Compressive behaviour of concrete cylindrical FRP-confined columns subjected to a new sequential loading technique

This work presents the results related to the behaviour of cylindrical concrete specimens reinforced by external wrappings made of unidirectional carbon - fibre/epoxy and bidirectional glass/polyester layers. The specimens have been subjected to a new uni-axial compression technique, consisting in sequential loading of the same sample, with the rst loadstep terminated prior to failure of the column. Four types of jacketed specimens by glass fibre (GFRP), and one by a carbon fibre (CFRP) composites have been examined. The results obtained show that the CFRP-reinforced columns provide a signicant increase in ultimate compression stress compared to the GFRP-reinforced ones reinforced. The damage mechanisms of the columns wrapped by the composite layers strongly depend on the reinforcement chosen. The hybrid composite jackets proposed in this work show also a remarkable increase in compressive strength and maximum radial strains, coupled with a signicant low cost of the raw materials involved.