Numerical Investigation of the Bond Behaviour of Reinforcing Bars in UHPFRC

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is gaining popularity in North America. With this approach, prefabricated elements are assembled on site to obtain a structure with monolithic behaviour. The benefits of this technique include reducing costs and construction time while providing better durability. The success of this new construction method depends on the performance of the joints between the prefabricated elements. The availability of high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) in connections has been the keystone to increasing the popularity of this construction approach. This research is part of an ongoing research project at Polytechnique Montréal, sponsored by the Quebec Ministry of Transportation, which aims to incorporate criteria for designing high-performance joints for prefabricated elements. This numerical research aims to quantify the contribution of UHPFRC direct tensile properties on the behaviour of the bond of reinforcing bars in contactless lap-splice joints. To achieve this goal, the thesis focuses on the behaviour of direct tension bond (DTB) test specimens using ABAQUS finite element software through an Explicit solution strategy. The EPM3D concrete model is adopted to consider the traction properties of UHPFRC. The strategy adopted is based on modelling the bond properties at the rib scale.