COLUMN CONFINEMENT WITH TEXTILE-REINFORCED CONCRETE (TRC)

Abstract

Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) is an innovative composite material consisting of a fine-grained concrete matrix and a textile reinforcement. Due to the corrosion-resistant reinforcement, the concrete cover, which is necessary for reinforced concrete constructions, can be reduced. Combining the tensile mechanical properties of carbon fibers with the compressive strength of fine-grained high-strength concrete, TRC can be seen as an efficient alternative to the previous reinforcement and strengthening measures for concrete columns. By confining the column with TRC, the lateral expansion of the concrete can be impeded. The resulting multiaxial compressive stress state allows to enhance the concretes compressive strength. The aim of this study is the investigation of various influences on the achievable strengthening effect. With the help of experiments on TRC, reinforced columns with circular cross-section mechanical property and constraint mechanism under uniaxial compression were documented and analyzed. Based on the test results, stress distribution and failure mechanisms of the reinforced specimens are studied. Furthermore, the load-displacement relationship of strengthened members is investigated. The effect of the ratio of textile reinforcement, section dimension and concrete strength on the ultimate strength of strengthened members is also evaluated.