Experimental study of the flexural behaviour of ultra-high-performance concrete beam with wet joint

Abstract

In order to improve the performance of wet joints in prefabricated ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) bridges, a comparative study was conducted to investigate the flexural behaviour of UHPC joint beams. Experimental tests were implemented on a complete beam and on five further specimens with, respectively, vertical joint, rhombus joint, vertical joint with strips, tied rhombus joint with strips, and welded rhombus joint with strips. The specimens’ failure modes, ultimate flexural capacities, strain distributions and load–deflection curves were investigated. The test results show that the flexural capacity of the joint beams is lower than that of the complete beam. Among the five specimens with wet joints, the welded rhombus joint with top and bottom strips had the greatest stiffness, the highest cracking resistance capacity, and the best flexural performance. From the best to the worst performing, the remainder of the wet joint specimens took the following order: the unwelded rhombus joint with strips, the vertical joint with strips, the rhombus joint and the vertical joint. In accordance with the test results and the related theoretical analysis, this paper proposes formulas to calculate the flexural capacity of the beam with UHPC joints.