Bond performance and damage assessment of self-sensing steel–fiber composite bar with geopolymer concrete

Abstract

This study employed a novel steel–fiber composite bar (SFCB) enhanced with Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors (DOFS) technology to reveal the local bonding and damage mechanisms between composite reinforcement and seawater sea sand geopolymer concrete. By embedding DOFS within the steel core of the SFCB reinforcement, the local bond stress between the reinforcement and geopolymer concrete was monitored. The continuous measurement provided by DOFS revealed a non-uniform strain distribution along the length of the SFCB reinforcement and an uneven distribution of bond stress within the bonded section. Based on test results, a modified bond–slip model was utilized to predict the bond–slip relationship between the SFCB reinforcement and the geopolymer concrete, taking into account the influence of surface treatment on the descending branch of the bond–slip curve. Additionally, a damage model was employed to evaluate the extent of damage at the bond interface between the SFCB reinforcement and the geopolymer concrete under different load levels. Finally, the modified bond–slip model was also used to propose the anchorage length for SFCB reinforcements, which was compared with ACI, CSA, and JSCE codes.