Experimental Study on the Bending Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beams under Super-Low Temperature

To study the bending behavior of reinforced concrete beams under super-low temperature, the mechanical properties of steel bars were tested firstly. Axial tensile tests of three kinds of steel bars (HRB335, HRB400, and HRBF400) were conducted at a temperature range from –180 °C to –80 °C. Axial compressive tests of concrete prisms of C15 grade were also conducted at a temperature range from –180 °C to –40 °C. At last, Monotonic static load tests of 6 reinforced concrete beams were conducted at a temperature range from –180 °C to –40 °C using specially made jig and fixture for low temperature. The failure modes and the mechanical properties of the reinforced concrete beams under low temperature were investigated. The test results showed that both the bearing capacity and the stiffness of the beams increased with the decrease of the temperature.