Experimental and Numerical Study of a Rebar-Prestressed Cylinder Concrete Pipe (RPCCP) under Internal Load

Abstract

In order to study the load-bearing failure characteristics of a RPCCP under internal load, a field prototype test was designed, and a finite element model was established. An internal load was applied up to 2.0 MPa step by step and the force variation law of each part was obtained. During the production of the RPCCP, by wrapping prestressed steel bars around the concrete core with a cylinder, the core was subjected to an initial precompression stress. In the loading process, the protective cover cracked first, from where the concrete core gradually changed from the initial compression state to a tension state, finally cracking from the inner and outer diameter. The stresses of the cylinder and steel bars increased steadily with the internal load and did not yield. The finite element calculation results were in good agreement with the test results, and the influence characteristics of the tension control stress of the steel bar and the concrete strength on the failure of the RPCCP under internal load were discussed. The results showed that the internal load of the protective cover was independent of the tension control stress, but decreases with a decrease in concrete strength, while the load corresponding to the concrete core entering plasticity is related to the tension control stress and the concrete strength, and the relationships were basically linear.