Abstract
Strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) are advanced type of cement-based composite materials having superior crack control and tensile properties. Owing to such characteristics, SHCC can be used for strengthening and crack-width control of structural members. This paper presents a study on the flexural response of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with different overlays of SHCC. The work consists of RC-SHCC overlay beams, in which SHCC overlays of different thicknesses (15% and 30% of beam height, plus cover) and reinforcement ratios (0% and 0.4%) were cast at the bottom of the RC beams. The performance of the RC-SHCC overlay beams was compared with control RC beams having concrete overlays of similar parameters. A series of eight laboratory-scale control and composite beam specimens were tested under four-point bending test. From the experimental results, it was observed that RC-SHCC overlay beams showed improved flexural capacity and crack control as compared to that of control beams. The beams with unreinforced SHCC overlays showed significant improvement at service stage, while beams with reinforced SHCC overlays showed significant improvement at peak stage. The SHCC overlay beams without reinforcement have showed improved ductility as compared to control beams with concrete overlays. Additionally, the SHCC overlays performed as a protective layer for controlling the crack widths in the composite beams.
Highlights
Strengthening of existing structural members is an inevitable process in today’s construction sector
It was found that the use of UHP-strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) overlay with a light reinforcement (0.6%) in reinforced concrete (RC) beam has resulted in enhanced load capacity and reduced ductility when compared to these of beams strengthened with mortar
The binder material consists of Type-1 Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and Class-F fly ash (FA)
Summary
Strengthening of existing structural members is an inevitable process in today’s construction sector. Utilization of a composite material with improved tensile strength, fracture toughness and crack control can be an efficient alternative of concrete for overlaying strengthening techniques. Because of its load carrying capacity, but because of SHCC material’s better crack width control, it is expected to improve the durability of the strengthened beam by controlling the crack widths in the tensile region [8,9]. In one study [10], flexure performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with ultra-high performance UHP-SHCC and mortar overlays It was found that the use of UHP-SHCC overlay with a light reinforcement (0.6%) in RC beam has resulted in enhanced load capacity and reduced ductility when compared to these of beams strengthened with mortar. The efficient technique of SHCC overlay beams to achieve an optimized performance was investigated and is presented as the main aim of the paper
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