Analysis of Rebar-Concrete Bond Strength Through Finite Element Modeling

Abstract

A reinforced concrete section is comprised of enveloping concrete to which external load is applied and the
reinforcing bars (rebars) which receive load from the concrete by bond mechanism. Finite Element Model (FEM)
of reinforced concrete structures can produce realistic responses to simulate bond behavior. For computational
speed and simulation efficiency, a simple but realistic bond-slip model is required. In this paper, a modified
approach to Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) in ABAQUS is proposed with perfect bond between smooth rebar
and concrete surfaces. This approach produced excellent results for six reference bond test specimens from
two studies with short and long rebar bond lengths. The predicted load-displacement response from numerical
simulation were very close to the experiment test results. The predicted bond strengths showed 98.6% and
95.9% match with test results for short and long bond lengths respectively.