The influence of strain history and strain gradient on confined concrete

Abstract

This paper outlines the results of tests performed to study the effect of strain gradient, strain history, and initial precracking on the efficiency of confinement in reinforced-concrete columns. To this end, five reinforced-concrete specimens with closely spaced ties have been tested under combined flexure and axial load.Two of the specimens were used as control specimens, subjected only to a strain gradient. The remaining three specimens were precracked using different loading schemes and then tested under a combination of flexure and axial load. Two of these specimens were tested with repeated loading.The test results revealed that precracking lowered both the flexural rigidity and the ultimate capacity of the specimens. No significant differences were observed due to the type of loading used to initially crack the specimens. Repetition of loading did not seem to affect the ultimate capacity of the specimens.Comparison of the test results with four analytical models for confined concrete showed that the models that predicted the behaviour of the control specimens accurately, overestimated the capacities of the precracked specimens. The Thompson and Park concrete model accurately predicted the behaviour of the specimens tested with repeated loading. Key words: reinforced concrete, confined concrete, confinement, columns, cyclic loading, precracked column, experimental.