ACI MATERIALS JOURNAL TECHNICAL PAPER

Title no. 88-M27

Bond of Deformed Bars to Concrete: Effects of Confinement

and Strength of Concrete

by Parviz Soroushian, Ki-Bong Choi, Giii-Hyun Park, and Farhang Aslani

Slippage of the beam reinforcement at beam-column connections is an RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

important cause of damage to reinforced concrete frames under static
The slippage behavior of beam reinforcement an-
and dynamic loads. This paper summarizes the results of an experi-
mental study on the effects of confinement and compressive strength chored at the beam-column connections plays an im-
of concrete on the local bond stress-slip characteristics of deformed portant role in deciding the rigidity and stability of
bars. The test data indicate that, as jar as the bond-splitting cracks reinforced concrete frames. The test data and the em-
are restrained by reinforcing bars crossing these cracks, confinement pirical model presented in this study can be helpful in
of concrete has insignificant effects on the local bond behavior. The
developing more reliable design recommendations for
ultimate bond strength, however, increases proportionally with the
square root of concrete compressive strength. An empirical model was the anchorage of deformed bars at beam-column joints.
developed for local bond stress-slip relationship of deformed bars in
confined concrete. BACKGROUND
The bond resistance of deformed bars in concrete is
provided mainly by the mechanical interlocking be-
tween the bar lugs and the surrounding concrete. 4•5 The
Keywords: bond (concrete to reinforcement); compressive strength; confined
concrete; deformed reinforcement; joints (junctions); models; reinforcing steels;
slippage; stress-slip relationships; tests.

To insure the stability of structural systems under se-

vere loading conditions it is important to prevent slip-
page of reinforcing bars in the critical locations of
structures, including the beam-ends in frames where the
steel bars are usually anchored inside beam-column
connections (see Fig. 1). 1 Characterization of the bond
performance within the confined core area of the joints
helps in designing the anchorage of reinforcing bars at
beam-column connections. 2•4
This study was concerned with the effects of con-
finement and compressive strength of concrete on local
bond characteristics of deformed bars in reinforced
concrete joints. Confinement of concrete in joints is
achieved by closely spaced transverse hoops, which are
considered essential to improve the ductility of joint
behavior. The spacing of transverse steel was used in Fig. 1 -Anchorage of beam reinforcement at exterior
this study as the measure of confinement, and its effect joints
on local bond behavior was assessed. This experimental
study was also concerned with the effects of concrete
compressive strength on the local bond behavior in ACI Materials Journal, V. 88, No. 3, May-June 1991.
joint conditions, noting that higher strength concretes Received Apr. 4, 1988, and reviewed under Institute publication policies.
Copyright© 1991, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including
are finding increasing appli~ations in the lower stories the making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright propri-
etors. Pertinent discussion will be published in the March-April 1992 ACI Ma-
of high-rise buildings. terials Journal if received by Dec. I, 1991.

ACI Materials Journal I May-June 1991 227

ACI member Parvir. Soroushian is an Associate Professor of Civil and Envi-
ronmental Engineering at Michigan State University. He received his PhD and
MS from Cornell University, and his BS from Tehran University, Iran. His re-
search interests are concrete materials and technology. Dr. Soroushian has
published extensively on these topics, and serves on a number of ACI and TRB
technical committees.
Ki-Bong Choi, formerly a graduate reseasrch assistant at Michigan State Uni-
versity, is currently an assistant professor of Civil Engineering in Seoul, Korea.
He received his BS from Hanyang University in Korea and MS and PhD from
Michigan State University. His research interests include seismic analysis of re-
inforced concrete structures and application of steel fibers to earthquake-resis-
tant reinforced concrete joints.
Gill-Hyun Park, formerly a visiting scholar at Michigan State University, is a
full-time instructor in Civil Engineering at Chosun University in Kwang-Ja,
Korea, where he received his MS and BS. He is interested in the analysis of re-
inforced concrete structures.
Farhang Aslani is a graduate student at the University of Michigan. He re-
ceived his BSc in Civil Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in
Tehran, Iran. His primary interest is in the behavior of structures under earth-
quake loads.
action of lugs against concrete produces inclined cracks
at relatively low bond stresses [Fig. 2(a)]. After in-
clined cracking, the steel stresses are transferred to
concrete by inclined compression. The radial compo-
nent of this force system simulates an internal pressure
inside concrete, which causes a tendency toward failure
by split cracking [Fig. 2(a)]. Sufficient confinement of
concrete by steel bars crossing the potential splitting
cracks can restrain the propagation and opening of
these cracks, and prevent an ultimate failure by bar
pullout [Fig. 2(b)].
In a beam-column connection, the confining rein-
forcement capable of arresting splitting cracks are the
column vertical reinforcement and transverse hoops in
joints [see Fig. 3(a)]. To simulate the conditions at
beam-column joints for studying the local bond behav-
ior, Reference 5 used a confined concrete block con-
taining a partially bonded deformed bar [Fig. 3(b)].
Concrete
Bar
Splitting
Crack
Confining
Restraining
Splitting
crack
Fig. 2- Bond failure by (a) split cracking in unconfined concrete and (b) pullout
in confined concrete 2
228
Test data on these specimens indicated that the behav-
ior of local bond in confined specimens is dominated by
bar pullout, and differs markedly from failure by split
cracking in unconfined specimens. The increase in con-
fining reinforcemenl area above a minimum value re-
quired for restraining the widening of splitting cracks,
however, did not significantly improve the local bond
stress-slip characteristics [see Fig. 4(a)]. The test results
presented in Reference 5 covered only the effects of
transverse confining reinforcement area (not spacing)
on the local bond behavior. Considering the signifi-
cance of the transverse bar spacing in deciding the con-
finement conditions of concrete, it is important to
evaluate the behavior of local bond in concretes con-
fined with transverse bars at different spacings to fully
assess the confinement effects on the local bond per-
formance.
Reference 5 has also presented the results of a lim-
ited number of tests on the effects of concrete com-
pressive strength on the local bond behavior in con-
fined concrete. The results [Fig. 4(b)] indicate that at
higher concrete compressive strengths the bond stiff-
ness, strength, and postpeak resistance tend to be
higher. These conclusions, however, have been based
on tests with only two different levels of compressive
strength. More test data on local bond behavior in con-
cretes with different compressive strengths are needed
to quantify the effects of concrete strength on bond
characteristics.
The research reported herein has been concerned with
generating experimental data and empirical formula-
tions for the effects of confinement and compressive
strength of concrete on local bond behavior of de-
formed bars in conditions of beam-column joints.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
The test specimens used in this study were similar to
those of Reference 5, with a #8 deformed bar partially
Bond Stress
(a)
Bond Slip
restrained
,.,..--unrestrained
(b)
Bond Slip
ACI Materials Journal I May-June 1991
 t
Tube 1
j_..r-_J...~:-TI==j}~f,.!::~ Plastic Sheet
I

Stirrups

Section A-A
(a)

Fig. 3 -Actual joint condition and experimental model of Reference 2: (a) confining reinforcement
at joint; (b) experimental model for local bond studies

20 20,----------------~

16
-----
0
0...
Bar Diameter (mm)

2-
/ --------- £''·'
..----- Vertical Transverse

(/)
(./)
w
12
,',
, -
/
...... -
.... ... ___ 12.7
12.7

6.35
0:: /,' ' - ... - - 6.35 12.7
I-
(/) 8 I
I
'
'
'
~

Cl I
:z
0
CD 4
' '
'\".. . r-- Unconfined
....... (
..........
0 - .f~ -3o.O(Mpa)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 ,_-~-·-;f~~·~-~~4,-~s(~M~pa~)~~r-~r-~r-~.-~
0 2 4 6 B 10 12 14 16
BOND SLIP (mm)
BOND SLIP (mm)
(a) (b)

Fig. 4 - Effects of (a) confining reinforcement area and (b) concrete compressive strength on local bond behavior

bonded [along 5 in. (127 mm) of its length] inside a bonded bar axis. The specimens were moist-cured in-
concrete block [Fig. 5(a)]. According to Reference 5, side their wood forms for 7 days before being de-
the bonded length was long enough to reduce the scat- molded and exposed to the regular lab environment.
ter of test data, and short enough to produce a uni- They were then tested at the age of 28 days.
form bond stress and slip. The variables in this test Fig. 5(b) shows the test setup and instrumentation.
program were the spacing of transverse reinforcement The pullout load was applied at one end of the de-
and the compressive strength of concrete. Table 1 pres- formed bar with a hydraulic actuator. A load cell with
ents the values of transverse reinforcement spacing and a maximum error of 0.4 percent was used to measure
concrete compressive strength used in this investiga- the applied load. Loading was quasistatic and displace-
tion. A plastic sheet was placed inside the concrete at ment-controlled. Local bond stress was derived by di-
the level of the embedded bar to create an artificial viding the measured pullout force by the interfacial
splitting crack (as could be caused by bond stresses of area along the bonded length (assuming a uniform
the adjacent bars) outside the confined core area of test bond-stress distribution). 5 Two electrical displacement
specimens. With the arrangement shown in Fig. 5(a), transducers were used at the other end of the anchored
the test condition simulates the local bond behavior of bar to measure pullout deformations. Assuming a uni-
deformed bars with a clear spacing of four times the form slippage along the embedment length, this pullout
bar diameter in confined concrete. displacement is approximately equal to the local bond
The reinforcing bars used in this study had a yield slip. 5
strength of 60 ksi (414 MPa). The deformation pattern EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
of the embedded #8 bar is also shown in Fig. 5(a). The Bond stress-slip relationships for specimens with dif-
maximum aggregate size in concrete was 0.75 in. (19 ferent transverse (confining) reinforcement spacings are
mm), and the concrete was cast perpendicular to the shown in Fig. 6. Each curve in this figure is the average
ACI Materials Journal I May-June 1991 229
 r~--- Tube
_l_....-.J...-~1==~~-l~=:-- Pltastic Sheet

14 Stirrups

f
'---Plastic Sheet

14.4mm 2.Smm
1.3mm
_, t- -u-

(a)

Hydraulic
,___ _ Actuator

Load cell

Displacement Clamp
Transducer

Bearing Plate

' - - - - Greased Plastic Sheet

(b)

Fig. 5- (a) Test specimen and (b) experimental setup

Table 1 - Test program of two test results, which were performed on two iden-
Concrete compressive tical specimens and showed similar trends.
Variable
No. of Transverse
specimens reinforcement stre~?~~·
MPa sil Failure of plain specimens was by split cracking,
Transverse 2 Two#4 27 (3950) which occurred in a brittle manner. The presence of
reinforcement 2 Six# 4 27 (3950) vertical steel bars restrained the widening of splitting
spacing 2 Vertical bars only 27 (3950) cracks, and changed the failure mode to a pullout one.
2 Plain 27 (3950) The differences in bond stress-slip characteristics of
Concrete 2 Four# 4 24 (3500) specimens with vertical bars and with or without trans-
compressive 2 Four# 4 29 (4220) verse reinforcement at different spacings were practi-
strength 2 Four# 4 34 (4950) cally insignificant. Noting that split cracking in these
2 Four# 4 54 (7850) specimens occurs parallel to the plane of transverse steel
230 ACI Materials Journal I May-June 1991
 20.0,-----------------------------------------~

-..p=cl
~split
Restrained
15.0 crack

(/)

~ 10.0
~
Cl
z
.... .... ............ __
0 .............
Ill
5.0
-------
0.0~------T------,-------r------~------r-----~
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0
BOND SLIP (mm)
Fig. 6 - Effects of confining reinforcement on local bond stress-slip relationship
of deformed bars
25.0...---------------.-----,
- - f~ = 54 (MPa)
- fc = 34 (MPa)

- f~ = 29 (MPa)
,.-... 20.0
0
Q I
'' '
'' fc = 24 (MPa)

6 I ''
'
(IJ 15.0
(IJ
w
~ 10.0
0
z
0
m 5.0

2 4 6 8 10 12
Bond Slip
BONO SLIP (mm)

Fig. 7 - Effects of concrete compressive strength on Fig. 8 - General shape of local bond stress-slip model
local bond stress-slip characteristics of deformed bars in
confined concrete

bars (as is also the case in actual beam-column connec-
tions), the insignificant effects of transverse reinforce-
ment on local bond behavior may be attributed to their
ineffectiveness in restraining the widening of splitting
cracks which run parallel to them. Note also that in ac-
tual joint conditions, the transverse reinforcement is
effective in reducing the extent of shear cracking. As a
result, the increase in transverse reinforcement ratio
may provide a better environment for bond, which
could lead to enhanced bond stress-slip characteristics.
The effects of concrete compressive strength on local
bond stress-slip relationship of confined specimens are
shown in Fig. 7. Each curve in this figure is again the
average of two similar curves obtained in tests on iden-
tical specimens. The test results shown in Fig. 7 indi-
cate that bond strength increases with increasing com-
pressive strength of concrete. The other characteristic
stress and slip values of bond stress-slip relationship
are, however, not consistently influenced by the varia-
tions in concrete strength.
ACI Materials Journal I May-June 1991
EMPIRICAL MODELING
The general shape of local bond stress-slip relation-
ship for deformed bars embedded in confined concrete
can be simulated by the model shown in Fig. 8. 6 This
model consists of a curvilinear ascending branch, a flat
segment at the peak bond stress, a linear descending
branch, and a flat tail. It includes five parameters
(characteristic bond stresses 7 1 and 7 3, and slips s 1, s2 ,
and s 3), to be derived empirically. Test results pre-
sented here, as well as those given in Reference 6, indi-
cate that the charactieristic values s 1, s2 , s 3 , and 7 3 are
largely independent of the concrete compressive
strength, confinement by transverse reinforcement, and
bonded bar diameter. The test results presented herein
and in Reference 6 indicate that the compressive
strength of concrete has an influence on peak bond
stress 7 1• The results of Reference 6 have also shown the
dependence of peak bond stress on the bar diameter. As
far as the effects of concrete compressive strength are
concerned, as shown in Fig. 9, peak bond stress tends
231
 ULTIMATE BOND STRESS, t (MPa) 25.0
20,-----------------~---------------------,
Test
Theory

,-... 20.0
0
a.. I
fc = 54(MPa)
15 ::::::
.........
Ill 15.0
Ill
w I
I
0:::
I- '
"'
10 L Ill 10.0
I
0 I
z fc = 34(MPa
C::. Authors 0
ID 5.0
0 Ret. 5

sL---------L---------~---------L--------~
20 30 40 50
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (MPa)
Fig. 9 - Effect of concrete compressive strength on lo-
cal bond strength [bar diameter = I in. (25.4 mm)]
Table 2 - Empirical values and expressions for
characteristic local bond stress and slip values
Characteristic r, MPa r, MPa S 1,mm s2 , mm s3,mm
Value (20- d.l4) .JJ: /30 5.0 1.0 3.0
to increase proportionally with the square root of con-
crete compressive strength.
The average values of s~> s2 , s3 , and 7 3 and the empir-
ical expression based on test results of this paper and
Reference 6 for 7 1 in terms of bar diameter db and con-
crete compressive strength/; are shown in Table 2.
Typical experimental and corresponding analytical lo-
cal bond stress-slip relationships for concretes of dif-
ferent strengths are shown in Fig. 10.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Effects of confinement by transverse reinforcement
and compressive strength of concrete on local bond
stress-slip characteristics of deformed bars were as-
sessed experimentally through tests on specimens simu-
lating the local bond condition of beam reinforcement
in beam-column connections. The results indicated
that:
1. Confinement of concrete by transverse reinforce-
ment does not directly influence the local bond behav-
ior of deformed bars in joint conditions where the ver-
tical column bars are sufficient to restrain the widening
of bond splitting cracks.
2. The ultimate bond strength increases almost pro-
portionally with the square root of the concrete com-
pressive strength. The other characteristic values of
bond stress and slip in local bond stress-slip relation-
ship are not strongly influenced by variations in con-
crete compressive strength.
An empirical model was also developed for predict-
ing the local bond stress-slip relationship of deformed
bars with different diameters in confined concretes
having different compressive strengths.
60
0.0 -·--r---r---r--
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
BOND SLIP (mm)
Fig. 10- Comparison of experimental and analytical
bond stress-slip relationships [bar diameter = I in.
(25.4 mm)]
10.5 NOTATION
d. bar diameter
1: concrete compressive strength
a coefficient in local bond-constitutive model (see Fig. 9)
s bond slip
s, s, s, characteristic bond-slip values for local bond-constitu-
tive model (see Fig. 9)
T bond stress
r, r,, r, = characteristic bond-stress values in local bond-constitu-
tive model
CONVERSION FACTORS
1 mm = 0.039 in.
1 MPa = 144 psi
REFERENCES
l. Filippou, F. C.; Popov, E. P.; and Bertero, V. V., "Effects of
Bond Deterioration on Hysteretic Behavior of Reinforced Concrete
Joints," Report No. UCB/EERC-83/19, Earthquake Engineering
Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, Aug. 1983, 184
pp.
2. Viwathanatepa, S.; Popov, E. P.; and Bertero, V. V., "Effects
of Generalized Loadings on Bond of Reinforcing Bars Embedded in
Confined Concrete Blocks." Report No. UCB/EERC-79/22, Earth-
quake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berke-
ley, Aug. 1970, 293 pp.
3. Ciampi, V.; Eligehausen, R.; Bertero, V. V.; and Popov, E. P.,
"Analytical Model for Concrete Anchorages of Reinforcing Bars un-
der Generalized Excitations," Report No. UCB/EERC-83/23,
Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California,
Berkeley, Nov. 1982, 103 pp.
4. Kienuwa, 0., "Cyclic Dowel Action and Pull-Our Behavior of
Beam Reinforcement at Reinforced Concrete Joints," PhD disserta-
tion, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, Dec. 1985, 208 pp.
5. Eligehausen, R.; Popov, E. P.; and Bertero, V. V., "Local Bond
Stress-Slip Relationships of Deformed Bars Under Generalized Exci-
tations," Report No. UCB/EERC-83/23, Earthquake Engineering
Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, Oct. 1983, 162
pp.
6. Soroushian, Parviz, and Choi, Ki-Bong, "Local Bond of De-
formed Bars with Different Diameters in Confined Concrete," ACI
Structural Journal, V. 86, No.2, Mar.-Apr. 1989, pp. 217-222.

232 ACI Materials Journal I May-June 1991