Effect of Construction Joint on Flexural Behavior of Reinforced Self compacting Concrete Two Way Slabs

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of construction joints on the behavior of reinforced self-compacting concrete (SCC) slabs in flexure. The experimental scheme involves constructing and testing four slab specimens with dimensions of 450mm×450mm×60mm. One of the specimens is without construction joint as a reference, the second is of vertical construction joint at mid-span of the slab, the third is of horizontal construction joint at mid-depth and the fourth is of construction joint with key-shaped at mid-span. The outcomes of this investigation revealed that the influence of construction joint on the first crack load was more significant than that on the ultimate load. The slab with key-shaped construction joint gave better performance with regard to first crack load and ultimate bearing capacity as compared with the other cases with reduction percentages of 15% and 9.5% respectively as compared with the reference specimen, while the slab with horizontal construction joint in mid-depth represented the less efficiency case with reduction percentages of 40% and 22.8% respectively. Also, the load-deflection relationship becomes stiffer after the first crack load for the slabs with construction joint comparing with the reference specimen.