Bond behavior between steel and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars and ultra high performance concrete reinforced by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT)

In this paper, the influence of adding multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on the pull behavior of steel and GFRP bars in ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) was examined experimentally and numerically. For numerical analysis, 3D nonlinear finite element modeling (FEM) with the help of ABAQUS software was used. Mechanical properties of the specimens, including Young\'s modulus, tensile strength and compressive strength, were extracted from the experimental results of the tests performed on standard cube specimens and for different values of weight percent of MWCNTs. In order to consider more realistic assumptions, the bond between concrete and bar was simulated using adhesive surfaces and Cohesive Zone Model (CZM), whose parameters were obtained by calibrating the results of the finite element model with the experimental results of pullout tests. The accuracy of the results of the finite element model was proved with conducting the pullout experimental test which showed high accuracy of the proposed model. Then, the effect of different parameters such as the material of bar, the diameter of the bar, as well as the weight percent of MWCNT on the bond behavior of bar and UHPC were studied. The results suggest that modifying UHPC with MWCNT improves bond strength between concrete and bar. In MWCNT per 0.01 and 0.3 wt% of MWCNT, the maximum pullout strength of steel bar with a diameter of 16mm increased by 52.5% and 58.7% compared to the control specimen (UHPC without nanoparticle). Also, this increase in GFRP bars with a diameter of 16mm was 34.3% and 45%.