Structural performance of damaged open-web type SRC beam-columns after retrofitting

Abstract

The structural performance of damaged open-web type of steel encased reinforced concrete (SRC) beam-columns after retrofitting was experimentally investigated. The experimental parameters were the open-web type of the encased steel and the maximum tip displacement of the columns during the initial loading. First, each column was cyclically loaded to the targeted displacement. Subsequently, the test columns were retrofitted and reloaded. The damaged portions of each column were retrofitted with the polymer cement mortar, and the epoxy resin was injected into the cracks. The experimental results indicated that the measured stiffness of the retrofitted columns was lower than the initial ones, while the displacements experienced in each column were different. The lower stiffness might be attributed to deterioration of the concrete rigidity, low rigidity of the resin and imperfect injection of the resin. Numerical analyses were also conducted to evaluate the retrofitted column behavior. The effect of the strain hysteresis of concrete at the first loading was considered for the behavior at the second loading. The analytical results predicted the experimental behaviors fairly well, which implies the validity of the analytical methods presented in this paper for evaluating the structural performance of the retrofitted SRC columns.