffected control specimens from the same structure. In total 63 pullout tests were performed on plain round reinforcement bars embedded in two unaffected and four TSA-affected reinforced concrete elements. The sections were also characterised in terms of estimated in situ cube strength and depth of softened zone.

A statistical analysis of the experimental results indicates that the bond of the plain round reinforcement bars in the unaffected concrete exceeded that of the plain round reinforcement bars in the TSA-affected concrete. TSA reduced the mean experimental bond coefficient by 24% for corner bars and 10% for other bars, representing an average reduction in mean experimental bond coefficient of 15% for all bars.     

Time gap effect on bond strength of 3D-printed concrete

An advancing technology that combines the concrete extrusion with a motion control to create structures with complex geometrical shapes without the need for formwork is known as 3D concrete printing. Since this technique prints layer by layer, the time taken to reach the same position in the subsequent layer is important as it will create an anisotropic property that has a weaker tensile strength at the bond interface of the two printed filaments. Through rheological measurement, which reveals the material deformation and flow behaviour, it is possible to examine the material structural build-up due to time-gap effect by measuring at different time delay. This paper focuses on investigating the time-gap effect on the printed filament with rheological and observation at macroscopic-scale to understand the material behaviour of the initial and subsequent printed layer during its fresh phase. Rheological experiment findings reveal that the tensile strength of the printed specimen is correlated to the material modulus at the initial layer.     

Fatigue strength of steel fibre reinforced concrete in flexure

The paper presents a study on the fatigue strength of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC). An experimental programme was conducted to obtain the fatigue-lives of SFRC at various stress levels and stress ratios. Sixty seven SFRC beam specimens of size 500×100×100 mm were tested under four-point flexural fatigue loading. Fifty four static flexural tests were also conducted to determine the static flexural strength of SFRC prior to fatigue testing. The specimens incorporated 1.5% volume fraction of corrugated steel fibres of size 0.6×2.0×30 mm. Concept of equivalent fatigue-life, reported for plain concrete in literature, is applied to SFRC to incorporate the effects of stress level S, stress ratio R and survival probability L_R into the fatigue equation. The results indicate that the statistical distribution of equivalent fatigue-life of SFRC is in agreement with the two-parameter Weibull distribution. The coefficients of the fatigue equation have been determined corresponding to different survival probabilities so as to predict the flexural fatigue strength of SFRC for the desired level of survival probability.     

Tensile basic creep versus compressive basic creep at early ages: comparison between normal strength concrete and a very high strength fibre reinforced concrete

The paper presents experimental results concerning the comparison of tensile and compressive basic creep behaviours at early ages of two different concretes: a normal strength concrete (NSC) and a very high strength fibre reinforced concrete (HPFRC). This research project has been done in the context of a bilateral collaboration between Polytechnique Montreal and IFSTTAR. Observations on the HPFRC showed specific compressive creep similar to the specific tensile creep. Moreover, the specific creep curves obtained under compressive and tensile loading had always positive values, i.e. they were in same direction of the applied load on specimens. Measurements made on the NSC revealed specific compressive creep with positive values (in the loading direction). However, specific tensile creep presented negative values (opposite direction of loading) for a long period. A physical explanation based on the existence of two mechanisms with opposite effect is proposed to describe these basic creep results. The first mechanism is a coupling between the microcracking process and the water transfers that lead to additional self-drying shrinkage; the second mechanism is the self-healing of concrete induced by the microcracking.     

Experimental investigations on polymer-modified concrete subjected to elevated temperatures

This paper presents the effect of elevated temperature and duration of exposures on polymer-modified concrete (PMC). Styrene Butadiene Rubber latex polymer solids were added in terms of 0, 5, 10 and 20 % by mass of cement. Curing of PMC specimen was done by the combination of wet and dry conditions. At appropriate ages, specimens were exposed to 200–800 °C for 1–3 h. The residual compressive strength was tested at 7 and 28 days. Micro structural properties were studied by XRD and SEM analysis. It was found that PMC and conventional concrete can be exposed to 400 °C for 3 h exposure without any adverse effect on strength properties. Addition of 20 % polymer was detrimental to concrete subjected to elevated temperature. Duration of exposure does not have much influence on the residual compressive strength properties of conventional concrete and PMC specimens.     

Assessment of fibre orientation in ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete and its effect on flexural strength

Fibre distribution and orientation in a series of round panel specimens of ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) was investigated using electrical resistivity measurements and confirmed by X-ray CT imaging. By pouring specimens in different ways, the orientation of steel fibres was influenced and the sensitivity of the electrical resistivity technique was investigated. The round panels were tested in flexure and the results are discussed in relation to the observed orientation of fibres in the panels. It was found that the fibres tended to align perpendicular to the direction of flow. As a result, panels poured from the centre were significantly stronger than panels poured by other methods because the alignment of fibres led to more fibres bridging the radial cracks formed during mechanical testing.     

Probabilistic bond strength model for reinforcement bar in concrete

In order to overcome the disadvantages of traditional deterministic models, a probabilistic bond strength model of reinforcement bar in concrete was presented. According to the partly cracked thick-walled cylinder model, a deterministic bond strength model of reinforcement bar in concrete was developed first by taking into account the influences of various important factors. Then the analytical expression of probabilistic bond strength model of reinforcement bar in concrete was derived by taking into consideration both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. Subsequently, a probabilistic bond strength model of reinforcement bar in concrete was proposed by determining the statistical characteristics of probabilistic model parameters based on the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method and the Bayesian theory. Finally, applicability of the proposed probabilistic model were validated by comparing with 400 sets of experimental data and four typical deterministic bond strength models. Analysis shows that the probabilistic model provides efficient approaches to describe the probabilistic characteristics of bond strength and to calibrate traditional deterministic bond strength models.     

Design criteria for early-age bond strength in reinforced concrete

The main objective of the extensive research programme involving 238 test specimens was to provide bond strength criteria between type 2 deformed bars and concrete in models for predicting early-age rracking. The major variables included bar diameter, concrete cover, age of concrete, transverse reinforcement and anchorage length. Both the pull-out load and slip displacement were determined using specially developed tensile bond tests where both steel and concrete were in tension. The bond strength of deformed bars showed a significant age effect and design equations suitable for toth ultimate and serviceability limit states at early age have been developed. BS 8110 and BS 8007 Code values underestimated the ultimate bond strength for the concrete strengths considered, while the same values from BS 8110 and BS 8007 overestimated or compared approximately with, respectively, the average bond stress test results at 0.1 mm slip. AC1-318 Building Code, on the other hand, overestimated the bond strength for concrete cube strengths up to 15 MPa and then became conservative.

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Resume On a réalisé un vaste programme de recherche sur 238 éprouvettes, dont l'objectif principal était d'obtenir des critères d'adhérence entre des barres déformées de type 2 et le béton dans des modèles permettant de prévoir la fissuration aux jeunes ages. Les principales variables étaient: le diamètre de la barre, l'enrobage du béton, son age, le renforcement transversal et la longueur de l'ancrage. On a déterminé à la fois la charge d'arrachement et la longueur de glissement par des essais d'adhérence où l'acier comme le béton étaient soumis à la traction. On a constaté l'importance de l'age des barres, et on a établi des équations variables à la fois pour les états limites ultimes et en service aux jeunes ages. Les valeurs de calcul données par BS 8110 et BS 8007 sous-estiment l'adhérence maximale pour les résistances du béton considérées, tandis que les mêmes valeurs extraites des mêmes documents surestimaient ou rejoignaient à peu près la moyenne des résultats d'essai de la contrainte d'adhérence pour un glissement de 0,1 mm. D'autre part, ACI-318 surestime l'adhérence pour des résistances sur cubes du béton allant jusqu'à 15 MPa, et, au-delà, devient normal.

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Experimental study of bond behaviour between concrete and FRP bars using a pull-out test

This paper presents the results of an experimental programme concerning 88 concrete pull-out specimens prepared according to ACI 440.3R-04 and CSA S806-02 standards. Rebars (reinforcing bars) made of carbon-fibre and glass-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP and GFRP), as well as steel rebars, with a constant embedment length of five times the rebar diameter were used. The influence of the rebar surface, rebar diameter and concrete strength on the bond–slip curves obtained is analysed. In addition, analytical models suggested in the literature are used to describe the ascending branch of the bond–slip curves. To calibrate the analytical models, new equations that account for the dependence on rebar diameter are presented.     

Comparison between high strength concrete and normal strength concrete subjected to high temperature

Two normal strength concretes and three high strength concretes, with 28-day compressive strengths of 28, 47, 76, 79 and 94 MPa respectively, were used to compare the effect of high temperatures on high strength concrete and normal strength concrete. After being heated to a series of maximum temperatures at 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200°C, and maintained for 1 hour, their compressive strengths and tensile splitting strengths were determined. The pore size distribution of hardened cement paste in high strength concrete and normal strength concrete was also investigated. Results show that high strength concrete lost its mechanical strength in a manner similar to or slightly better than that of NSC. The range between 400 and 800°C was critical to the strength loss of concrete with a large percentage of loss of strength. Microstructural study carried out revealed that high temperatures have a coarsening effect on the microstructure of both of high strength concrete and normal strength concrete.