Flexural behaviour of rebar-reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete beams

Abstract

A detailed experimental programme was conducted to investigate the structural behaviour of rebar-reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) beams subjected to pure bending and combined bending and shear. Four flexural bending tests and four bending–shear tests were conducted and four different reinforcement ratios (1·09%, 2·75%, 3·60% and 4·99%) were used. The bending characteristics of the rebar-reinforced UHPC beams under static loading were assessed, including cracking, failure patterns, deflection, ductility and flexural capacity. The influence of the reinforcement ratio on the flexural performance of the rebar-reinforced UHPC beams was observed and analysed. A model was developed for predicting the ultimate flexural capacity of rebar-reinforced UHPC beams. The adequacy of the prediction model was assessed using experimental data from the current study and the published literature, and the results showed that the model can be used to estimate the ultimate flexural capacity of rebar-reinforced UHPC members accurately. The results of this study provide valuable information for a comprehensive understanding of the structural behaviour of rebar-reinforced UHPC members.