Confinement effectiveness of CFRP strengthened ultra-high performance concrete cylinders exposed to elevated temperatures

Abstract

Abstract Fire-related damage is an alarming concern to reinforced concrete (RC) structures throughout their service lives. When exposed to extreme temperatures, concrete can endure severe damage. Given that a complete replacement and/or demolition of fire-damaged structures can be an economic waste, a more viable option for extending the service life of the damaged structures involves repairing or strengthening the damaged members. Due to its more efficient qualities over conventional concrete, the use of concrete, such as ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) in the building industry, has dramatically grown in recent years. However, limited information is available about the confinement behavior of the unheated and heated UHPC members, particularly when wrapped with fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP). This paper investigates the effect of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheet strengthening on the compressive strength of both UHPC and ultra-high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC). In this study, strengthening has been considered for the UHPC cylinders before and after they were subject to an elevated temperature of 400°C, and they were left to cool by air cooling. Six UHPC mixes, which were made without the use of fibers, steel fibers (SF) alone, a hybrid system of SF and polyethylene alcohol (PVA), in addition to a hybrid system of steel, PVA, and polypropylene (PP) fibers were tested. Regarding the plain and various fiber-reinforced UHPC both at room temperature and after being exposed to 400°C, the ultimate compressive strength of CFRP-confined concrete has shown an increase by 25% to 33% and 52% to 61%, respectively compared with the unheated specimens.