Mechanical splices of reinforcing bars subjected to bending moments

Different methods have been proposed in the literature for splicing the reinforcing bars in the construction of concrete structures, which are alternatively used depending on design requirements. The most common approach is the lap splicing which is known as a cost-effective method although, its main disadvantages including congestion of bars at the lap zone and consequently, material wastage has motivated utilization of the other techniques such as mechanical splices (couplers). To better evaluate the performance of the couplers, 6 reinforced concrete (RC) beams whose difference is only the type and location of splices have been experimentally studied in this paper. Based on the results, the mechanical connection of the bars did not markedly affect the load-carrying capacity of the specimens. Moreover, it was observed that after applying the loads and failure of the specimens, none of the bars ruptured at the splice location and all couplers remained undamaged.