Proposal and assessment of an efficient test configuration for studying lap splices in reinforced concrete

In this paper the authors have selected, fine-tuned and evaluated a specific test configuration for studying lap splices in reinforcement bars submitted to tensile forces. The proposed experiment was designed to be flexible and affordable in terms of cost, time consumption and required testing equipment. Consequently, it is possible to carry out multiple reruns of the experiments, minimizing the uncertainty and providing a good starting point for applying statistic methodologies. In contrast to the regular test configurations, the selected setup makes possible to directly obtain the bond-slip curves of the spliced bars. The experimental work carried out to assess the reliability, sensitivity and scatter of the proposed configuration shows promising results.