Effect of Construction Joint on Flexural Behavior of Reinforced Self compacting Concrete Two Way Slabs

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the influence of construction joints on the behavior of reinforced self-compacting concrete (SCC) slabs in flexure. The experimental scheme involves constructing and testing four slab specimens with dimensions of 450mm×450mm×60mm. One of the specimens is without construction joint as a reference, the second is of vertical construction joint at mid-span of the slab, the third is of horizontal construction joint at mid-depth and the fourth is of construction joint with key-shaped at mid-span. The outcomes of this investigation revealed that the influence of construction joint on the first crack load was more significant than that on the ultimate load. The slab with key-shaped construction joint gave better performance with regard to first crack load and ultimate bearing capacity as compared with the other cases with reduction percentages of 15% and 9.5% respectively as compared with the reference specimen, while the slab with horizontal construction joint in mid-depth represented the less efficiency case with reduction percentages of 40% and 22.8% respectively. Also, the load-deflection relationship becomes stiffer after the first crack load for the slabs with construction joint comparing with the reference specimen.