Compression tests of cement-composite bearing pads for precast concrete connections

A cement-based material is developed to produce bearing pads for precast concrete connections. The material consists of sand mortar that includes additions of soft aggregate, latex, and short fibres to obtain greater deformability and high toughness. The additions used in this study were vermiculite, styrene–butadiene latex and either PVA or glass fibres. The proposed material is tested in the form of cylindrical samples, bearing pads under uniform load and bearing pad strips under concentrated loads. Based on the experimental results, the main conclusions are: (a) the largest amount of fibres should be used, within the limits of mixture workability, mainly for enhancing the bearing pad capacity to accommodate surface irregularities, (b) glass fibres perform better than PVA fibres when the material is subjected to concentrated loads, and (c) bearing pad thickness beyond 10 mm is of limited value.