Optical fiber measurement of local strains in a ribbed bar

Ribbed bars are known for their enhanced bond to concrete. Their ribs make bar section variable along the axis and the strain profile is variable as well, under any given applied force. Such variable strain profile has not been measured so far, thus the stress profile and its effect on the global behavior of the bar cannot be determined. Though optical fibers are an effective means to measure the strains in structural members, their application to the study of bond behavior is still in its infancy. Such an application is the objective of this research project. Specially manufactured partly smooth and partly ribbed bars with optical fibers were tested in pure tension (bare bars) and in the pullout from concrete to investigate the strain profile variability. In the bare bars, the strain measured in the smooth part was constant (as expected), while in the ribbed part higher strains were measured but no localized effects were detected, and the location of the ribs was not identified. Similar behavior was obtained by 3D finite-element analysis, which merely yielded slight ups and downs at ribs' locations, with an average strain that is similar to the measured strain. However, in the pull-out tests, the strains were constant in the unbonded smooth part and exhibited an undulating profile in the bonded ribbed part, where the peaks were related to the locations of the ribs. Such promising results motivate further studies to improve the resolution of the proposed technique.