Exploratory study on bond behavior of plain and sand coated stainless steel rebars in concrete

Abstract The performance of concrete structures depends largely on the bond strength between the steel rebar and surrounding concrete. The design equations currently available in the literature for concrete structures reinforced with deformed mild steel (MS) rebar may not be valid for smooth stainless steel (SS) rebar embedded in concrete. In this study, the bond behavior of SS rebar embedded in concrete is investigated using the push-out test method. The compressive bond behavior of 202 specimens is evaluated, and the bond stress–slip relationships for SS rebar are developed. The effects of concrete compressive strength, rebar diameter, embedment length, concrete cover, and rebar surface condition on bond strength are also examined, and a regression model is developed using the experimental results. The results show that an increase in rebar diameter, larger embedment length, and lower compressive strength all serve to reduce the average maximum bond strength of SS rebar. On the other hand, an increase in clear cover significantly improves the bond strength. Moreover, the test results show that surface treatment of SS rebar has less impact on the bond strength compared to other influencing factors.