Experimental investigation on adhesively bonded timber-self-compacting concrete composite beams with a thin slab

Abstract

This study presents an experimental investigation of the failure characteristics, interface slip, strain distribution, and load-deflection response of adhesively bonded timber-concrete composite (TCC) beams fabricated using wet or dry processes. A total of six adhesively bonded TCC beams were produced with a span of 3.2 m and subjected to four-point bending tests. Wet and dry fabricated TCC beams revealed distinct failure modes. The results emphasized the critical role of bonding integrity in ensuring effective composite action and shared contribution mechanism. Wet-fabricated TCC beams exhibited a rigid bonding characterized by a consistent neutral axis alignment and load distribution along the beam span, while dry-fabricated beams experienced interface separation and compromised load-shared contribution, resulting in a significant reduction of the ultimate bending capacity of TCC beams. The outcomes showed that wet and dry TCC beams exhibited comparable load-to-mid-span deflection responses before failure, highlighting uniform behaviour and alignment with fully composite characteristics under the imposed loads. Furthermore, an analytical model for calculating TCC beams is presented and validated. The foundation of the analytical model is established upon the γ-method derived from Eurocode 5. The analytical model is compared with experimental results, highlighting its reliability and precision. Load-deflection responses, bending strain distributions, and ultimate failure loads are accurately captured, affirming the model's capability to anticipate the TCC beam behaviour.