The effect of confinement method and specimen end condition on behavior of FRP-confined concrete under concentric compression

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the influence of confinement method and specimen end condition on axial compressive behavior of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)-confined concrete. A total of 12 aramid FRP (AFRP)-confined concrete specimens with circular cross-sections were tested. Half of these specimens were manufactured as concrete-filled FRP tubes (CFFTs) and the remaining half were FRP-wrapped concrete cylinders. The effect of specimen end condition was examined on both CFFTs and FRP-wrapped specimens. This parameter was selected to study the influence of loading the FRP jacket on the axial compressive behavior. In this paper the experimentally recorded stress-strain relationships are presented graphically and key experimental outcomes discussed. The results indicate that the performance of FRP-wrapped specimens is similar to that of CFFT specimens and the influence of specimen end condition is negligible.