Performance of Tension Lap-Splice in Lightweight Concrete

Abstract

The use of Light-Weight Concrete (LWC) in modern construction has resulted in efficient designs and considerable cost savings by reducing structural own weight and supporting footings sections. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the Lap-Splice behavior between LWC and steel reinforcement (RFT). The tested specimens were divided into four groups to study the effect of main variables: steel reinforcement bar size, internal confinement (stirrups), splice length and concrete cover thickness. Four-point bending tests were carried out on test specimens to evaluate the performance of lap splices under pure bending. Bond behavior and failure modes were noted to be similar in the normal concrete and in the LWC. In tested beams, it was observed that the bar size has a significant influence on the mean bond stress in the splice. Improving radial tensile strength by using increasing stirrups number improves the bond behavior. The splice length up to 35 times bar diameter decreased the moment capacity of beam. The splice length of 55 times bar diameter results in the same capacity of the beam without any splice.