Bond strength of steel bars embedded in high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composite before and after exposure to elevated temperatures

Interfacial bond strengths of steel reinforcing bars embedded in a high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composite (HPFRCC) are investigated in this paper. Out of 303 pullout specimens, 48 HPFRCC and 3 normal concrete specimens were tested without any heat treatment, and 240 HPFRCC and 12 normal concrete specimens were heated at 200, 400, 600, or 800 °C in a furnace for 2 h prior to testing. The effects of bar shape, diameter, and length embedded in HPFRCC on the bond strength of HPFRCC specimens were investigated. The bond strength decreased with the heating temperature and with the size and embedded length of steel bars. It was reduced further when the heated specimens were cooled in water instead of air. It was disaggregated into chemical adhesion and mechanical interlock from a comparative study of plain and deformed bars. The mechanical properties and microstructures of HPFRCC specimens before and after heat treatment were compared to understand the mechanisms of interfacial bonding degradation due to heat treatment.