Shrinkage effect of steel–Ultra-High Performance Concrete composite beams adopting Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer bars and rubber Perfobond connectors

Abstract

Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC), due to its low water-to-binder ratio, typically exhibits higher shrinkage strain. When this shrinkage is externally restrained, shrinkage tensile stress is developed, potentially leading to cracking. As one of the most commonly used rigid shear connectors, Perfobond (PBL) connectors exhibit high shear stiffness and outstanding fatigue performance. However, they cause high shrinkage restraint in composite beams, which may lead to tensile damage in UHPC slabs. This paper proposes solutions for reducing the shrinkage effect in the steel–UHPC composite beams from the perspective of structural design. Four steel–UHPC composite beams with two optimized structural designs (replacing steel reinforcements with Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) reinforcements and adopting rubber–PBL plate) were fabricated and tested. To evaluate the reduction in shrinkage stress, the shrinkage behavior was monitored during a 40-d period, and finite element models of the specimens were established. The results showed that by substituting GFRP bars, the longitudinal shrinkage stress of the UHPC slab can be reduced by up to 13.7%. Attaching a rubber layer to the PBL reduced the local stress at the PBL connector by 18%. Finally, an analytical method considering the relative slip between UHPC and steel components was proposed for the practical calculation of the UHPC slab’s shrinkage stress.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

UHPC / GFRP bars / composite structures / PBL connector / shrinkage stress

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