Effect of loading rate on flexural behavior of concrete and reinforced concrete beams

The elasto-plastic characteristics of plain concrete are inevitably affected by the loading rate. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the effect of loading rate on flexural behavior of concrete and reinforced concrete (RC) beams, which was carried out with Walter+bai electro-hydraulic servo system. Three-point bending tests on 100 × 100 × 400 mm prismatic concrete samples and 80 × 120 × 1100 mm RC beams with different displacement controlled loading rates of 0.01 mm/min, 0.1 mm/min, and 3 mm/min were imposed. Based on the test results, the effects of loading rates on the load-displacement curve, cracking, and ultimate load-carrying capacities of RC beams were evaluated.