Uniaxial bond stress-slip behavior of reinforcing bars embedded in lightweight aggregate concrete

This paper presents an experimental study of bond-slip behavior of reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete (LC) and normal weight concrete (NC) with embedded steel bar. Tests were conducted on tension-pull specimens that had cross-sectional dimension with a reinforcing bar embedded in the center section. The experimental variables include concrete strength (20, 40, and 60 MPa) and coarse aggregate type (normal-weight aggregate and reservoir sludge lightweight aggregate). The test results show that as concrete compressive strength increased, the magnitudes of the slip of the LC specimens were greater than those of the NC specimens. Moreover, the bond strength and stiffness approaches zero at the loaded end, or close to the central anchored point of the specimen. In addition, the proposed bond stress-slip equation can effectively estimate the behavior of bond stress and steel bar slipping.