Numerical study of the behaviour of loop bar splicing in joints of reinforced concrete structures

Abstract Sometimes straight bar splicing takes up too much space in a reinforced concrete structure due to the required overlapping length. Therefore, in limited space situations, loop joints may be a good solution, which has been spread in civil construction, although there are very few studies about it. The aim of the present work is to study the loop joint behavior in reinforced concrete structures under tension. Three dimensional numerical simulations are made using the software DIANA®. Firstly, the calibration of the numerical model based on experimental tests of the literature is performed, followed by parametric analyses varying geometric parameters of the concrete elements and reinforcement. The results indicate that arranging the bars as close as possible to a maximum spacing of 60 mm between axes and considering a minimum splice length equal to the bend diameter of the loops may be an ideal situation for the behavior of this type of connection.