Deformational behaviour of FRP confined concrete under sustained compression

Confining concrete is an effective method to enhance the strength and ductility of reinforced concrete columns. Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are emerging as a suitable confining material to replace conventional materials such as steel and fibre-reinforced cement composites. Past research on the behaviour of FRP confined concrete in compression is considerable; however, limited research has been reported on the behaviour of confined concrete under sustained compressive loading. This paper reports the preliminary results of an experimental investigation on the deformational behaviour of carbon FRP (CFRP) confined concrete columns under sustained compressive stress levels, corresponding to 40% and 60% of the unconfined concrete compressive strength for up to 150 days. The results show that the creep of confined concrete columns is marginally influenced under moderate sustained stress/strength ratios.