Stability of round concrete columns confined by composite wrappings

External confinement by the wrapping of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets is a very effective method for the strengthening and retrofit of round concrete columns. The stability and strength of concrete columns confined by carbon FRP jackets in which the fibers are oriented in the hoop direction was studied. Stability tests were conducted on hinged plain and confined concrete columns of different slenderness. The theoretically predicted critical stress at the on set of in stability was compared with that obtained experimentally, and a good agreement between them was observed. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 657–666, September–October, 2007.     

Behavior of concrete cylinders confined by carbon-composite tapes and prestressed yarns 1. Experimental data

The results of a comprehensive test program for the mechanical behavior of round concrete specimens confined by carbon-fiber epoxy tapes and prestressed carbon yarns are reported. Five different concrete batches of compressive strength from 20 to 100 MPa and the confinement of various thickness and pretension level were investigated. The specimens, which were subjected to monotonic or repeated compressive loadings, showed a nonlinear stress-strain behavior with a significant ductility and increased ultimate strength, in contrary to the brittle behavior of plain concrete. The limit of linearity on the stress-strain diagrams of the confined concrete roughly coincided with the ultimate strength of plain concrete. Above this limit, the damage accumulation and plastic deformations proceeded in the confined specimens. This fact was evidenced by the increasing slope of deformation diagrams in unloadings and repeated loadings and by the pronounced residual strains. The limit of linearity could be raised significantly by pretension of the carbon yarns during their winding. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 21–44, January–February, 2006.