Prediction of Ultimate Strain for Rectangular Reinforced Concrete Columns Confined with Fiber Reinforced Polymers under Cyclic Axial Compression

This paper investigates the crucial design parameters for the prediction of the ultimate axial compressive deformation of reinforced concrete columns externally confined with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. Numerous test results of available columns with a square and rectangular section under cyclic axial loading were gathered in an advanced database. Herein, the database is enriched with necessary design parameters in order to address the unique tensile strain field variation of the FRP jacket. Since there is a lack of consequent recording of the FRP strain field in existing experiments, three dimensional pseudodynamic finite element analyses results from several characteristic cases of tested columns are utilized to address this gap. Therefore, a hybrid experimental–analytical database is formed, including several critical FRP strains, steel strains and deformations. A modified model is proposed to predict the ultimate axial strain for reinforced concrete columns externally confined with FRP materials. The proposed model aims to address indirectly the effects of the internal steel cage, concrete section shape and of their interaction with the external FRP jacket on the critical tensile strain of the FRP jacket at failure of the column. The predictive performance of the model over the available tests of (reinforced concrete) RC columns under cyclic compression is remarkably improved when compared against the performance of other existing models. It provides predictions with average ratio (AR) of 0.96 and average absolute error (AAE) of 36.5% and therefore may contribute to safer seismic resistant redesign.