Experimental study on mechanical performance of partially precast steel reinforced concrete beams

In order to exploit the potentials in mechanical and constructional performance of steel reinforced concrete structures and prefabricated structures, three innovative kinds of partially precast steel reinforced concrete beams, which are abbreviated here as PPSRC, HPSRC and PPCSRC beam, are presented in this paper. The PPSRC beam is composed of two parts, which are the precast outer shell with high-performance concrete and the cast-in-place inner part with common-strength concrete. Meanwhile, on the basis of PPSRC beam, the PPCSRC beam applies castellated steel shape and the HPSRC beam keeps the beam core hollow. With the aim to investigate the mechanical behavior, failure mode and bearing capacity of the PPSRC, PPCSRC and HPSRC beams, a static loading experiment with twenty four specimens was carried out. The effects of aspect ratio, construction method, section shape, concrete flange and strength of concrete were critically examined. Test results indicate that the HPSRC, PPCSRC and PPSRC beams both exhibit similar mechanical performance and bonding performance. The flexural capacity and shear capacity are seldom affected by the construction method and section shape, and increase with the increasing of the cast-in-place concrete strength. The shear strength of the specimens is significantly affected by the concrete flange and aspect ratio.