Uniaxial Confinement Model for Normal-

and High-Strength Concrete Columns

This paper presents a new confinement model based on strain compatibility and
transverse force equilibrium. This new approach is capable of predicting the
effectiveness of transverse reinforcement, which is key in modeling the behavior of
high-strength concrete confined with high-yield-strength steel. The model is
validated on test results from more than 200 circular and square large-scale columns
tested under slow and fast concentric loading. In addition, results from about 50
square and circular large-scale columns tested under constant axial load and
reversed cyclic bending were also used in the assessment of the model adaptability
to seismic-type loading. All the predictions are in very good agreement with the
experimental results. The model is especially effective in assessing the effectiveness
of high-yield-strength steel.

Previous studies proved that the application of FRP can eliminate some
unwanted properties of high-strength concrete, such as the brittle behaviour
of high-strength concrete. However, research studies conducted so far on
external confinement of concrete columns have mainly concentrated on
concentric loading. This paper experimentally investigates the performance of
externally confined high-strength concrete columns subjected to eccentric
loading and evaluates the effectiveness of two confinement materials-carbon
fibre and E-glass. Plain columns were wrapped with either carbon fibre or E-
glass with different number of layers. Two reference columns were internally
reinforced and tested. The enhancement of the strength of the plain column
specimens under eccentric loading is not so pronounced as for the concrete
specimens under concentric loading, especially for the high strength concrete
specimens. However, when wrapped, the columns achieved a considerable
gain in strength compared to plain concrete columns.