This paper presents the results of an investigation into the steel-to-concrete bond in high-performance self-compacting concrete (HPSCC) based on direct pull-out tests. Specifically, the effect of the ... więcej

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the steel-to-concrete bond in high-performance self-compacting concrete (HPSCC) based on direct pull-out tests. Specifically, the effect of the casting direction on bond properties is examined. Two variants of concrete mixture casting were considered in this work: from the top and from the bottom of a mould with a single casting point at one edge. Horizontal specimens with transverse rebars distributed over their heights (480 mm) and lengths (1600 mm) were cast. The experimental program has shown that the direction of concreting plays an important role in the formation of the bond condition. In the case of casting a mixture from the bottom of a mould, in the lower part of a specimen there is no significant change of the bond stress. However, there is a strong improvement in the upper part. The phenomenon observed eliminates the top-bar effect. What is more, for the rebars situated in the upper part of a specimen, improvements in bond characteristics, such as the bond stiffness, bond strength and the effect of the rebar distance from the casting point are all observed in the case of casting a mixture from the bottom of a mould.