Open Access

ARTICLE

Flexural Performance of UHPC-Reinforced Concrete T-Beams: Experimental and Numerical Investigations

Guangqing Xiao¹, Xilong Chen¹, Lihai Xu¹, Feilong Kuang², Shaohua He^2,*

1 Guangzhou Guangjian Construction Engineering Testing Center Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, 510405, China
2 School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

* Corresponding Author: Shaohua He. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Innovative and Sustainable Materials for Reinforced Concrete Structures)

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring 2025, 19(5), 1167-1181. https://doi.org/10.32604/sdhm.2025.064450

Received 16 February 2025; Accepted 21 April 2025; Issue published 05 September 2025

Abstract

This study investigates the flexural performance of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) in reinforced concrete T-beams, focusing on the effects of interfacial treatments. Three concrete T-beam specimens were fabricated and tested: a control beam (RC-T), a UHPC-reinforced beam with a chiseled interface (UN-C-50F), and a UHPC-reinforced beam featuring both a chiseled interface and anchored steel rebars (UN-CS-50F). The test results indicated that both chiseling and the incorporation of anchored rebars effectively created a synergistic combination between the concrete T-beam and the UHPC reinforcement layer, with the UN-CS-50F exhibiting the highest flexural resistance. The cracking load and ultimate load of UN-CS-50F were 221.5% and 40.8%, respectively, higher than those of the RC-T. Finite element (FE) models were developed to provide further insights into the behavior of the UHPC-reinforced T-beams, showing a maximum deviation of just 8% when validated against experimental data. A parametric analysis varied the height, thickness, and material strength of the UHPC reinforcement layer based on the validated FE model, revealing that increasing the UHPC layer thickness from 30 to 50 mm improved the ultimate resistance by 20% while reducing the UHPC reinforcement height from 440 to 300 mm led to a 10% decrease in bending resistance. The interfacial anchoring rebars significantly reduced crack propagation and enhanced stress redistribution, highlighting the importance of strengthening interfacial bonds and optimizing geometric parameters of UHPC for improved T-beam performance. These findings offer valuable insights for the design and retrofitting of UHPC-reinforced bridge girders.

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Keywords

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