Bond behaviour of reinforcement in self-compacting concretes

This experimental work examines the bond strength between reinforcement steel and concrete, and the top-bar effect in self-compacting concretes. Eight different concretes were used, four self-compacting (SCC) and four normally-vibrated (NVC). Tests were conducted on 200 mm cube specimens and 1500 mm high columns. It was found that, at moderate load levels, SCC performed with more stiffness, which resulted in greater mean bond stresses. The ultimate bond stresses are also somewhat greater although, due probably to the negative effects of the bleeding having less impact on failure, the differences between SCC and NVC are reduced considerably, and even disappear completely for concretes of more than 50 MPa. On the other hand, the top-bar effect is much less marked in SCC, and therefore a change in the factor that takes into account this effect in the formulas used for calculating the anchorage length of the reinforcement is proposed for these concretes.     

Evaluation of the transfer length of prestressed near surface mounted CFRP rods in concrete

The transfer length of a prestressed near surface mounted (NSM) fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rod is the distance over which the rod must be bonded to the epoxy to develop the prestressing force in the rod. The transfer length is intended to provide bond integrity for the strengthened concrete member. This paper presents experimental results and an empirical equation to estimate the transfer length of prestressed NSM Carbon FRP (CFRP) rod in concrete beams. Twenty-two reinforced concrete specimens were strengthened with NSM CFRP rods. Two types of CFRP rods were used: spirally wound and sand blasted rods. Four prestressing levels were used: 40%, 45%, 50% and 60% of the tensile strength of the CFRP rod. The strain behavior in the CFRP rod was monitored by gauges mounted on the CFRP rod along the length of the beam. The test results showed that the transfer length of the prestressed NSM CFRP rod was about 35 times the diameter of the CFRP rod. The maximum bond stress of the CFRP rod in epoxy was found to range from 11 to 16 MPa for the sand blasted rods and from 12 to 23 MPa for the spirally wound rods. An empirical expression based on curve fitting of the measured data was proposed to predict the prestressing stress in the CFRP rod along the length of the beam.     

Bond strength of deformed bars in large reinforced concrete members cast with industrial self-consolidating concrete mixture

The bond strength of reinforcing bars embedded in full-scale heavily reinforced concrete sections made with industrial self-consolidating concrete (SCC) was investigated and compared with that of normal concrete (NC). The flowability of SCC mix through the dense reinforcement was visually monitored from a transparent formwork. The bond stress was tested for bars located at three different heights (150 mm, 510 mm, and 870 mm from the bottom of the pullout specimens) and at different tested ages (1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days). The bond stress-free end slip relationship, the top bar effect and the effect of age on bond stress was investigated in both SCC and NC pullout specimens. Bond stresses predicted based on some major codes were compared with those obtained from experiments. The results indicated that casting SCC was much faster and easier and could be done with less labor effort and no concrete blockage among the heavy reinforcements compared to NC. The results also indicated that the bond stress was slightly higher in the SCC pullout specimen compared to the NC pullout specimen. The difference was more pronounced in the top bars and at 28 days of testing.     

Experimental evaluation of the flexural behavior of corroded P/C beams

Corrosion phenomena and related effects, such as size reduction in both rebars and strands, bond decay at steel–concrete interface, and cracking in the surrounding concrete, are particularly critical in prestressed-concrete members, not only for safety reasons, but also for their huge potential socio-economic effects. As a matter of fact, this technique has been used for the last 50 years in the majority of viaducts and bridges built in many countries like Italy.In order to evaluate the influence of the corrosion on prestressed pretensioned beams, a number of tests has been carried out in the Laboratory of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”.Nine prestressed beams (section size 200 × 300; total length 3000 mm; clear span 2700 mm) were first subjected to artificial corrosion, to obtain different damage levels, and then were tested in four-point bending.The results clearly show the sizable effects that corrosion has on the ultimate capacity (that is significantly reduced), on the failure mode and on the structural response, that turns from ductile to brittle.     

Corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete of different compressive strengths

Corrosion of steel bars embedded in concrete having compressive strengths of 20, 30 and 46 MPa was investigated. Reinforced concrete specimens were immersed in a 3% NaCl solution by weight for 1, 7 and 15 days. In order to accelerate the chemical reactions, an external current of 0.4 A was applied using portable power supply. Corrosion rate was measured by retrieving electrochemical information of polarization technique. Pull-out tests of reinforced concrete specimens were then conducted to assess the corroded steel/concrete bond characteristics.Experimental results showed that corrosion rate of steel bars and bond strength between corroded steel/concrete were dependent on concrete strength and accelerated corrosion period. As concrete strength increased from 20 to 46 MPa, corrosion rate of embedded steel decreased. First day of corrosion acceleration caused a slight increase in steel/concrete bond strength, whereas sever corrosion after 7 and 15 days of corrosion acceleration significantly reduced steel/concrete bond strength. Visual and metallographic observation of steel bars removed from concrete samples after testing revealed that the severity of corrosion reactions and reduction of steel bar diameter increased as the corrosion acceleration period increased. Presence of localized corrosion pits as well as severe corrosion grooves of steel bars was confirmed after 7 and 15 days of corrosion acceleration, respectively.     

Bond between carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars and ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC): Experimental study

Carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars are currently used to reinforce concrete in an attempt to overcome the corrosion issue encountered with ordinary steel. In order to exploit more efficiently their tensile capacity, it is interesting to use CFRP bars as prestressing tendons. This application requires a high quality concrete matrix. The advantageous characteristics of UHPFRC, such as high strength, good ductility and durability, mean that a UHPFRC structure prestressed with CFRP bars may be lighter and require less maintenance. Since the flexural behaviour of prestressed concrete members reinforced with CFRP bars is highly dependent on the bond between the two materials, an experimental program was carried out in order to investigate the bond of CFRP bars embedded in UHPFRC. Two types of surface, smooth and sand-coated, were investigated. Pullout tests were performed to examine the effect of varying parameters such as embedment length, bar diameter and concrete age. The results clearly show that the bond strength of macroscopically smooth bars embedded in UHPFRC is close to that of sand-coated bars. It was also found that ultimate bond strength decreases with bar diameter and with embedment length. Moreover, the bond strength can be expected during early age (3 days). A post-test examination revealed that damage occurred only in the outer layers of the CFRP bars.     

Effect of alkali-silica reaction and freezing and thawing action on concrete–steel bond

An experimental program was conducted to investigate the effect of stresses and cracks, caused by alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and freezing and thawing (F/T), on bond between reinforcing steel and concrete. Pullout test cylinders, reinforced with 18 mm steel bars, were used to evaluate bond behavior. Concrete prisms (50 × 50 × 300 mm) were also cast to evaluate expansion and reduction in ultrasonic velocity due to ASR and F/T cycles, respectively. Specimens were cured for 40 days before being either immersed in sodium hydroxide solution of 0.5 normality in order to accelerate ASR, or subjected to different cycles of F/T. Bond behavior, expansion, and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests were carried out as ASR progressed or under F/T cycles.The progress of ASR resulted in significant losses in critical bond stress and ultimate bond strength capacity reaching as high as 44% and 24%, respectively, accompanied by a significant increase in free-end slip at failure. The loss in bond due to ASR was higher for specimens prepared using concrete with lower concrete strength and higher percentage of reactive aggregate. F/T action caused a significant reduction in critical bond stress and ultimate bond strength that reached as high as 100% and 55%, respectively, and an increase in free-end slip at failure. Neither ASR nor F/T cycles affected trends in the behavior of bond stress versus free end slip curves.     

CFRP strengthened openings in two-way concrete slabs – An experimental and numerical study

Rehabilitation and strengthening of concrete structures with externally bonded fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) has been a viable technique for at least a decade. An interesting and useful application is strengthening of slabs or walls where openings are introduced. In these situations, FRP sheets are very suitable; not only because of their strength, but also due to that they are easy to apply in comparison to traditional steel girders or other lintel systems. Even though many benefits have been shown by strengthening openings with FRPs not much research have been presented in the literature.In this paper, laboratory tests on 11 slabs with openings, loaded with a distributed load are presented together with analytical and numerical evaluations. Six slabs with openings have been strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs) sheets. These slabs are compared with traditionally steel reinforced slabs, both with (four slabs) and without openings (one slab). The slabs are quadratic with a side length of 2.6 m and a thickness of 100 mm. Two different sizes of openings are used, 0.85 × 0.85 m and 1.2 × 1.2 m.The results from the tests show that slabs with openings can be strengthened with externally bonded CFRP sheets. The performance is even better than for traditionally steel reinforced slabs. The numerical and analytical evaluations show good agreement with the experimental results.     

Beam test on bond behavior between high-grade rebar and high-strength concrete after elevated temperatures

In this paper, post-heating bond behavior between high-grade rebar and C80 high-strength concrete (hereafter, HSC) is studied. The high-grade rebar is HRBF500 fine grained steel with a yield strength of 500 MPa and the concrete grade C80 denotes compressive strength not lower than 80 MPa. First, the residual mechanical behavior of both high-grade rebar and HSC were tested after fire exposure. Second, the beam bond test was carried out to study the bond behavior between high-grade rebar and HSC after exposed heating at 200 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C, respectively. During the bond test, the influence of temperature, bond length, and some construction measurements on the bond–slip behavior were compared and evaluated. The investigation demonstrates that (1) the bond strength between high-grade rebar and HSC decreases while the peak slip increases with the elevated temperature, especially when the temperature exceeds 400 °C and (2) the confinement effect of steel wire mesh can help to improve rebar׳s bond behavior. Third, the bond–slip model between high-grade rebar and HSC for post-heating is proposed.     

Preliminary experimental investigation of the fatigue bond behavior of CFRP confined RC beams

This paper presents the results of the first phase of a study on the effect of the confinement provided by transverse carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets on the fatigue bond strength of steel reinforcing bars in concrete beams. Reinforced concrete bond-beams 150 × 250 × 2000 mm were tested. The variables examined were the area of the CFRP sheets (none or one U-wrap CFRP sheet), the reinforcing bar diameter (20 or 25 mm) and the load range applied to the specimens. The results showed that increasing the bar diameter increased the fatigue bond strength for the unwrapped beams. The CFRP sheets increased the bond strength of the bond-beams with 20 mm bars. However, for the beams with 25 mm steel bars the failure mode changed from a bond splitting failure for the unwrapped beams to a diagonal shear failure for the CFRP wrapped beams, and there was little increase in fatigue strength. Finally, the bond failure mechanism for repeated loading is described.     

Long-term bond performance of GFRP bars in concrete under temperature ranging from 20 °C to 80 °C

Eighty pull-out specimens were used to study the effect of temperature ranging from 20 °C to 80 °C in dry environment on bond properties between Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars and concrete. The pullout-test specimens were subjected during 4 and 8 months to high temperatures up to 80 °C and then compared to untreated specimens (20 °C). Experimental results showed no significant reduction on bond strength for temperatures up to 60 °C. However, a maximum of 14% reduction of the bond strength was observed for 80 °C temperature after 8 months of thermal loading. For treated specimens, the coefficient β in the CMR model, which predicts the bond–stress–displacement behavior, seems to be dependant with the temperature.     

高性能碳纤维增强塑料(CFRP)绞线筋粘结性能研究

通过48个拉拔试件对高性能碳纤维增强塑料(CFRP)绞线筋与不同环境介质(包括普通混凝土C50、高性能混凝土C50、R42.5水泥浆以及环氧树脂等)之间的粘结性能进行了较为系统的研究。研究表明:当滑移值为0.3~0.4mm时,CFRP绞线筋的粘结应力达到最大,相比之下,钢绞线的粘结应力最大值则发生在滑移值为20mm左右时;CFRP绞线筋直径对粘结强度的影响不明显;CFRP绞线筋的锚固失效粘结强度比钢绞线大1.3~1.4倍,而钢绞线的最大粘结强度比CFRP绞线筋大1.3~1.5倍。在试验研究的基础上,本文还给出了CFRP绞线筋的粘结应力-滑移曲线的理论方程,并提出了CFRP绞线筋的相对粘结特性系数的设计建议。     

Flexural strengthening of RC beams with prestressed NSM CFRP rods – Experimental and analytical investigation

The effectiveness of strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) beams with prestressed near-surface mounted (NSM) carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods was investigated. Four RC beams (254 mm deep by 152 mm wide by 3500 mm long) were tested under monotonic loading. One beam was kept un-strengthened as a control beam. One beam was strengthened with a non-prestressed NSM CFRP rod. Two beams were strengthened with prestressed NSM CFRP rods stressed to 40% and 60% of the rod’s ultimate strength. The test results showed that strengthening with non-prestressed NSM CFRP rod enhanced the flexural response of the beam compared to that of the control beam. A remarkable improvement in the response was obtained when the RC beams were strengthened with prestressed (40% and 60%) NSM CFRP rods. An increase up to 90% in the yield load and a 79% in the ultimate load compared to those of the control beam were obtained. An analytical model was developed using sectional analysis method to predict the flexural response of RC beams strengthened with prestressed NSM CFRP rods. The proposed model showed excellent agreement with the experimental results.     

Composite tubes as an alternative to steel spirals for concrete members in bending and shear

Glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) tubes are compared to steel spiral reinforcement in circular concrete members with longitudinal reinforcement and prestressing, using six beam tests. Two 324 mm diameter and 4.2 m long prestressed specimens were tested in bending. Four 219 mm diameter reinforced specimens were also tested, including two 2.43 m long beams tested in bending and two 0.6 m long beams tested in shear. In each set, one specimen was essentially a concrete-filled GFRP tube, while the other control specimen included steel spiral reinforcement of comparable hoop stiffness to that of GFRP tube. The strength of control specimens was governed by crushing and spalling of concrete cover. Unlike spiral reinforcement, GFRP tubes confined larger concrete areas and also contributed as longitudinal reinforcement, leading to increases in flexural and shear strengths, up to 113% and 69%, respectively.     

Pull-out behavior of prestressing strands in steel fiber reinforced concrete

This paper presents the results of an experimental study investigating the effects of steel fibers on the mechanical properties of concrete and the enhancement of bond strength of prestressing strands in steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). The first part of the experimental program consisted of compression, tension and flexural tests on SFRC. Two types of steel fibers with 30 mm and 60 mm fiber lengths were used with five different fiber contents. The second part of the study consisted of simple pull-out tests on 12.7 mm and 15.2 mm diameter seven-wire untensioned prestressing strands embedded in concrete blocks. The pull-out tests were conducted with two different fiber lengths and five different fiber contents for each strand diameter. The steel fibers were observed to improve the pull-out resistance of strands by controlling the crack growth inside concrete blocks.     

Elastic properties of self consolidating concrete

With the advancements in self consolidating concrete (SCC) technologies coupled with the demand for shorter construction schedules, there is a need to evaluate the applicability of predictive equations and non-destructive testing methods to assess SCC’s transient in situ mechanical properties. This study measures the evolution of density, compressive strength, dynamic elastic modulus, and static elastic modulus at day 1, 3, 7, 28, and 56 for SCC mix designs. Outcomes from this study revealed that utilization of the dynamic-to-static elastic modulus ratios in conjunction with ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements can be used to estimate the evolution of SCC’s compressive strength. Furthermore, this study presents the test-to-predicted ratios for the static elastic modulus of SCC mixtures based on predictive equations proposed in ACI363, ACI318/AASHTO, EuroCode2, and Gardner and Lockman. Of the proposed predictive equations, ACI318/AASHTO most closely estimates properties of SCC of compressive strengths greater than 50 MPa, and Gardner and Lockman’s equation for SCC of compressive strengths less than 50 MPa.     

Evaluation of strand bond equations for prestressed members cast with self-consolidating concrete

A total of 26 rectangular concrete beams were constructed, instrumented, and tested over the course of several research projects which all focused on examining the bond of prestressed strand with self-consolidating concrete (SCC). The same concrete cross-section was used for all specimens, but SCC using Type I and Type III cements and a conventional high strength concrete mixture were tested using a 0.6 in. (15.2 mm) prestressed strand and a lightweight SCC was used along with a 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) prestressed strand. Transfer length was measured using concrete surface strains and development length was determined using iterative flexural tests. The results of these tests were then compared to the transfer and development length equations proposed from nine different research projects conducted using several different sets of variables. Since the concrete types used in this research were different from those utilized to develop the current code equations, it was desired to examine whether other proposed equations were more applicable. While the different variants of SCC examined using these specimens were also very different from those used to develop all of the examined transfer and development length equations, several of these equations were found to be adequate for use with SCC.     

Experimental study of hybrid composite beams

In this study, a new type of hybrid confining device, a perforated steel tube that is externally protected by a thin fiber reinforced polymer skin is proposed and experimentally investigated. Hybrid composite beams were fabricated by filling fresh concrete into the hybrid composite tube. Fifteen scaled-down square beams, which had varying numbers of perforated steel faces or ‘steel grids’ and a dimension of length 55.9 cm, height 10.1 cm, and width 10.1 cm, were prepared. Four-point bending tests were conducted on all the specimens. In addition to the load–displacement curves obtained from the tests, strain gages were installed to monitor the local strain distributions. Test results show that the grid tube encased specimens lead to higher specific strength and ductility than the solid steel tube encased counterparts. Compared to other configurations, the specific strength and ductility are the highest when all the four faces are made of steel grids.     

Experimental investigations on the influence of paste composition and content on the properties of Self-Compacting Concrete

The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of paste composition and paste volume on the fresh and hardened properties of Self-Compacting Concrete. Nineteen SCC mixtures were investigated for different paste composition and paste volume. Fresh concrete tests such as slump flow, J ring, and V funnel test were performed; hardened concrete tests were limited to compressive strength. The results revealed that slump flow and J ring flow increased with increase in paste volume. A simple empirical equation was proposed for the determination of the paste volume for the required slump flow of SCC. Compressive strength of the different SCC mixtures ranged between 20 MPa and 70 MPa.