Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams with high strength material layer in compression zone

Abstract

The flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams with high strength material layers in the compression zone was observed. The compression zone of the beams was filled with high strength material to increase the ductility of the beams. Three control beams and three beams with high strength compression layer were tested until failure. The tested beams were simply supported and loaded with a four-point bending mechanism. The test variable in this study was the ratio of longitudinal reinforcement (1%, 1.5%, and 2.5%). The test results show that the ductility of beams with high strength material in the compression zone is significantly higher than the control beams. However, the flexural capacity of beams with high strength materials is almost the same as the control beam. Theoretical prediction using finite element analysis also confirms that beams with high strength material in the compression zone show higher ductility.