Reinforced Concrete Student Project

Project Title: Reinforced Concrete student project

Participants: Prof. Abbie Liel, CIEST

Year: 2024

Summary:

In this experiment, undergraduate students in Prof. Abbie Liel's class, analyze the failure modes of concrete. Using the biaxial frame, a hydraulic actuator capible of exerting a 110kip or 110,000lb of force vertically, the students investigated the failures of two reinforced concrete beams. This was illustrated with two beams, a 5.5"x8"x45'' block of concrete with 3/8" diameter rebar positioned parellel to the faces of the concrete block as well as 1/2" diameter rebar positioned axially,  and a 5.5"x8"x69'' concrete beam, with rebar placed in the same manner. According to several students, seeing both failures upclose solidified the notions of shear and moment/bend failures.

Video of one of the failures: https://youtu.be/nDULxJ5v1JQ.