EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON THE FLEXURAL BEHAVIORS OF PIERS CAPS WITH VARIOUS CONCRETE AND REINFORCEMENT TYPES

Abstract

This paper investigated the flexural behavior of six piers caps samples incorporating various reinforcement and concrete mix types. Four pier caps with similar steel reinforcement were cast using different mixes, including normal concrete (NC), high strength concrete (AHSC), and green concrete (GC) with 50% recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), and green concrete with a 2% volumetric ratio of recycled steel fiber (ARSF)). The remaining two piers caps were reinforced using CFRP and GFRP bars. Experimental tests were conducted to examine the behavior of piers regarding the loading at which the first cracks occur, deflection, and failure load. The results indicated that GC pier caps exhibited a decrease in failure load of 2.4% compared to a higher deflection of approximately one-fifth when compared with the NC pier cap. The findings also indicated that incorporating recycled steel fibers enhanced the failure load and decreased the deflection by 9% and 32.5%, respectively, when compared to the GC pier. In addition, AHSC pier caps exhibited failure load by nearly 36.8% than that of GC. The behavior of CFRP and GFRP was opposite when comparing steel-reinforced pier caps regarding failure load.