Masonry confinement with fiber-reinforced polymers: Fid-Bau Portal

Masonry confinement with fiber-reinforced polymers

Krevaikas, Theofanis D. / Triantafillou, Thanasis C.

This study presents an experimental investigation on the behavior of axially loaded short masonry columns confined with FRP(fiber reinforced polymer) jackets, followed by the development of an analytical model for the prediction of confined strength and ultimate strain. Four series of uniaxial compression tests, a total of 42 specimens, were conducted on specimens with these variables: number of layers, radius at the corners, cross-section aspect ratio, and type of fibers. The results are summarized as follows: 1. In general, FRP-confined masonry behaves very much like FRP-confined concrete. The confinement provided by FRP improves considerably both the load-carrying capacity and the deformability of masonry columns of rectangular cross section. 2. For the specimens tested in this study, the gain in performance (strength and deformability) increases almost linearly with the average confining stress. Increasing the corner radius or decreasing the cross-section aspect ratio is beneficial to the strength and strain capacity of rectangular masonry columns. Being more deformable, glass fibers are more effective than carbon fibers if the gain in strength and deformability is compared for the same FRP hoop stiffness. 3. Test results enabled the development of a simple confinement model for strength and ultimate strain of FRP-confined masonry. This model is consistent with test results obtained here, but should attract further experimental verification in the future to account for types of masonry materials other than those used in this study.