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Study on Structural Retrofitting of RC Column using

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer
Ashutosh Sathe1, Prachi Laygude2, Vaibhav Pawar3, Shubham Vetal4
1
Civil Engineering, RMD Sinhgad School of Engineering, Warje, Pune, Maharashtra, India
2
Civil Engineering, RMD Sinhgad School of Engineering, Warje, Pune, Maharashtra, India
3
Civil Engineering, RMD Sinhgad School of Engineering, Warje, Pune, Maharashtra, India
4
Civil Engineering, RMD Sinhgad School of Engineering, Warje, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Abstract
Reinforced concrete columns are critical structural elements whose performance under axial
compressive loading is of importance. This experimental study Investigates the compressive
behaviour of circular and square. Reinforced concrete columns wrapped with Carbon Fibre
Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites. CFRP wrapping is an effective retrofitting
technique that enhances the strength of concrete columns. A total of 12 columns, with 6
circular and 6 squares in cross-section, were tested under axial compression load. For each
shape, 3 columns were wrapped with CFRP, while 3 were left unwrapped as specimens.
The objectives were to evaluate the influence of cross-sectional geometry and CFRP
confinement on the load-carrying capacity, failure modes. Previous research has indicated
that circular columns exhibit higher confinement effectiveness compared to square columns
due to the continuous curvature providing more uniform confining stresses. The
experimental results were critically analysed and compared with findings from relevant
literature to validate this observation. Additionally, the CFRP confinement method was
compared to other retrofitting techniques, such as concrete column jacketing in terms of
ease of application, cost-effectiveness, and performance enhancement.

Keywords: Carbon Fibre Wrapping, Column, Experimental Testing, Reinforced Cement Concrete,
Feasibility Study

Ashutosh Hemant Sathe E-mail: [email protected], Mol:9172047922

INTRODUCTION
Structural retrofitting refers to the addition and upgrade of structural components in existing
buildings, bridges and infrastructure to make them safer, stronger and more resistant to forces. It
enhances the load carrying capacity, stability, ductility, and service life of structures. Conventional
techniques for strengthening RC columns like concrete or steel jacketing have several drawbacks.
Addition of concrete jackets increases the column size and self-weight significantly. It also requires
temporary formwork support and longer construction time. Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP)
composites have emerged as an advantageous strengthening material in civil engineering applications
owing to their high strength-to-weight ratio, resistance to corrosion, excellent durability and ease of
application. CFRP is particularly suitable foraxial strengthening of RC columns because of its
confinement nature. CFRP is a new technology which is gaining traction in India for retrofitting of
structural members.

OBJECTIVES
1.) To study the effects of parameters of carbon fibre reinforced polymer composite on square and
circular shape.
2.) To compare experimental failure modes with previous research data
3.) To perform cost analysis of CFRP strengthening solutions against common alternatives

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Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP)

Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have an important application in providing confinement

to reinforced concrete (RC) columns, enhancing their load-carrying. This strengthening method is
based on the phenomenon that the axial compressive strength and ultimate axial compressive strain of
concrete can be significantly increased through lateral confinement. Externally bonding CFRP
composites onto the surface of existing RC columns through wet layup or precured laminates
provides supplemental strength and stiffness. The CFRP confines the inner concrete core and
enhances its compressive capacity. It also provides additional shear resistance. Moreover, the
reinforcement continues to function even after concrete crushing. Many previous studies have
experimentally demonstrated that CFRP wrapping significantly increases the load carrying capacity of
RC columns under axial, flexural and seismic loads. However, optimization of parameters like the
CFRP stiffness, thickness, orientation, and layout is critical to maximize the strengthening efficiency.
Various techniques have been employed to achieve confinement of columns using FRP composites.
The most common method is in-situ FRP wrapping, where unidirectional fibre sheets or woven fabric
sheets are impregnated with polymeric resins and wrapped around columns in a wet lay-up process,
with the main fibers oriented in the hoop direction. Additionally, filament winding and prefabricated
FRP jackets have also been utilized. This project aims to investigate structural retrofitting of RC
columns using externally bonded CFRP composites. The effectiveness of CFRP retrofitting will be
studied through experimental modeling of CFRP wrapped columns

CFRP confinement in Circular and Rectangular Columns

When an FRP-confined RC column is subject to axial compression, the concrete expands laterally and
this expansion is confined by the FRP. For circular columns, the concrete is subject to uniform
confinement. It has been well established that CFRP confinement is much less effective for square
columns than for circular columns, even with the rounding of corners. This is because in the former,
the confining pressure is non-uniformly distributed and only part of the concrete core is effectively
confined. Failure generally occurs at the corners by FRP tensile rupture. The stress–strain curves are
more likely to feature a descending branch, but in such cases FRP confinement normally provides
little strength enhancement. The effectiveness of confinement increases as the amount of FRP or the
corner radius increases, and as the aspect ratio of the section reduces.

Fig -1: Materials used for Experimentation

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METHODOLOGY

1.) Total 12 columns of reinforced concrete design were built to be tested on Universal Testing
Machine (UTM). The columns were casted by using steel rebars (6mm and 8mm) and M20 grade of
concrete for which 3 cubes of 150x150x150mm were tested again on UTM. 6 of the columns cast in
lab were square of size 150x150x700mm and 6 were circular columns of size 150x160x700mm. Out
the 6 square and circular columns, 3 of the columns were unwrapped while the remaining 3 were
wrapped with CFRP of 400 microns single layer by using epoxy adhesive. The reinforcement for
square and circular column were 12mm bars of main reinforcement and 8 mm bars for shear
reinforcement with appropriate cover.

Fig -2: Circular and Square Column pre-casting

The epoxy adhesive was created by using 2 layers of Primer and Saturant of Thermax company. The
primer was formed after mixing of base and hardener in proper proportion and applies over the
specimens and left to dry for 24 hours. After 24 hours the saturant was formed again by mixing base
and hardener of Thermax Company. Immediately after applying saturant, carbon fibre of 1 layer was
wrapped around the specimens before the saturant dried up.

Mix Desnity 1.11±0.03 gm/cc

Volume of Solids 88-92%
Pot life ~25 minutes
Touch Dry Time 8-12 hours

Table-1: Properties of Primer

Mix Desnity 1.40±0.05 gm/cc

Volume of Solids 100%
Pot life 60 to 90minutes
Open Time 90 to 120 minutes

Table-2: Properties of Saturant

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Fibre Orientation Unidirectional

Weight of Fibre 400-430 gm/m2
Density of Fibre 1.80 gm/cc
Fibre Thickness 0.38-0.4 mm
Ultimate Elongation 1.7%
Tensile Strength 4000 MPa

Table-3: Properties of Maxtreat Fibrenet C400

After the application, all columns were tested to find the compressive test for them to compared the
effect of shape on increase in load carrying capacity due to application of CFRP. Visual observations
were made to document failure mode like concrete cracking, CFRP debonding etc.

Fig -3: Unwrapped Square Column on UTM

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Fig -3: Wrapped Square and Circular Column failure after test

2.) For comparison with previous research data, peer research paper is used.
Notably among the research paper selected for comparison purposes are Riad Benzaid, and Habib-
Abdelhak Mesbah, “Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP
Composite: Experimental Investigation and Effective Strength Models”, Fibre Reinforced Polymers -
The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair, pp.167-201, 2013. The other research paper used by is
Zhenyu Wang, Daiyu Wang, Dagang Lu, “Behavior of Large-Scale Circular and Square RC Columns
Confined with Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer under Uniaxial Compression”, Advanced Materials
Research Vols. 163-167, pp 3686-3693, 2010

3.) For feasibility study, it was compared to another popular method reinforced
concrete column jacketing. Reinforced concrete jacketing is a method of column jacketing that
involves encasing an existing concrete column with an additional layer of reinforced concrete. This
technique is used to strengthen and increase the load-bearing capacity of the existing column. By
adding new concrete to the previous web, the structure's dimensions are increased. Additional
reinforcement could be employed to
improve the structure's strength and ductility. The new reinforcement can be diagonal bars as well as
vertical and horizontal bars that create the reinforcement mesh. The new reinforcement should be
anchored to the foundation of the structure. Placing the reinforcement in holes drilled in the
foundation and grouting it with epoxy is one method of anchoring. After solidification, the new
concrete is casted with the altered proportions and cured.

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RESULT AND DISCUSSION

1.) The testing was done after 28 days which gave the
following results:-

Column Specimen Axial Stress (Mpa)

SU1 13.73
SU2 12.53
SU3 12
SW1 18.22
SW2 16.4
SW3 16.93
CU1 8.32
CU2 7.9
CU3 8.9
CW1 15.78
CW2 16.29
CW3 16.64

Table-4: Test Results

Here, the first alphabet refers to the cross-section of the specimen, the second alphabet refers to
whether the column is wrapped or unwrapped (U for unwrapped and W for wrapped), the end number
refers to the specimen number.
The second columns has the axial stress for each specimen in Mega-Pascal (Mpa). Total 12 columns
were tested for only axial compression to plot specimen vs axial stress chart .

Chart-1: Test Results

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On average, the axial stress for unwrapped square column is 12.75 Mpa while for wrapped square
column is 17.78 Mpa. Also, for unwrapped circular column, the axial stress is 8.37 Mpa and for
wrapped circular column it is 16.23 Mpa.

2.) The above results show on average an increase for circular and square columns as 93% and
34%. The highest increase seen easily for the circular columns compared to square columns as the
confining is less effective for square columns due to sharp edges.
For comparison two research paper were chosen. Among one done by Riad (2013) shows an increase
for circular and square sections were 69% and 22% respectively for specimens of similar nature. The
specimen like our, tested showed an initial strength of 29.51 Mpa for circular column and 24.77Mpa
for square column. After wrapping of one layer carbon fibre, it showed an increase of 52% for circular
column and 11% for square column.
While, for the research paper done by Wang (2010), it shows for a similar size specimen with similar
reinforcement structure had initial strength of 25.8 Mpa for circular column and 29.9 Mpa for square
column. After one layer of wrapping, it showed an increase 100% for circular column and 18% for
square column

3.) The column jacketing is extensively used in India for retrofitting of buildings as the engineers
and workers are used to this method compared to FRP wrapping. If cost consideration is taken into
account, concrete jacketing is cheaper than carbon fibre wrapping to gain similar strength afterwards.
The carbon fibre wrapping can be as costly as 2 times the cost required for concrete jacketing due to
high price of carbon fibre and high cost of epoxy resin. Also, special highly trained workers are
needed for the application of CFRP due the nature of the product and its application method. As per
market research, the reinforced concrete jacketing method is much more cost-effective and easier to
use than CFRP wrapping in India.
It is useful to use CFRP in structures where overall maintenance time is limited and immediate
recovery of strength is important such as bridges, highly deteriorated structures due to corrosion, or
post-disaster structures as it takes half the time and half the labours than concrete jacketing. Also, it
should be considered for maintenance of structure with historical value changing its cross-section
shape or effective floor area may damage the importance of the structure. CFRP should be considered
to enhance load carrying capacity of structures where Noise and Air pollution is restricted as concrete
jacketing process involves usage of heavy machinery. CFRP also takes less space than concrete
jacketing to achieve same strength after wrapping which increases the usefulness of CFRP. In urban
area, the cost of carpet area is very high, if concrete jacketing is used to increase strength of the
structural members of a building, then the carpet area is reduced quite a lot. In our project, it took us
around Rs 1500 for CFRP materials (actual carbon fibre piece + epoxy resin). If concrete jacketing
was done to achieve similar strength (50% increase), then cost for it would have been half of it.

CONCLUSIONS
1.) CFRP wrapping significantly increased the strength of both circular and square columns
subjected to axial compression loads. The effectiveness of CFRP wrapping varies depends on the
shape of the column.
2.) CFRP wrapping on circular columns shows better results than on square columns of similar
size, similar reinforcement, and similar grade of concrete due to the confining effect. The results
showed that the increase in strength of reinforced concrete on average is 44% more than square
shaped reinforced concrete columns.
3.) Circular columns are quite rare for both residential and business/public buildings. If there are
circular columns, it is recommended to use CFRP for retrofitting rather than concrete jacketing as it
increases strength substantially due to its cross-sectional shape even when the cost of CFRP is high.
For square columns, the increase in strength is quite low so for square columns if there is no issue of
lowering carpet area (as in case of underground basement parking) then concrete jacketing can be
used. Reinforced concrete jacketing provides excellent protection against fire, impact, moisture and
chemical exposure making it suitable for columns in harsh environments.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Dr. P.M.Alandkar Head of the Civil Engineering Department RMD
Sinhgad School of Engineering Warje Pune, for their kind support and providing good infrastructure.
The authors are also grateful for her encouragement and support.

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