Experimental assessment of the casting position factor of reinforcing bars in high performance concretes (HPC, HPSCC)

This paper concerns the problem of the experimental assessment of the casting position factor in comparison to the current normative guidelines. Our experiment was performed on three types of concrete: high-performance concrete (HPC), high-performance self-compacting concrete (HPSCC) and normal strength concrete (NSC) used as a reference. The HPC and the HPSCC were made in respectively, two and four different variants that differed in the content of silica fume. To assess the casting position factor, three types of elements with heights of 480, 800 and 1600 mm were used. In each element, a ribbed reinforcing bar with a diameter of 16 mm was embedded perpendicularly to the direction of concreting. The bond was examined using pull-out test. The test results showed that regardless of the type and composition of concrete, the linear change of the casting position factor with element's height was observed. No significant differences in the changes of the casting position factor with height were noted between the HPC and the HPSCC. The experiment revealed that the new generation concretes were characterized by a much lower value of the casting position factor in comparison to the current normative guidelines.