COMPRESSIVE STRENGH OF FRP-CONFINED CONCRETE COLUMNS UNDER THE ECCENTRIC LOADS

In recent years, due to some excellent properties of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, the use of FRP sheets for strengthening the weak concrete columns have become increasingly popular. Axial loading is the basic assumption in most of the models that are presented for estimating the compression strength of confined concrete columns. However a large number of weak concrete columns in the bending frames are under the combination of both axial and flexural loads. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the effects of eccentricity of load on the compressive strength of concrete columns confined by FRP sheets. This research shows that the eccentricity of compression load affects decreasingly the performance of confining FRP jacket in confined columns.