Experimental investigation on bond properties of nano-Al2O3 and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) modified coated steel bar embedded in concrete

In this work, cementitious coatings incorporate nano-Al2O3 (NA) and HPMC were developed applying to the surface of steel bars to enhance bond behavior. A total of 81 pull-out specimens were prepared to evaluated bond properties of different coated steel bars embedded in ordinary performance concrete (OPC), high performance concrete (HPC) and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). The mechanical properties of the cement-based coatings have also been examined. Test results show that flexural and compressive strengths of coating paste exhibited initially increasing and followed by decreasing as NA content increase. Synergistic effect of NA and HPMC results in cement-based coating exhibiting superior mechanical properties. Besides, coating microscopic morphology characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique revealed that fewer coating defects with NA and HPMC compounding. More importantly, the highest bond strength between coated steel bar and different types concretes was found at 1.0 % NA content in the coatings. Synergistic effect of 1.0 % NA and 0.12 % HPMC improved bond strength of coated steel bar embedded in OPC, HPC and UHPC. It can be obtained from bond-slip curve that, regardless of the HPMC addition to coatings, coated steel bar with 1.0 % NA content shows higher bond stiffness. With both NA and HPMC added, bond stiffness, bond toughness and bond ductility of coated steel bar are superior to those of the coating with NA alone. Moreover, as concrete strength increases, the bond strength, bond stiffness and bond toughness of coated steel bar also increase, respectively.