Department of Civil Engineering
University of California at Berkeley, U.S.A.
Department of Building Technology and Structural Engineering
Aalborg University, Denmark
This paper proposes a new experimental method by which the pull-out cracks in reinforced concrete beams subjected to reinforcing bar pull-out test could be preserved and identified at any stage of the test. An alloy with a low melting point is used to impregnate the pull-out-induced cracks around the reinforcing bar. At a specified stage of the experiment, the alloy is solidified to preserve the cracks that had formed up to that point. This technique not only allows one to observe the cracks as they exist at a certain pull-out stage, but also to observe them in three-dimensions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is employed to capture images from the cross sections of the reinforced concrete beams, followed by comprehensive image analysis of the cracking pattern developed around the reinforcing bar. Direct measurements on backscatter electrons (BSE) images will be performed on the computerized images to determine the pull-out crack initiation, orientation, and interaction.
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