Influence of loading level on the bearing capacity of RC columns strengthened by jacketing

Abstract

Compressed reinforced concrete elements are quite common in construction. An example of such elements is the columns of industrial buildings, which are loaded with eccentric force, for example, from a bridge crane, columns of multistory buildings, structures subjected to compression and bending. When the reinforced concrete structure becomes unfit to future operation, it is often more economical and easy to retrofit it than to change it for a new one. Most of these structures are influenced by certain loads and unloading the structures before strengthening is not always possible. Therefore, in this work reinforced concrete structures strengthened by jacketing are investigated. To simulate the real life conditions, the loading level of 65-70% of the not strengthened column bearing capacity was maintained during jacketing. This load level simulates the actual service load on the structure. The bearing capacity load and serviceability limit state of not strengthened and jacketed reinforced concrete columns were investigated and the experimental results are presented in this paper.