18-10-2014, 04:30 PM
Abstracts: Existing reinforced concrete (RC) columns may be structurally deficient due to variety of reasons such as improper transverse reinforcement, flaws in structural design, insufficient load carrying capacity, etc. Glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) confinement can be effectively used for strengthening the deficient RC columns. The resin system used to bond the glass fabrics over the columns is an epoxy resin made of two-parts, resin and hardener. The effectiveness of FRP wrapping for RC columns mainly depend upon corner radius of the specimens as well as number of FRP layers used for the confinement. An attempt has been made hereby to investigate the experimental behavior of GFRP wrapped small scale square RC columns with varying corner radius. Experimentally evaluation behavior of GFRP wrapped RC columns will be compared with the performance observed for non-wrapped RC columns (control column). The columns will be casted by using M15 grade concrete and going to prepare mix design of concrete and design the column elements. 15 RC columns having cross-sectional dimensions 125 mm × 125 mm and length of 1200 mm will be tested under axial compression and torsion. Three columns are unwrapped and have been designated as control specimens. Three columns each with corner radius equivalent to cover of 25 mm will be wrapped with one and two layers of GFRP, respectively. To avoid a premature rupture of the GFRP composite, remaining six columns with corner radius of 5 mm will be wrapped with one and two layers of GFRP, respectively. GFRP wrapped columns go under higher axial displacement in order to gain higher compressive strength and torsion resistance over the control column. Corner radius will be keep equal to concrete cover to achieve better results in terms of ultimate load carrying capacity than the corner radius less than cover for confined RC columns. And also want to prove that smoothening of the edges of square cross-section of RC columns play a significant role in delaying the rupture of the FRP composite at the edges.