ABSTRACT

The application of composite materials has been developed in strengthening and

retrofitting of concrete structures through recent years, so that many of concrete structures
would be strengthened by these materials. One of these applications are Glass Fibre
Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) material used in strengthening and retrofitting of reinforced
concrete columns. Results of studies have shown that wrapping of reinforced concrete
columns with GFRP caused increasing of ductility and compressive strength of Reinforced
Cement Concrete(RCC) columns. Since, almost all RCC columns are affected by axial force
and moment bending. Studies of interaction curve of wrapped RCC columns with GFRP
shows that just compressive control region in interaction curve enhance and wrapping of
columns with GFRP has no affected on tension control region of RCC columns. The
objective of this research work is to enhancement axial compressive strength of RCC
columns retrofitted by GFRP system that oriented in the direction of applied axial load. The
reinforced concrete columns designed and modeled under axial load. It is demonstrated
analytically that it is possible to strengthen the compressive strength of RCC columns with
GFRP.

Page 1
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General

Retrofitting is modification of existing structures to make it more resistant to external

forces like seismic forces, wind force and vibrational forces. In case of increase in live load,
accidental loads and in excessive sever environmental conditions; we need to redesign
building as per new load combinations. Generally we have to take decision that whether to
demolish the building or retrofit it. It will depend upon the stressing level of the structure.
Also it is to be checked that retrofitting system is capable of taking increased loads or not, if
not, structure should be demolished. Many times it is seen that with some restoring measures,
building can be retrofitted and the age could be increased for some more years. Depending
upon the conditions, various methods of retrofitting can be used, but these can be chosen as
per experience. Some methods of retrofitting are by using steel plates and jacketing of steel to
structural elements, using steel bars bonded to structural elements external pre-stressing for
the bridge girders, chemical methods (filling up the cracks by chemicals or adhesives) and
using Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites bonded to surface of concrete. One of the
techniques out of these for strengthening is externally bonded glass fiber reinforced sheets
applied externally by wet layup method. Inclined GFRP sheet were used for retrofitting of
beams weak in shear. Detail study was done on orientation, width and spacing of GFRP strips
and their effect on re-strengthening of flexural members. As tensile strength of glass fiber
reinforced polymer sheet is quite good so it can be used as strengthening material in tension
face of flexural members1. Also a similar study was performed for shear strengthening of RC
beams using hybrid composite plates fabricated by using kenaf fibers and carbon fibers. It
was observed that on addition of 10% of kenaf fibers the tensile strength of hybrid composite
plate was increased up to 130% from standard carbon fiber plate2. FRP jackets made up of
glass fiber were used as strengthening material on 4.55m long beams. They used 40 mm thick
jacket for strengthening and for retrofitting. They concluded that proposed technique is
effective in ultimate and serviceability limits. These fibers are available in market in form of
sheets and they can be bonded with epoxy resin to get hardened material which possesses a
good tensile strength. FRP has been used in buildings damaged because of seismic loads or
due to creep also. It may be also beneficial in non-seismic zones too and also can be used for
Page 2
increasing the axial load caring capacity of columns which are under higher vertical loads.
Beams and slabs may be strengthened in flexure by use of FRP composites bonded to their
tension zone using epoxy as a common adhesive for strengthening purpose2. Recently an
experimental was conducted on study of structurally damaged RC beams retrofitted with help
of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) bonded externally. They concluded that there
was 23% increase in for retrofitting in shear and 7% to 33% in case of retrofitting in flexure.
The main failure mode in testing was de-bonding which reduced the effectiveness of
retrofitting. It was also recommended that numerical analysis should be done before to
predict the behavior of retrofitted beams so that suitable orientation should be selected. As
casting of slab and beams are done.

All the residential structures are designed for a certain design life depending on the
type of structure. Generally the design life of residential building is considered to be twenty
five to thirty years whereas for the public building it may vary from fifty to sixty years etc.
Elements of most of these structural are constructed with RCC. Now a day’s various factors
affect the durability of concrete and thereby the life of structure. The most important factor is
aggressive environment such as saline and chemicals. Due to these the reinforcement gets
rusted thus reducing its life. The other important factors are frequent heavy loading, impact
and disaster of various types. Retrofitting means action taken to upgrade the seismic
performance of an existing structure so that it achieves intended seismic performance level. It
includes adding of the members, shear walls, bracing, reducing loads, strengthening of
structural elements and increasing ductility of members etc.

1.2 Material for Casting of Concrete

Cement: Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 43-grade was used for casting of beams. Cement
used was confirming as per IS 8112:1989. The specific gravity was 3.15. The initial and final
setting time was 30 min and 600 min respectively.

Coarse aggregate: Locally available crushed stones, basalt stone were used for casting of
concrete. Both 10mm and 20 mm aggregates were used. The material satisfied IS 383-1970.
The specific gravity of 10mm and 20mm was 2.67 and 2.7 respectively. Water absorption
was 0.75%.

Fine aggregates: Locally available river bed sand was used as per IS: 383-1970 provision it
was in range of zone II. Specific gravity of CA was 2.6 and water absorption was 1.5%.

Page 3
Water: Tap water was used for the casting of concrete and curing of concrete. Water should
fulfill all requirements as per IS 456-2000.

Page 4
 CHAPTER 2
LITRETURE REVIEW
2.1 Lea Ghalieha, Elie Awwadb, George Saadc Helmi Khatibd, Mounir Mabsout,
‘’Concrete Columns Wrapped with Hemp Fiber Reinforced Polymer – An
Experimental Study’’2017:

Concrete confinement with Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) is a method widely used
for strengthening and rehabilitation purposes. The replacement of synthetic fibers with
natural fibers is a step to achieve a sustainable construction. In this research, an experimental
study reports the efficacy of the use hemp FRP as external confinement for concrete columns
and the effect of different parameters that may affect the structural behavior of concrete
columns confined with FRP. The test variables are: the number of confining layers, and the
columns slenderness ratio. Uniaxial compression test was done for a total number of 30
specimens. The axial stress-strain curves, structural ductility measured by fracture energy and
failure modes were analyzed. Also, the applicability of existing stress and strain models
available in the literature is checked. It was found that the number of confining layers and
columns slenderness ratio have a significant effect on the confinement effectiveness and
ductility. This study gave promising results vis-à-vis the use of natural fibers as external
confinement despite the tensile strength of hemp FRP that are significantly lower than that of
synthetic FRP.

2.2 Rohit Vasudeva and Mandeep Kaur, ‘’Retrofitting of RC Beams using Glass Fiber
Reinforced Polymer Sheets: an Experimental Study’’ 2016:

Two point symmetric loading. In this study two set of beams were cast out of those first set
was weak in flexure (A) and second was weak in shear (B). In all beams same grade of
concrete was used but with different structural detailing. In set a three beams (weak in
flexure) were cast out of which one was control beam and other two were retrofitted using
Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Sheets (GFRP) sheets in soffit of beam and till neutral axis
including soffit. In set B three beams (weak in shear) were cast out of which one was control
beam and other two were retrofitted by using GFRP sheets on sides and U-jacking at corners
respectively. Hand wet lay-up method was used for application of GFRP sheets on beam. The
retrofitting of beams was done with different amount and configuration of GRFP sheets.
Retrofitted RC beams with epoxy-bonded glass fiber reinforced sheets were tested till failure
using a symmetric two point loading system. Load, deflection, failure modes and crack

Page 5
pattern of each beam was recorded for a particular GFRP orientation. Experimental
investigation concluded that there was increase in load at initial crack and also at ultimate
failure for retrofitted beams as compare to control beams. Failure in case of set a retrofitted
beams was flexural shear failure. It was also recommended that flexural retrofitting should be
performed along with shear retrofitting. In case of set B beams failure was shifted to flexural
failure which was initially shear failure. So retrofitting in shear zones was observed most
effective. Finding: Retrofitting in shear zones was observed most effective in case of
ultimate, flexural failure and shear failure.

2.3 [Link] R Pendhari, [Link] D Sangai, ‘’ Retrofitting of Concrete

Short Column Using Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer’’ :

The experimental investigation is carried out on cubes retrofitted with glass fibre reinforced
polymer. In this experimental study the concrete with target a mean strength of 20MPa grade
is utilized. The experimental study is carried out on a short column with the specimen of sizes
100 x 100 x300 and 100 x 150 x 300 mm with aspect ratio of 1 and 1.5 respectively. The
specimens were singly and doubly wrapped with glass fibre. Thus the mechanical properties
of short column specimen with varying aspect ratio were tested under compression testing
machine. From the test result it is observed that short column specimen with double glass
fibre wrapping gives better performance as compare to single wrapped and conventional
concrete specimen. All the obtained result were tabulated and graphically presented in this
paper.

2.4 R. Sudhakar and Dr. P. Partheeban, ‘’Strengthening of RCC Column Using Glass
Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP)’’ 2017:

The application of composite materials has been developed in strengthening and retrofitting
of concrete structures through recent years, so that many of concrete structures would be
strengthened by these materials. One of these applications are Glass Fibre Reinforced
Polymer (GFRP) material used in strengthening and retrofitting of reinforced concrete
columns. Results of studies have shown that wrapping of reinforced concrete columns with
GFRP caused increasing of ductility and compressive strength of Reinforced Cement
Concrete(RCC) columns. Since, almost all RCC columns are affected by axial force and
moment bending. Studies of interaction curve of wrapped RCC columns with GFRP shows
that just compressive control region in interaction curve enhance and wrapping of columns
with GFRP has no affected on tension control region of RCC columns. The objective of this

Page 6
research work is to enhancement axial compressive strength of RCC columns retrofitted by
GFRP system that oriented in the direction of applied axial load. The reinforced concrete
columns designed and modeled under axial load. It is demonstrated analytically that it is
possible to strengthen the compressive strength of RCC columns with GFRP.

2.5 YUVARAJ ROLLI, K V MAHESH CHANDRA, ‘’AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

ON STRENGTHENING OF RC SQUARE COLUMNS BY CIRCULARIZING AND
WRAPPING WITH FRP’’ 2015:

The present study explores two methods of confining existing reinforced square (sq.) solid
segments beneath concentrically loading condition. 3 groups of 9 reinforced sq. sections were
comprised of normal quality cement. Reinforcement was kept at minimum, reproducing
sections that required retrofitting. Sections of the key group were reference (Group N),
though the sides of the second group segments (Group RF) were balanced and wrapped with
three layers of carbon-fiber polymers (CFRPs). The sides of the segments of the third (Group
CF) were guaranteed with four things of concrete, with a segmental round structure, and this
way changing the cross section of the columns from a square to a circle before every column
was wrapped with three layers of CFRP. This technique of confining sq. segments with
segmental round sections has proved to be success. Test information on stress-strain models,
load-deflection, and collapse modes were acquired. The effect of altering the sq. segment to
circle by circularizing procedure on the load carrying capacity has been included. Results
from the study demonstrated that each one confining techniques overstated the ability and
ductility of sections. Especially, segmental circular solid covers drastically lessened the strain
fixation at the corners and incremented confinement efficiency.

2.6 Giovanni Minafò, Lidia La Mendola, ‘’EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON

THE EFFECT OF MORTAR GRADE ON THE COMPRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR OF
FRCM CONFINED MASONRY COLUMNS’’ 2018:

The use of Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Mortar (FRCM) systems for structural retrofitting
of masonry structures has become increasingly popular in the last years, due to the capability
of this technique in overcoming some of the drawbacks related to the adoption of resin-based
composites. Recent studies investigated on the effect of FRCM wraps on the compressive
behaviour of concrete members and demonstrated as the application of mortar-based
composites allows increasing the strength and, above all, the ductility of the column. The
main difference with FRP confined columns is related to the different post-peak behaviour,

Page 7
characterized by a softening branch. Differently, few studies are actually available in the
literature on the efficiency of FRCM confinement in enhancing the compressive behaviour of
masonry columns. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the
effect of FRCM wraps on the compressive behaviour of calcarenite masonry columns. A
preliminary study on the mechanical performances of the strengthening layer is performed by
selecting three different mortar grades for the FRCM and testing these under flexure and
compression. Moreover, tensile tests on the glass fibre fabric and on FRCM strips are
performed to characterize the behaviour of the reinforcing system. Finally, eleven columns
are tested under concentric compression, recording the axial strain, and discussion is made on
modes of failure and gains of strength and ultimate strain.

2.7 Ali N. AL-Gemeel, Yan Zhuge, ‘’Experimental investigation of textile reinforced

engineered cementitious composite (ECC) for square concrete column
confinement’’2018:

Confining concrete elements with fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) is proven to be an efficient
technique in improving the dilation and axial performance of concrete columns. However, its
effectiveness is reduced significantly for non-circular columns. In addition, a few drawbacks
of using FRP, such as brittleness of FRP sheet and poor performance of the epoxy resins at
high or low temperatures, have been found in recently year. This paper presents a feasibility
investigation of a newly developed strengthening system, basalt fibre textile reinforced
engineered cementitious composite (ECC). Three types of basalt fibre textile were used, in
combination with ECC to confine square concrete columns. The experimental results
revealed that the new strengthening system has significantly enhanced the load carrying
capacity and ductility of square concrete columns compared to the unconfined specimens and
the specimens confined with textile reinforced mortars (TRM); the axial compressive strength
increased in the range of 54%–77% for the new strengthening system compared to 41% for
the TRM system. The results also shown that ECC itself could be used as a new retrofitting
material in column confinement.

2.8 Luca Facconi, Fausto Minelli, Ezio Giuriani, ‘’ Response of infilled RC frames
retrofitted with a cementitious fiber-mesh reinforced coating in moderate seismicity
areas’’ :

A significant number of Infilled Reinforce Concrete (RC) frame structures constructed

worldwide are not designed to withstand seismic actions. An important contribution to the

Page 8
lateral resistance of the bare frame is usually provided by weak masonry infills, whose
interaction with the frame has been frequently neglected by designers. In case low-rise
buildings placed in low seismicity areas are considered, the moderate inelastic demand
resulting from the seismic excitation allows implementing retrofitting techniques aiming at
improving the structure resistance rather than its ability to dissipate energy by inelastic
mechanisms. This paper studies a retrofitting approach aiming at exploiting the frame-to-
infill interaction by using a thin layer of mortar coating connected to the outer surfaces of the
perimeter walls of the RC buildings. The coating is applied on the existent plaster and is
reinforced with an Alkali-Resistant glass fiber mesh properly anchored to the infill. A series
of reverse cyclic tests on three hollow clay brick masonry infills, including a not strengthened
wall as well as a strengthened and a repaired specimen, was carried out. A special RC frame
provided with steel hinges at the columns edges was built to simulate flexural mechanisms
generally occurring in weakly reinforced frames. Results proved the ability of the adopted
technique to significantly improve both lateral stiffness and resistance of infills. However, the
observed behavior suggested future improvements that may lead to a further increment of the
infill capacity.

2.9 Weijie Li, Hongjun Liang, Yiyan Lu, Jifeng Xue, Zhenzhen Liu, ‘’ Axial behavior of
slender RC square columns strengthened with circular steel tube and sandwiched
concrete jackets’’2019:

Steel tube and sandwiched concrete jacketing has been proved to be effective in improving
the load-bearing capacity and ductility of deficient reinforced concrete (RC) stub columns.
However, the effectiveness of this technique for slender RC columns remains to be validated
due to instability problems. In this study, nine slender specimens, including one reference
column and eight retrofitted columns, were tested under axial compression. The experimental
results showed that the load-bearing capacity, stiffness and ductility of the slender RC square
columns were significantly enhanced. The load enhancement was not only attributed to
section enlargement, but also due to the confinement provided by the steel tube. Based on the
experimental results, a finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the structural
response of the retrofitted slender columns under axial load. The FE results demonstrated that
the sandwiched concrete shared a higher load than the steel tube for the cross-section of this
paper, justifying the use of “steel tube and sandwiched concrete jacketing”. Moreover, the
confinement effects on the load-bearing capacity of the RC part and the sandwiched concrete
part were quantitatively analysed. A modified formula was subsequently proposed to predict

Page 9
the load-bearing capacity of the retrofitted columns, the results of which agreed well with the
experimental and FE results.

2.10 Asghar Vatani Oskouei, Armin Jafari, Milad Bazli, Rasool Ghahri, ‘’Effect of
different retrofitting techniques on in-plane behavior of masonry wallettes’’ 2018:

This paper presents the results of diagonal compression tests conducted on a series of un-
reinforced and reinforced masonry specimens. Reinforced specimens were strengthened by
using three types of mortar coating (with and without inner reinforcement), mesh
reinforcement, and PP-band reinforcement. In particular, four different reinforcement
methods with mortar coating (bare mortar coating, coating with steel mesh, coating with
polymer reinforcement, and coating with GFRP mesh reinforcement), three different mesh-
only reinforcement (steel mesh, polymer mesh with larger grids, and polymer mesh with
smaller grids), and 2 different arrangements of PP-bands (4 _ 4 and 6 _ 6) were tested. Also,
two different un-reinforced specimens (with and without mortar between bricks in a row)
were tested to observe the effect of this matter. Each reinforcement method was tested with
three wallettes and the effectiveness of each reinforcement method was observed in terms of
both loading capability and ductility (especially the GFRP mesh reinforcement with mortar
coating) because of the low resistance of the unreinforced specimens. Shear stresses and
strains and the elastic characteristics of each method are also presented in this paper.

2.11 Li-Jun Ouyang1, Wan-Yang Gao2, Bin Zhen3, and Zhou-Dao Lu, ‘’ Seismic
retrofit of square reinforced concrete columns using basalt and carbon fiber-reinforced
polymer sheets: a comparative study’’ :

This paper presents results of an experimental program in which basalt and carbon fiber-
reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets are used as confining jackets to enhance the seismic
performance of square reinforced concrete (RC) columns with inadequate transverse
reinforcement. Crack patterns, failure modes, lateral hysteresis loops, displacement ductility,
energy dissipation capacity and stiffness degradations of one unretrofitted column and five
retrofitted columns are presented and discussed. The effects of the amount and type of FRP
sheets on the seismic behavior of the retrofitted columns are also examined. Experimental
results indicate that the unretrofitted column has poor ductility with brittle shear failure, while
the FRP jackets are useful in enhancing the seismic resistance of the retrofitted columns and
result in more stable hysteresis loops with improved energy dissipation capacity and lower
stiffness degradations. The columns retrofitted with BFRP sheets have equivalent or even

Page 10
superior seismic performance compared to counterparts that are retrofitted with the same
number of layers of carbon FRP (CFRP) sheets, and the material costs of the former are only
20% that of the latter. It has been demonstrated that the BFRP composites have promising
potential for use as an alternative to conventional FRPs for seismic retrofit of square RC
columns.

2.12 Aditya Singh Rajputa, Umesh Kumar Sharmaa, Kaizad Engineer, ‘’Seismic
retrofitting of corroded RC columns using advanced composite materials’’ 2019:

Investigations were undertaken to restore the seismic performance of corroded reinforced

concrete (RC) columns. Six full-scale columns were cast and tested in this study. Four
column specimens were corroded to a degree of corrosion of 30% using a pre-calibrated
corrosion regime, while two columns were kept un-corroded. Out of the four corroded
columns, three columns were retrofitted using different combinations of advanced composite
materials. Retrofitting materials comprised of high-performance fibre reinforced concrete
(HPFRC) and glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) wraps. Performance of the column
specimens was evaluated in terms of key strength and ductility indicators (displacement
ductility, curvature ductility, and energy absorption). Twoun-corroded columns consisted of
one current code compliant well-confined column and another old age underconfined column.
Corroded specimen when retrofitted with only HPFRC jacket yielded satisfactory recovery of
strength and ductility in comparison to the un-corroded under-confined column but showed
lower ductility when compared with seismically designed column specimen. Wrapping of
GFRP laminates further improved the response of the specimens regarding strength and
ductility parameters. Energy absorption was satisfactorily recovered for retrofitted columns.
The moderately steep post-peak response was the only shortcomings of these retrofitting
strategies.

Page 11
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
A. Literature Review

B. Selection of Materials

 Cement(Ordinary Portland Cement), Blast Furnace Slag, Coarse Aggregate,

Weathered crystalline Rock Sand as fine aggregate, Super Plasticizer.
C. Determination of Material Properties

 Cement:-Specific gravity, initial setting time, final setting time, standard consistency
 Glass fibre:- Physical and chemical properties, specific gravity
 Fine aggregate:- Specific Gravity, water absorption, sieve analysis, bulk density and
percentage of voids
 Coarse Aggregate:-Specific gravity, water absorption, sieve analysis, aggregate
crushing value
 Water
 Super Plasticizer
E. Laboratory Tests

 Study on fresh state properties by conducting slump and compaction factor test.
 Study of hardened state properties by conducting tests for Compressive strength and
water absorption.

Page 12
 CHAPTER 4
THEORETICAL CONTENT
4.1 General

All the residential structures are designed for a certain design life depending on the
type of structure. Generally the design life of residential building is considered to be twenty
five to thirty years whereas for the public building it may vary from fifty to sixty years etc.
Elements of most of these structural are constructed with RCC. Now a day’s various factors
affect the durability of concrete and thereby the life of structure. The most important factor is
aggressive environment such as saline and chemicals. Due to these the reinforcement gets
rusted thus reducing its life. The other important factors are frequent heavy loading, impact
and disaster of various types. Retrofitting means action taken to upgrade the seismic
performance of an existing structure so that it achieves intended seismic performance level. It
includes adding of the members, shear walls, bracing, reducing loads, strengthening of
structural elements and increasing ductility of members etc.

In this experimental work Glass fibre will be used as a retrofitting material. Glass fibers have
high strength, considering their relatively low cost. E-glass is the most commonly used glass
fibers available in the construction industry. Wherever the conventional methods of
strengthening of various element of RCC are not useful, there Fibre Reinforced Polymer
(FRP) can be used because of its lower cost of labour and equipment’s though the constituent
of FRP are costlier compared to steel and concrete.

Concrete is one of the most versatile construction materials. The same is now being used in
all types of Civil Engineering structures. Its flexibility in giving desired shape (like folded
plate, shell etc), economy and other features made it as one of the preferred building
materials. Result is that, now most of the Civil Engineering structures are made of concrete.
During the initial stage, it was thought that concrete will be a maintenance free structure.
Later on, this myth has proved wrong. Due to majority of Civil Engineering structures being
RCC and on account of its requirement of maintenance, quantum of such strengthening work
has also increased tremendously.

Page 13
There are so many strengthening procedures. Strengthening with the help of GFRP is one of
them. This is a new technique having tremendous potential. This project deals the
strengthening procedure of RCC column with the help of GFRP. Muhammad and Shamim1
(2005) investigated the effectiveness of GFRP wraps in strengthening and repairing of
damaged square concrete columns. Concluded square concrete columns externally retrofitted
by GFRP wraps and tested under axial compression and cyclic loading, simulating seismic
loads, showed pronounced un retrofitted columns. Higher ductility and improved seismic
performance can be achieved by retrofitting damaged square concrete columns with GFRP
jackets. Kumutha2 et al (2007) evaluated the effectiveness of external GFRP strengthening
for rectangular concrete columns to calculate the effect of number of GFRP layers on the
ultimate load and ductility of confined concrete. Effective confinement using GFRP sheets
resulted in improving the compressive strength. Better confinement was achieved when the
number of layers of GFRP wrap was increased, resulting in enhanced load carrying capacity
of the column, in addition to the improvement of the ductility. Nagaradjane3 et al (2007)
done an experiment on the plain concrete cylinders of 150mm diameter that was cast using
M30 grade concrete out of which five specimens were wrapped with GFRP and it was found
that the increment in strength due to the application of GFRP wraps ranged from 39.49% to
56.20%. Strengthening of Compression member using GFRP wraps contributed very much to
the increase in load carrying capacity of columns. GFRP wrapping resulted in increase of
axial strain capacity from 93.33% to 412.33% and lateral strain capacity from 785.68% to
1442.42%.Compared to the control specimen, GFRP confined specimen exhibited higher
axial and lateral strains at ultimate condition and lower axial and lateral strains before failure.
The application of GFRP confinement contributed to the increase in compressive strength as
well as ultimate strain levels in the specimens.

Cui and Sheikh4 (2010) conducted an experiment on wrapped columns and concluded that,
strength enhancement effectiveness appears to be independent of the amount of FRP when
high modulus FRP is applied. There is a minimum amount of FRP required to achieve
strength enhancement. This minimum requirement increases with unconfined concrete
strength and decreases with stiffness of FRP. Energy absorption capacity of the specimens
increased proportionally with the number of FRP layers and was more pronounced for lower
strength concrete. Antonio De Luca and Antonio Nanni5 (2011) evaluated the single
parameter methodology for the prediction of the stress-strain behaviour of FRP confined RC
square columns and concluded that, transverse/ diagonal dilation ratio -axial strain curves are

Page 14
influenced not only by the modulus of elasticity and the thickness of the jacket but also by the
fibre type. However, it is believed that the validity of the theoretical framework is
independent from the fibre type. Houssam6 et al. have investigated the behaviour of large-
scale rectangular columns and found that the higher aspect ratio resulted in a reduction in the
confinement pressure and the compressive strength of a confined column increased as the
corner radius increased. Lau and Zhou7 studied the behaviour of FRP wrapped concrete
cylinders with different wrapping materials and bonding dimensions by using the finite
element method (FEM) and other analytical methods.

Manuel and Carios8 have done tests on models of circular cylindrical columns of concrete
with GFRP jackets subjected to axial loading for different heights of cylinders and it was
found that the increase in number of layers led to an increase in the maximum load. Riad et
al.9 have investigated on square prismatic concrete column strengthened with external glass
fibre composite. It was found that the stiffness of the applied FRP jacket was the key
parameter in the design of external jacket retrofits. Shamim et al 10 have studied the seismic
behaviour of concrete columns confined with steel and FRP. It was concluded that the use of
FRP significantly enhances strength, ductility, and energy absorption capacity of columns.
Zhao and Feng12 (2003), investigated experimentally the seismic strengthening of RC
columns with wrapped CFRP sheets. The ductility enhancement with the confinement of
CFRP sheets was studied by the strain development and distribution in the CFRP sheets.
Richard D. lacobucci et al11 (2003) done an investigation on retrofit of square concrete
columns with Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) for seismic resistance. It was found
that added confinement with CFRP at critical locations enhanced ductility, energy dissipation
capacity and strength of all substandard members.

4.2 MATERIAL USED

In the concrete mix the materials usually are cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and
water. The materials used in this study for concrete mix are,

A. Cement

Cement used throughout the experimental work is ordinary Portland cement 53 grade
conforming to IS 269-1967, manufactured by Ultratech Company. The properties of cement
are given in table 1.

Page 15
 TABLE 1 Properties of Cement

B. Coarse Aggregate

Crushed stone aggregate has been used. It is a locally available with sharp, angular aggregate,
with maximum size of aggregate 20 mm. The properties of coarse aggregate are given in
table 2.

TABLE 2 Properties of Coarse Aggregate

C. Fine Aggregate

The sand used for the experimental work was locally procured and conformed to grading
zone III. Sieve Analysis of the Fine Aggregate was carried out in the laboratory as per IS
383-1970. While the fine aggregate shall conform to the grading zone III. The properties of
fine aggregate are given in table 3.

Page 16
 TABLE 3 Properties of Fine Aggregate

D. Water

Fresh and clean water is used for casting the specimens in the present work. The water is
relatively free from organic matter, silt, oil, sugar, chloride and acidic material etc as per
Indian standard.

E. Glass Fibre

E-glass is the most commonly used fibre. It has high electrical insulating properties, good
heat resistance, and has the lowest cost. GRP material is used for its high mechanical
strength, light weight, corrosion and temperature resistant properties, thermal insulation,
smooth internal surface, easy to form complex shapes, ease of repair and its cost
effectiveness. Basically, GRP consists of thermosetting resins and glass fibre.

Page 17
4.3 HISTORY OF GFRP
First developed in the mid 1930's, Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) has become a
staple in the building industry. Originally used merely for the construction of parts, in 1967,
the architectural advantages were discovered with the attempted destruction of Disneyland's
"House of the Future." Built in 1956-7, the futuristic house was built entirely of fiberglass,
and when the attraction was no longer deemed necessary, it was scheduled to be destroyed in
1967. Amazingly, the wrecking ball merely bounced off the structure, and the possibilities for
GFRP were recognized and began to grow. By 1994, nearly 600 million pounds of composite
materials were used in the building industry. Today, Stromberg Architectural provides a
variety of products in GFRP to fit your building needs and aesthetic vision.
4.3.1 Applications
GFRP can be used for both interior and exterior fixtures in a variety of shapes, styles, and
textures; in new buildings or restorative projects.
 Domes
 Fountains
 Columns
 Balustrade
 Planters
 Panels
 Sculpture
 Entryways
 Mouldings
 Facades
 Cornice
 Porticos
 Cupolas
 Signs
 Roofs
4.3.2 Why to use GFRP?
 High Strength
GFRP has a very high strength to weight ratio
 Lightweight
Low weights of 2 to 4 lbs. per square foot means faster installation, less structural
framing, and lower shipping costs
 Resistance
Resists salt water, chemicals, and the environment - unaffected by acid rain, salts, and
most chemicals

Page 18
  Seamless Construction
Domes and cupolas are resined together to form a one-piece, watertight structure
Able to Mold Complex Shapes
Virtually any shape or form can be molded
Low Maintenance
Research shows no loss of laminate properties after 30 years
 Durability
Stromberg GFRP stood up to category 5 hurricane Floyd with no damage, while
nearby
structures were destroyed

4.4 TEST TO BE DONE

Test to be done on specimen are Axial Compression Test and Cyclic loading Test.
Experiments will be conducted on six, one-third scaled columns. The height of the column is
1000mm and of 100 mm x100 mm size. Column will be made with M20 grade concrete and
Fe- 415 grade steel will be used for longitudinal reinforcements and Fe-250 grade steel will
used for stirrups and lateral ties. The size of the column and the beam are 100 x 100 mm and
100 x 200mm, respectively. The columns will be longitudinally reinforced with 4 Nos. of
8mm diameter bars and laterally tied with 6mm diameter bars placed at 100 mm c/c. The
same reinforcement will be provided for beams also. One specimen without wrapping of
GFRP will be casted. Then three specimens will be jacketed externally by 2, 4 and 6 layers of
GFRP sheets. Before jacketing the specimens with GFRP sheets, a surface preparation will be
carried out, which included cleaning, forming one layer of epoxy-polyamine primer and one
layer of epoxy putty, then epoxy adhesive will be used for bonding GFRP sheets on the
specimens. Additional layers of epoxy adhesive were applied between GFRP sheets.

Table 1. Details of the wrapping of columns.

Page 19
 No. of GFRP layers

Sl. No. Specimen Identification

1 GFC 0 0

2 GFC 1 2

3 GFC 2 4

4 GFC 3 6

4.5 TEST SETUP

The test set up consist of a reaction frame, a hydraulic actuator of capacity 200 kN with a
stroke length of ± 100mm and a loading frame with hydraulic jack of 50 kN to apply loads to
the test specimens. 50 kN hydraulic jacks will be used to apply constant axial compressive
load and 200 kN actuator will be used to apply reversed cyclic load on the specimens. A steel
reaction frame will be used to support the 200 KN actuator providing lateral load to the
specimen. Instrumentation included Linear Voltage Differential Transducers (LVDT) for
lateral displacement measurement at the top of the column and one load cell attached to the
actuator will be used for the measurement of cyclic lateral loads. A loading frame will be
used to apply a vertical constant axial load through steel rollers placed with the support of
steel plates in between the jack and column head. The vertical load will be chosen to a design
compression rate of RC axial resistance found in the analysis.
The axial compression causes the specimen to experience shear stress and bending. Shear
force in beam acting perpendicular to its longitudinal (x) axis. For beam ability to resist shear
force is more important than its ability to resist an axial force. Axial force is the force in the
beam acting parallel to the longitudinal axis.

FUTURE WORK

Page 20
Specimen Details:
The height of the column is 1000mm and of 100 mm x100 mm size. Column will be made
with M20 grade concrete and Fe- 415 grade steel is used for longitudinal reinforcements and
Fe-250 grade steel is used for stirrups and lateral ties. The size of the column and the beam
are 100 x 100 mm and 100 x 200mm, respectively. The columns are longitudinally reinforced
with 4 Nos. of 8mm diameter bars and laterally tied with 6mm diameter bars placed at 100
mm c/c. The same reinforcement was provided for beams also. Three specimens will jacketed
externally by 2, 4 and 6 layers of GFRP sheets and one specimen without GFRP.
Lateral Load versus Lateral Displacement Curve:
The variation of lateral displacement with that of the lateral load will be plotted for all the
specimens. From the load-displacement curves we can observe the failure of load with the
corresponding displacement.
Analytical Study using ANSYS.
An analytical study will be conducted by using the finite element package ANSYS. An eight-
node solid element, SOLID65, will be used to model the concrete. The solid element has
eight nodes with three degrees of freedom at each node – translations in the nodal x, y, and z
directions. The element is capable to undergo plastic deformation, cracking in three
orthogonal directions, and crushing. A LINK8 element will be used to model the steel
reinforcement. Two nodes are required for this element. Each node has three degrees of
freedom, – translations in the nodal x, y, and z directions. The element is also capable of
plastic deformation. A layered solid element, SOLID46, will be used to model the FRP
composites. The element allows for up to 100 different material layers with different
orientations and orthotropic material properties in each layer. The element has three degrees
of freedom at each node and translations in the nodal x, y, and z directions. The ultimate
displacements for the original and jacketed columns obtained from the experimental and
analytical

This Project further work is to do an experimental and analytical investigation conducted to

assess the behaviour of beam-column wrapped with GFRP

REFERENCES

Page 21
 Lea Ghalieha, Elie Awwadb, George Saadc Helmi Khatibd, Mounir Mabsout,
‘’Concrete Columns Wrapped with Hemp Fiber Reinforced Polymer – An
Experimental Study’’2017.
 Rohit Vasudeva and Mandeep Kaur, ‘’Retrofitting of RC Beams using Glass Fiber
Reinforced Polymer Sheets: an Experimental Study’’ 2016.
 [Link] R Pendhari, [Link] D Sangai, ‘’Retrofitting of Concrete Short
Column Using Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer’’.
 R. Sudhakar and Dr. P. Partheeban, ‘’Strengthening of RCC Column Using Glass
Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP)’’ 2017.
 YUVARAJ ROLLI, K V MAHESH CHANDRA, ‘’AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
ON STRENGTHENING OF RC SQUARE COLUMNS BY CIRCULARIZING
AND WRAPPING WITH FRP’’ 2015.
 Giovanni Minafò, Lidia La Mendola, ‘’EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON
THE EFFECT OF MORTAR GRADE ON THE COMPRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR OF
FRCM CONFINED MASONRY COLUMNS’’ 2018.
 Ali N. AL-Gemeel, Yan Zhuge, ‘’Experimental investigation of textile reinforced
engineered cementitious composite (ECC) for square concrete column
confinement’’2018.
 Luca Facconi, Fausto Minelli, Ezio Giuriani, ‘’ Response of infilled RC frames
retrofitted with a cementitious fiber-mesh reinforced coating in moderate seismicity
areas’’.
 Weijie Li, Hongjun Liang, Yiyan Lu, Jifeng Xue, Zhenzhen Liu, ‘’ Axial behavior of
slender RC square columns strengthened with circular steel tube and sandwiched
concrete jackets’’2019.
 Asghar Vatani Oskouei, Armin Jafari, Milad Bazli, Rasool Ghahri, ‘’Effect of
different retrofitting techniques on in-plane behavior of masonry wallettes’’ 2018.
 Li-Jun Ouyang1, Wan-Yang Gao2, Bin Zhen3, and Zhou-Dao Lu, ‘’ Seismic retrofit
of square reinforced concrete columns using basalt and carbon fiber-reinforced
polymer sheets: a comparative study’’.
 Aditya Singh Rajputa, Umesh Kumar Sharmaa, Kaizad Engineer, ‘’Seismic
retrofitting of corroded RC columns using advanced composite materials’’ 2019.

Page 22