Study on the Bonding Properties of Reinforced Reef Limestone Concrete and Its Influencing Factors

Reinforced concrete structures play a pivotal role in island and reef engineering projects. Given the resource constraints typical of island regions, substituting traditional manufactured sand aggregate with reef limestone not only reduces reliance on river sand but also addresses the issue of disposing of waste reef limestone slag generated during excavation. However, the performance characteristics of reef limestone concrete, particularly its bond strength with reinforcing steel, warrant further investigation. This is particularly true for the bond–slip behavior of the reinforcement. This study aims to elucidate the effects of various parameters on the bond performance between steel and reef limestone concrete through central pullout tests. These parameters include the type and diameter of the reinforcement, bond length, and loading rate. The investigation encompasses the analysis of load–slip curves, bond failure modes, and variations in bond stress. Additionally, using the Abaqus software, a numerical simulation was conducted to analyze the mesoscopic stress characteristics, thereby revealing the mechanisms of bond formation and failure modes between steel reinforcement and reef limestone concrete. The results indicate that the bond–slip curve for reef limestone concrete reinforced with ribbed rebars and Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) rebars can be broadly categorized into four phases: minor slip, slip, decline, and residual, with the residual phase exhibiting a wave-like pattern. The predominant failure modes in reef limestone concrete are either pulling out or splitting. The bond stress in reef limestone concrete decreases with an increase in rebar diameter and bond length; conversely, it increases with the loading rate, although the ultimate slip decreases. The mesoscopic failure characteristics of reinforced reef limestone concrete, as simulated in Abaqus, are consistent with the experimental outcomes.