Improvement Works to Existing Column Stumps by Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Strengthening System

Abstract

How to improve the durability of concrete structures has long been studied in many countries, especially in the island country of Singapore, where marine concrete structures are very common along coastal areas. The service life of marine concrete structure can be enhanced by different ways, such as the addition of admixtures and using high-grade concrete. Another effective method is by using the FRP system to strengthen the concrete structure. This study deals with improvement works carried out on the column stumps of existing concrete structures by adopting the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening system. Various standard test methods and computer modeling were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the FRP strengthening system using glass fiber composite. The results showed that the FRP wrapping for column stumps of 200 × 200 mm can increase the ultimate strength by an average of 124%.