Intersectii / Intersections
Vol.4 No.4 Art.39
Experimental and numerical analysis of compressed concrete elements confined with FRP composites
by
Gabriel Oprisan, Nicolae Taranu, and Vlad Munteanu
Abstract
Confinement of concrete by suitable selection of transverse internal reinforcement
or by externally bonded reinforcement results in significant increase in both the
compressive strength and the ductility of concrete subjected to compressive loading.
Traditional confinement solutions have been developed using steel hoops or steel
jackets and only recently fibre reinforced polymer composites (FRP) have been
perceived as reliable confinement solutions for concrete elements. Extensive
research projects have been performed since 1990s and theoretical and
experimental results confirm the validity of confinement with FRP composites
jackets. An experimental program has been initiated at the Faculty of Civil
Engineering, the Technical University of Iasi, to evaluate the confining
effect with glass fibre/epoxy and carbon fibre/epoxy composites.
The influence of the material type and the thickness of FRP
confining jacket were the variables involved.
The results obtained have proven the effectiveness of confinement solutions
based on FRP composites. Both compressive strength and ductility of the
confined specimens have shown dramatic increase compared to unconfined
concrete specimens. The experimental set-up, the testing procedure and
the main results are presented, emphasizing the influence of the
composite nature and the thickness of the confining jacket.
KEYWORDS: confining, FRP jackets, compressive strength, ductility.
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