Grout-Filled Pipe Splices for Precast Concrete Construction

The effect of confining entire members or parts of members, such as beams and columns, is known to strengthen the bond between the concrete and reinforcement. In this paper, the effect of confining the grout that surrounds isolated, single reinforcing bars on the bond strength between the bar and the grout is investigated. Grout-filled steel pipe splices with differnet parameters and geometrical design were prepared and loaded in axial tension until failure. The test specimens are described and the test results are presented, with discussion and analysis in light of existing theory. The experimental results show that a generic and inexpensive reinforcing bar splice for field connection of precast concrete members can be achieved using grout-filled standard steel pipe.