Laterally Pre-stressed Concrete with Composites

A novel, economic and simple technique for the repair and strengthening of RC members by external lateral pre-stressing has been proven to perform well following experimental work undertaken at the University of Sheffield. The aim of the technique is to ensure the enhancement of the member strength and ductility by localized strengthening. The University of Sheffield has been awarded patents in Europe and USA and patent pending in Japan for this technique [1]. The above technique is equivalent to increasing the effectiveness of the composite confinement and it becomes possible to strengthen large columns with smaller amounts of composite, which are utilized earlier at much higher strengths. In addition, the level of axial strain achieved at failure is improved significantly [2]. The paper will present details of experimental work with different types of confining material (glass and carbon), amounts of reinforcement and levels of initial pre-stressing.

Keywords:

Concrete confinement , FRP reinforcement , Lateral pre-stressing , Expansive agent