Effectiveness of Repair and Strengthening Methods for Reinforced Concrete Columns and Beam-Column Joints

Abstract

Currently, there are only a few common methods that can be used to strengthen reinforced concrete columns. These methods, including steel jacketing, section enlargement by concrete jacketing, and fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite wraps, were are used to strengthen 15 column specimens. The ease of application, economy and efficiency of each method are discussed and compared. In this study, three exterior reinforced concrete beam-column joint specimens were tested under reverse cyclic loading. The damaged specimens were repaired by replacing the damaged concrete and then strengthened using FRP strips. The strength was restored and deformation capacities of the strengthened specimens were much larger than those of the original specimens.