High-cycle fatigue of bond in reinforced high-strength concrete under push-in loading characterized using the modified beam-end test

Abstract

In this paper, combined experimental–numerical investigations of the bond behavior between high-strength concrete and steel reinforcement under monotonic, cyclic and fatigue loading are presented. A modified beam-end test specimen is used to study the bond behavior under push-in compressive loading. The bond length, the concrete strength as well as the bar diameter have been varied in the test program consisting of 56 beam-end test specimens. The bond behavior has been tested under several loading scenarios and the results have been compared with the results of the pull-out tests. Push-through and combined push-through × splitting failure modes have been observed in the test program. Moreover, a bond fatigue model based on a cumulative measure of inelastic slip developed by the authors has been used to demonstrate how to identify the model parameters for a test exhibiting a pure push-through failure. The tests including three design parameters and four distinct loading scenarios will serve for further detailed theoretical research on the bond fatigue phenomenology governing the behavior of reinforced concrete structures.