Bond Performance of High-Volume Fly Ash Self-Consolidating Concrete in Full-Scale Beams

This paper presents an experimental study on bond behavior between steel reinforcement and high-volume fly ash self-consolidating concrete (HVFA-SCC). HVFA-SCC is a new concrete grade of HVFA concrete with the rheology of self-consolidating concrete that satisfies the quality of construction work, environment aspects, and concrete sustainability. Mixtures with different cement replacement levels of fly ash and hydrated lime (50%, 60%, and 70% [by weight]) were used. Twelve fidl-scale reinforced concrete beams were cast and tested using a four-point load test setup. This study focused on observing the effect of factors such as cement replacement level, confinement conditions, and casting position on the beam flexural behavior. All beams were 10 ft (3048 mm) in length, 18 in. (457 mm) in thickness, and 12 in. (305 mm) in width. Rheological and mechanical properties of the mixtures were monitored. During testing, cracking and ultimate load, deflection, crack pattern, and mode of failure were recorded. Furthermore, test results were compared to a database of different concrete types such as conventional concrete and self-consolidating concrete. The findings of this study show that HVFA-SCC mixture with 70% replacement is not only feasible in terms of acceptable bond behavior, but also is superior in other certain attributes.