Analytical Approach to Modeling the Effect of Transverse Reinforcements on the Bond Strength of Deformed Bars

Abstract

The bond strength of deformed bars has been widely concerned owing to its importance in calculating development and/or splice lengths. Many database-independent analytical models were proposed to evaluate bond strength of deformed bars for their wider application. In these models, however, the effects of transverse reinforcements which greatly affect bond strength were not fully considered. Therefore, an analytical approach is presented in this study to model such effects on the bond strength between deformed bars and concrete. The proposed model is established by considering rebar-concrete surface characteristics and confinement around the rebar. The bond strength and bond failure mode of deformed bars can be predicted using the proposed model when geometrical and material properties of concrete cover, bar diameter, and layout of transverse reinforcements are known. Furthermore, the proposed model is verified by the tested data with respect to various levels of confinement. The results show that the proposed model is more appropriate for predicting bond strengths of specimens confined with transverse reinforcements by making a comprehensive comparison with the selected empirical models.