Novel Splice Method of Reinforced Concrete Beams Without Web Reinforcement Subjected to Pure Torsional Loading

This work examines the performance of no web reinforced concrete beams with novel spliced longitudinal steel bars and enhanced by wrapped CFRP sheet subjected to pure torque. The spliced bars were of insufficient length to show the substandard state and were treated with a new method of enhancing the splice region by wrapping CFRP sheet transversely around the spliced bars. For this purpose, six reinforced concrete beams were manufactured and poured. The variables examined in this study were the presence of splicing and the length of splicing, both with and without the use of CFRP configuration. The experiment measures the cracking torque, maximum torque, angle of twist (radians/meter), torque–twist angle curves, and crack pattern. In addition, the cracking torque was estimated theoretically and compared to corresponding values, which were obtained experimentally. The main findings of this investigation were that the novel remedy of splice region has little effect on the precracking behavior. In contrast, there is a significant effect on the postcracking stage due to the strengthening of the substandard lap splice region since the ultimate load capacity increased to 46.53%. In addition, torsional ductility and toughness were also improved significantly. The ACI 318‐19 method can safely be utilized over elastic theory and skew‐bending theory to predict cracking torque strength. Due to the fact that spliced bars change steel reinforcement yield strength, the Eurocode 2 equation for estimating ultimate torque based on longitudinal reinforcement must be modified.