Flexural Behavior of Composite Concrete–Epoxy–Reinforced Concrete Beams

Abstract

This paper deals with the structural performance of composite reinforced concrete beams made of two different concretes, bonded together using epoxy resin. The fabricated beam section consists of low-strength reinforced concrete core and relatively large thickness outer skin concrete jacket without reinforcement. The results confirm that the bonding technique used for constructing the composite section is effective. Flexural strength of the tested beam is mainly governed by the outer jacket thickness followed by the compressive strength of concrete. A simple flexural analytical model was developed to calculate moment capacity of composite sections. The predictions were found accurate and can be utilized for the flexural analysis and design of composite reinforced concrete beams. A parametric study was made to investigate the effects of core reinforcement and both composite section geometry and material properties on the depth of compression zone and moment capacity of the section.