Impact of crack width on bond: Confined and unconfined rebar

This paper reports the results of a research project comparing the effect of surface crack width and degree of corrosion on the bond strength of confined and unconfined deformed 12 and 16 mm mild steel reinforcing bars. The corrosion was induced by chloride contamination of the concrete and an applied DC current. The principal parameters investigated were confinement of the reinforcement, the cover depth, bar diameter, degree of corrosion and the surface crack width. The results indicated that potential relationship between the crack width and the bond strength. The results also showed an increase in bond strength at the point where initial surface cracking was observed for bars with confining stirrups. No such increase was observed with unconfined specimens.