Effect of cross section aspect ratio and load eccentricity on the behavior of large scale RC columns wrapped with different CFRP layers

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the effect of cross-section aspect ratio and the effect of load eccentricity on the behavior of RC short columns with large-scale specimens wrapped with external carbon fiber polymers (CFRP) using finite element. Firstly, to study the effect of cross-section, six models have been conducted with various aspect ratios defined as the depth per the width of the cross-section with a constant number of carbon fiber layers. While the behavior of each aspect ratio in both axial and transverse directions was investigated, the results demonstrate that while the CFRP jackets increase the efficiency of square sections significantly, however, CFRP jacket's effect reduces when cross-section aspect ratio becomes more than 2.0. Secondly, twelve finite element models have been built to study the effect of load eccentricity on the behavior of RC short columns wrapped with external CFRP. The results showed that external confinement can significantly increase the strength of columns under concentric loading, while the enhancement in columns under eccentric loading is not the same.