Rehabilitation of exterior RC beam-column connections using epoxy resin injection and galvanized steel wire mesh

Abstract

The efficacy of a galvanized steel wire mesh (GSWM) as an alternative material for the rehabilitation of RC beamcolumn connections damaged due to reversed cyclic loading was investigated. The repair mainly uses epoxy resin infused under pressure into the damaged zone and then confined using three types of locally available GSWM mesh. The mesh types used herein are (a) Weave type square mesh with 2mm grid opening (GWSM-1) (b) Twisted wire mesh with hexagonal opening of 15 mm (GSWM-2) and (c) welded wire mesh with square opening of 25 mm (GSWM-3). A reduced scale RC beam-column connection detailed as per ductile detailing codes of Indian Standard was considered for the experimental investigation. The rehabilitated specimens were also subjected to similar cyclic displacement. Important parameters related to seismic capacity such as strength, stiffness degradation, energy dissipation, and ductility were evaluated. The rehabilitated connections exhibited equal or better performance and hence the adopted rehabilitation strategies could be considered as satisfactory. Confinement of damaged region using GSWM-1 significantly enhanced the seismic capacity of the connections.