Experimental investigation of bond stress distribution and bond strength in unconfined UHPFRC lap splices under direct tension

Several studies on tension lap splices have shown the improvement of bond strength using Ultra-high performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC). The bridging effect of fibres on cracks improves the bond splitting strength substantially in comparison to normal concrete. This paper investigates the influence of fibre content on the strength of tension lap splice of reinforcing bars in UHPFRC without additional transverse reinforcement. Different splice lengths and UHPFRC mixes were tested. Internal strain measurements were used to capture the force transfer mechanism and the evolution of longitudinal strain distribution and associated bond stresses. The bond performance is clearly related to the pre- and post-cracking tensile capacity of UHPFRC. At a distance exceeding 2 db from bar extremities, bond stress distribution at failure displayed a quasi-constant value regardless of the lap splice length up 10 db. This reveals for short lap splices that the bearing action of all ribs along the splice length contributes equally in resisting the applied force. This experimental program provides experimental results for understanding the local force transfer mechanism in UHPFRC lap splice and contribute for further developments on bond in UHPFRC.