Test on Hybrid Connection for Steel Bars in Concrete

The steel bar connection is an important and inevitable work in civil engineering. The traditional overlapped connection method usually needs to place the transversal rebars in the overlapped splicing area to restrict the splitting cracks in concrete. The steel usage and labor cost are increased. An improved splice, which is the hybrid connection of welding and overlapping, was developed for mid-diameter bars, which is easy to install and has commendable mechanical behavior. A series of reinforcing rebar splice tests with steel-concrete interaction were conducted. The failure model of hybrid connection and the ultimate strength were acquired. Based on the tests, the failure mechanism of hybrid connections was analyzed. The results show that the ultimate load of the new splice is sufficient for the engineering application and the failure model is reasonable. The hybrid connection could be used in the engineering practice.