Experimental Study on Bond Performance Between Steel-PVA Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete and Steel Bars under Freeze-Thaw Cycles

doi:10.16552/j.cnki.issn1001-1625.2025.1263

Abstract

Abstract:

In order to investigate the bond performance between steel-polyvinyl alcohol hybrid fiber reinforced concrete （S-PVA HFRC） and steel bars under freeze-thaw cycles， 75 S-PVA HFRC specimens were designed and fabricated based on orthogonal test factors， namely steel fiber volume fraction， PVA fiber volume fraction， and mineral powder replacement rate. These specimens were subjected to freeze-thaw cycles with different numbers of cycles， followed by central pull-out tests under monotonic loading. The failure modes， bond strength， interfacial bond stiffness and toughness of S-PVA HFRC specimens under different test parameters were studied， and the influence of each parameter on the bond-slip mechanical behavior of S-PVA HFRC under freeze-thaw conditions was analyzed. The results show that all S-PVA HFRC specimens exhibit steel bar pull-out failure； the bond strength of S-PVA HFRC specimens decreases with the increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles. After an identical number of freeze-thaw cycles， the bond strength and peak slip of S-PVA HFRC specimens are higher than those of fiber-free plain concrete specimens. After 50 freeze-thaw cycles， the bond strength of S-PVA HFRC specimens exhibit the most significant enhancement. Compared with fiber-free plain concrete specimens， the S-PVA HFRC specimens exhibit the greatest increase of 53.75% when the volume fraction of steel fiber is 1.3%， the volume fraction of PVA fiber is 0.2%， and the replacement rate of mineral powder is 15% （mass fraction）. The incorporation of hybrid fibers effectively mitigates the adverse effect of freeze-thaw damage on the interfacial bond stiffness and significantly improves the energy dissipation capacity of the specimens. A bond-slip model for the interface between S-PVA HFRC and steel bars under freeze-thaw conditions is proposed， which shows good agreement with the experimental results.

Key words: fiber reinforced concrete, steel fiber, PVA fiber, mineral powder, freeze-thaw cycle, pull-out test, bond-slip model

CLC Number:

TU528

XU Chengxiang, WANG Rui, XU Qiqi, YANG Zhao. Experimental Study on Bond Performance Between Steel-PVA Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete and Steel Bars under Freeze-Thaw Cycles[J]. BULLETIN OF THE CHINESE CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2026, 45(7): 2260-2274.

Figures/Tables 27

Fig.1 Morphology of fibers and slag powder

Table 1 Performance parameters of fibers

Item	Fiber type	Length/mm	Equivalent diameter/mm	Aspect ratio	Density/（g·cm^-3）	Tensile strength/MPa	Elastic modulus/GPa
Steel fiber	Milled wave type	36	0.6	60	7.8	660	200
PVA fiber	Bundled monofilament type	12	0.031	381.7	1.3	1 830	40

Table 2 Reference mix proportion of concrete

Water-cement ratio	Material dosage/（kg·m^-3）					Sand ratio/%
Water-cement ratio	Cement	Coarse aggregate	Fine aggregate	Water	Water reducer	Sand ratio/%
0.407	396.2	1 263.1	594.4	161.3	5.6	32

Table 3 Factors of orthogonal test

Level	Factor
Level	Steel fiber content/%	PVA fiber content/%	Mineral powder content/%
1	0.8	0.1	15
2	1.3	0.2	30

Table 4 Orthogonal test scheme

Group	Steel fiber content/%	PVA fiber content/%	Mineral powder content/%
NC	—	—	—
A	0.8	0.1	15
B	0.8	0.2	30
C	1.3	0.1	30
D	1.3	0.2	15

Fig.2 Dimensions and structure of specimens

Fig.3 Placement of specimen placement in freezing-thawing box

Fig.4 Loading device

Fig.5 Appearance and morphology of NC group after different freeze-thaw cycles

Fig.6 Appearance and morphology of S-PVA HFRC after 100 freeze-thaw cycles

Fig.7 Failure mode of specimens

Table 5 Experimental results and failure modes

Specimen group	Freeze-thaw cycle	Ultimate load average $P u$ /kN	Compressive strength average $f u$ /MPa	Ultimate bond strength average $τ u$ /MPa	Peak slip $s u$ /mm	Failure mode
NC-0	0	71.40	58.91	18.95	0.51	S
NC-25	25	61.76	55.83	16.39	0.80	S
NC-50	50	30.71	46.32	8.15	1.36	P
NC-75	75	30.18	29.01	8.01	1.76	P
NC-100	100	24.42	22.79	6.48	1.82	P
A-0	0	76.08	60.13	20.19	0.78	P
A-25	25	70.65	56.94	18.75	1.43	P
A-50	50	41.79	49.95	11.09	2.23	P
A-75	75	38.70	44.27	10.27	2.30	P
A-100	100	33.08	34.65	8.78	2.34	P
B-0	0	83.50	61.74	22.16	0.92	P
B-25	25	74.31	59.64	19.72	1.73	P
B-50	50	44.31	50.24	11.76	2.43	P
B-75	75	40.69	42.60	10.80	2.41	P
B-100	100	39.30	37.60	10.43	2.63	P
C-0	0	84.89	67.92	22.53	1.04	P
C-25	25	76.91	66.68	20.41	1.98	P
C-50	50	44.92	56.50	11.92	2.45	P
C-75	75	39.11	48.69	10.38	2.47	P
C-100	100	35.42	40.69	9.40	2.68	P
D-0	0	88.70	65.87	23.54	1.10	P
D-25	25	78.60	64.49	20.86	2.12	P
D-50	50	57.80	56.91	15.34	2.47	P
D-75	75	45.89	49.67	12.18	2.69	P
D-100	100	42.77	38.19	11.35	2.76	P

Table 5 Experimental results and failure modes

Specimen group	Freeze-thaw cycle	Ultimate load average $P u$ /kN	Compressive strength average $f u$ /MPa	Ultimate bond strength average $τ u$ /MPa	Peak slip $s u$ /mm	Failure mode
NC-0	0	71.40	58.91	18.95	0.51	S
NC-25	25	61.76	55.83	16.39	0.80	S
NC-50	50	30.71	46.32	8.15	1.36	P
NC-75	75	30.18	29.01	8.01	1.76	P
NC-100	100	24.42	22.79	6.48	1.82	P
A-0	0	76.08	60.13	20.19	0.78	P
A-25	25	70.65	56.94	18.75	1.43	P
A-50	50	41.79	49.95	11.09	2.23	P
A-75	75	38.70	44.27	10.27	2.30	P
A-100	100	33.08	34.65	8.78	2.34	P
B-0	0	83.50	61.74	22.16	0.92	P
B-25	25	74.31	59.64	19.72	1.73	P
B-50	50	44.31	50.24	11.76	2.43	P
B-75	75	40.69	42.60	10.80	2.41	P
B-100	100	39.30	37.60	10.43	2.63	P
C-0	0	84.89	67.92	22.53	1.04	P
C-25	25	76.91	66.68	20.41	1.98	P
C-50	50	44.92	56.50	11.92	2.45	P
C-75	75	39.11	48.69	10.38	2.47	P
C-100	100	35.42	40.69	9.40	2.68	P
D-0	0	88.70	65.87	23.54	1.10	P
D-25	25	78.60	64.49	20.86	2.12	P
D-50	50	57.80	56.91	15.34	2.47	P
D-75	75	45.89	49.67	12.18	2.69	P
D-100	100	42.77	38.19	11.35	2.76	P

Table 6 Range analysis of ultimate bond strength

Index	Freeze-thaw cycle	Factor	$K 1$	$K 2$	Range R
Ultimate bond strength	0	Steel fiber	21.18	23.04	1.86
		PVA fiber	21.36	22.85	1.49
		Mineral powder	21.87	22.35	0.48
	25	Steel fiber	19.24	20.64	1.40
		PVA fiber	19.58	20.29	0.71
		Mineral powder	19.81	20.07	0.26
	50	Steel fiber	11.43	13.63	2.21
		PVA fiber	11.51	13.55	2.05
		Mineral powder	13.22	11.84	1.38
	75	Steel fiber	10.54	12.61	2.08
		PVA fiber	10.33	12.82	2.50
		Mineral powder	12.56	10.59	1.97
	100	Steel fiber	8.55	10.38	1.83
		PVA fiber	8.03	10.89	2.86
		Mineral powder	9.01	9.92	0.91

Table 6 Range analysis of ultimate bond strength

Index	Freeze-thaw cycle	Factor	$K 1$	$K 2$	Range R
Ultimate bond strength	0	Steel fiber	21.18	23.04	1.86
		PVA fiber	21.36	22.85	1.49
		Mineral powder	21.87	22.35	0.48
	25	Steel fiber	19.24	20.64	1.40
		PVA fiber	19.58	20.29	0.71
		Mineral powder	19.81	20.07	0.26
	50	Steel fiber	11.43	13.63	2.21
		PVA fiber	11.51	13.55	2.05
		Mineral powder	13.22	11.84	1.38
	75	Steel fiber	10.54	12.61	2.08
		PVA fiber	10.33	12.82	2.50
		Mineral powder	12.56	10.59	1.97
	100	Steel fiber	8.55	10.38	1.83
		PVA fiber	8.03	10.89	2.86
		Mineral powder	9.01	9.92	0.91

Fig.8 Effect of number of freeze-thaw cycles on ultimate bond strength

Fig.9 Effect of hybrid fibers on ultimate bond strength

Table 7 Interfacial bond stiffness of S-PVA HFRC specimens

Freeze-thaw cycle	Interfacial bond stiffness of S-PVA HFRC specimens after different freeze-thaw cycles $E B$ /（MPa·mm^-1）
Freeze-thaw cycle	Group NC	Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
0	37.16	25.88	24.09	21.66	21.4
25	20.49	13.11	11.4	10.31	9.84
50	5.99	4.97	4.84	4.87	6.21
75	4.1	4.47	4.48	4.2	4.53
100	3.56	3.75	3.97	3.51	4.11

Table 7 Interfacial bond stiffness of S-PVA HFRC specimens

Freeze-thaw cycle	Interfacial bond stiffness of S-PVA HFRC specimens after different freeze-thaw cycles $E B$ /（MPa·mm^-1）
Freeze-thaw cycle	Group NC	Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
0	37.16	25.88	24.09	21.66	21.4
25	20.49	13.11	11.4	10.31	9.84
50	5.99	4.97	4.84	4.87	6.21
75	4.1	4.47	4.48	4.2	4.53
100	3.56	3.75	3.97	3.51	4.11

Fig.10 S-PVA HFRC interfacial bond stiffness with different freeze-thaw cycles

Fig.11 Fiber bridging effect

Fig.12 Schematic of energy dissipation factor

Table 8 Energy dissipation factor of S-PVA HFRC specimens

Freeze-thaw cycle	Energy dissipation factor of S-PVA HFRC specimens after different freeze-thaw cycles
Freeze-thaw cycle	Group NC	Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
0	0.13	0.12	0.14	0.21	0.36
25	0.15	0.21	0.23	0.20	0.21
50	0.19	0.23	0.27	0.25	0.31
75	0.21	0.21	0.25	0.22	0.35
100	0.15	0.30	0.39	0.29	0.20

Fig.13 Energy dissipation factor of S-PVA HFRC specimens with different freeze-thaw cycles

Fig.14 Fitting curves of bond strength after freeze-thaw cycles

Table 9 Fitted parameters

Group	$x 1$	$x 2$	Determination coefficient R²
N	0.025 2	0.728 6	0.894 0
A	0.011 7	0.857 3	0.895 4
B	0.021 9	0.713 5	0.885 3
C	0.015 3	0.809 5	0.902 3
D	0.011 3	0.845 5	0.958 9

Table 9 Fitted parameters

Group	$x 1$	$x 2$	Determination coefficient R²
N	0.025 2	0.728 6	0.894 0
A	0.011 7	0.857 3	0.895 4
B	0.021 9	0.713 5	0.885 3
C	0.015 3	0.809 5	0.902 3
D	0.011 3	0.845 5	0.958 9

Table 10 R2 for ascending branch of bond stress-slip response of S-PVA HFRC specimens

Freeze-thaw cycle	R²
Freeze-thaw cycle	Group NC	Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
0	0.970	0.985	0.961	0.973	0.965
25	0.943	0.960	0.977	0.967	0.982
50	0.979	0.936	0.980	0.948	0.964
75	0.978	0.986	0.979	0.985	0.971
100	0.993	0.958	0.967	0.971	0.864

Fig.15 Fitting of bond stress-slip ascending branch curves for S-PVA HFRC specimens

Table 11 R2 for descending branch of bond stress-slip response of S-PVA HFRC specimens

Freeze-thaw cycle	R²
Freeze-thaw cycle	Group NC	Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
0	0.935	0.924	0.948	0.992	0.974
25	0.943	0.987	0.964	0.906	0.987
50	0.959	0.925	0.930	0.945	0.945
75	0.771	0.935	0.917	0.939	0.869
100	0.889	0.90	0.994	0.992	0.865

Fig.16 Fitting curves of bond stress-slip descending branch curves for S-PVA HFRC specimens

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