Mechanical Properties of Rubberised Concrete Confined with Basalt-Fibre Textile-Reinforced Mortar Jackets

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the mechanical properties of rubberised concrete confined with basalt-fibre textile-reinforced mortar (TRM) jackets. The main aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of the TRM confinement scheme on cylindrical rubberised concrete specimens by examining five different mixtures (rubber content ranging from 10.5% up to 42% of the total aggregate volume), including a plain concrete reference mixture. Unconfined and confined specimens with either one or two TRM layers were subjected to monotonic axial loading. The results indicate a decrease in the compressive strength of unconfined concrete as the rubber content increased. The stress–strain curves of rubberised concrete became smoother at the peak as the rubber content increased, also exhibiting increased axial strain capacity post-peak. Rubberised concrete exhibited less brittle failure than plain concrete, accompanied by increased lateral dilation. Confinement with TRM increased the compressive strength, while also enhanced the performance in terms of toughness and axial deformation capacity compared to unconfined concrete. Overall, it is concluded that there is a promising potential for using TRM-confined rubberised concrete in applications with ductility demands and low environmental footprint specifications.