Behavior of FRP-Confined Reactive Powder Concrete Columns under Eccentric Loading

Fiber reinforced Polymers (FRP) have widely used for the purposes of enhances strength and ductility of concrete columns. Proper design of such hybrid columns, however, requires a better recognition of the behavior of concrete columns confined with FRP. In this paper, the influence of FRP thickness, concrete compressive strength, and column size on the performance of eccentrically loaded reactive powder concrete (RPC) columns confined with FRP is investigated. In this regard, five different FRP thicknesses, three types of column sizes, and concrete compressive strength values ranging from 140 MPa to 180 MPa are considered. For this purpose, two-dimensional nonlinear finite element analyses are carried out so as to predict the behavior of FRP-confined RPC columns. OpenSees software is employed to analyze the considered columns. To validate finite element model, the numerical predictions are compared with the experimental data. The study, from a numerical point of view, derived some important relevant conclusions regarding the behavior of RPC columns confined with FRP.