Evaluation of the Shear Strength of Perfobond Rib Connectors in Ultra High Performance Concrete

Abstract

Since the previous strength prediction models for the perfobond rib connector were proposed based upon the results of push-out tests conducted on concretes with compressive strength below 50 MPa, push-out test is performed on perfobond shear connectors applying ultra high performance concretes with compressive strength higher than 80 MPa to evaluate their shear resistance. The test variables are chosen to be the diameter and number of dowel holes and, the change in the shear strength of the perfobond rib connector is examined with respect to the strength of two types of UHPC: steel fiber-reinforced concrete with compressive strength of 180 MPa and concrete without steel fiber with compressive strength of 80 MPa. The test results reveal that higher concrete strength and larger number of holes increased the shear strength, and that higher increase rate in the shear strength was achieved by the dowel action. The comparison with the predictions obtained by the previous models shows that the experimental results are close to the values given by the model proposed by Oguejiofor and Hosain [1].