Experimental Study on Mechanical Coupler Splices in Reinforced Concrete Beams under Cyclic Flexural Loading

This study presents an experiment on the utilization of rebar waste as a mechanical coupler splice material on the reinforced concrete beam. The purpose of using rebar waste is to save costs in a construction project. Experiments were conducted with 3 test specimens, which are reinforced concrete beam without coupler splice (B-13NC), reinforced concrete beam with 19 mm diameter coupler splice (B-13C19) and reinforced concrete beam with 22 mm coupler splice with welding (B-13C22W). Each coupler splice was installed in the plastic hinge area of the beam to determine the maximum capability of the coupler splice. Tests were conducted under cyclic flexural loading on the reinforced concrete beam.

The results showed that the 22 mm diameter coupler splice at B-13C22W has almost the same strength as the reinforced concrete beam without coupler splice (B-13NC). However, the 19 mm diameter coupler splice has a significant decrease in strength, which is more than 30% of the strength of the reinforced concrete beam without a coupler splice (B-13NC). This experiment also shows that the utilization of a coupler splice in the reinforced concrete beams results in a decrease in structural ductility.