Concrete Columns Strengthened with Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM)

Since concrete structures are subjected to degradation, one of the newly retrofitting system used to increase both the strength and the overall ductility is based on the Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) composite material. FRCM system was proposed as an enhanced alternative to the traditional fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) jacketing, overcoming the limitations related with the use of organic adhesives. After a brief state of art about the FRCM system, the paper presents an analytical study on the confinement of plain concrete columns with FRCM composites. Representative analytical models are selected from the technical literature, and the predictions of the maximum compressive strength are compared with respect to the reference experimental results. Four plain concrete columns strengthened with FRCM system, which were previously tested by the authors, were used for this analytical study. Slightly different strength of concrete materials and different number of FRCM layers (one-layer and two-layer) differentiate the reference specimens. Therefore, the capability of the selected analytical models to make close predictions when changing the base material and the number of FRCM layers was evaluated. Recommendations are made based on the comparative results.