BOND STRENGTH OF RIBBED-SURFACE HIGH-MODULUS GLASS FRP BARS EMBEDDED INTO UNCONFINED UHPFRC

摘要

High-modulus (HM) ribbed-surface glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars have recently been used in concrete bridge decks to avoid corrosion of steel reinforcement resulting from the use of de-icing salts in winter times in North America. Recently, prefabricated full-depth deck panels (FDDPs), made of normal strength concrete or high performance concrete and reinforced with GFRP bars, are used in Canada to acceleration bridge construction. The FDDPs are connected through panel-to-panel and panel-to-girder connections. These connections are filled with joint-filled cementitious materials as ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC). This paper presents the experimental program to investigate the bond strength of the GFRP bars embedded into unconfined UHPFRC using pull-out testing, leading to the proper GFRP bar development length required to determine the width of the closure strip between connected slabs. The longitudinal GFRP/UHPFRC interface is influenced by (i) the development length-to-nominal diameter of the bar ratio, (ii) the concrete cover-to-bar diameter ratio and (iii) the development length-to-embedment depth ratio due to lugs or headed-end and (iv) concrete compressive strength. GFRP bars embedded into UHPFRC would rely less on the friction and adhesion of the interface, and more on the bearing of the lugs against the concrete. These bearing forces act at an angle to the axis of the bar, causing radial outward forces. Pullout failure of the GFRP/UHPFRC interface leads to shearing of the lugs and bar slippage from the headed-end. Adequate bond strength between the GFRP/UHPFRC interfaces is necessary for design of jointed PDDFs. Therefore, accurate predictions of development length and bond strength of straight or headed-end bars without passing through the high localized stresses due to flexural are essential for safe design.