Experimental and Numerical Investigations on the Flexural Behavior of Reinforced Rubberized Concrete Beams with Different Longitudinal Reinforcement Ratios

The flexural behavior of reinforced rubberized concrete beams was assessed, and it was demonstrated that they exhibited a constant performance decline with an increase in rubber content. Numerical simulations are critically important in the study and engineering of concrete elements due to several key reasons, as follows: to allow engineers to anticipate the behavior of concrete components under diverse loads; to help elucidate intricate mechanisms such as crack initiation, propagation, and fracture processes; and to explore new materials, geometries, and reinforcement layouts without the need for extensive prototyping. This paper presents both experimental and numerical investigations on the flexural behavior of conventional and rubberized concrete reinforced beams. The parameters of the research included the percentage replacement of natural aggregates by rubber particles and the change in the longitudinal reinforcement ratio. The results showed an increase in the load-carrying capacity and a decrease in the midspan deflection with an increase in reinforcement ratio. Substituting natural aggregates with rubber particles resulted in a slight decrease in the load-carrying capacity but an increase in the midspan deflections. Numerical simulations using ATENA v5 software predicted the load-carrying capacity, failure mode, and cracking patterns of the reinforced concrete beams.