Damage Classification of Reinforced Concrete Structures for Fire: Rebar Temperature
Published January 8, 2024
The goal of this study is to investigate rebar temperature thresholds for damage classification of reinforced concrete structures exposed to fire, considering the temperature effects on the rebar-concrete bond as well as material properties.
Graduate Student: Nima Tajik Hesaramir
Principal Investigators: Negar Elhami-Khorasani, Ravi Ranade, Anthony Tessari
Project Completion Date: 1/1/2024
Reinforced concrete in a furnace
Summary
The project conducted a series of experiments to investigate residual bond strength between rebar and concrete after exposure to high temperatures. A total of 15 beam-end specimens based on ASTM A944 guidelines were prepared, and bond strength was measured at ambient temperature and after exposure to high temperatures. The specimens were heated inside a furnace using different heating protocols to study the effect of varying temperatures on residual bond strength. Material-level tests were completed to measure residual concrete compressive after exposure to high temperatures.
The results showed that (a) the obtained residual bond strength values from beam-end specimens are lower than the average of those reported in the literature from small-scale tests, and (b) the heating protocol has an impact on the obtained residual bond strength and realistic heating protocols result in lower residual bond strength compared to reported values by the literature.
Sponsors
This project is supported by the American Concrete Institute Foundation, research grant number CRC 2022 P0053, and the Institute of Bridge Engineering at the University at Buffalo.
Additional Photo
Post-furnace strength testing