An investigation into the behavior and strength of reinforced concrete columns strengthened with ferrocement jackets

This study presents behavior and strength of reinforced concrete (RC) columns strengthened with ferrocement jackets. A total of six identical reference columns were prepared and tested after being strengthened with circular or square ferrocement jackets. Other than the ratio of axial load, parameters studied include the jacketing schemes, and the number of layers of wire mesh. Unless failure occurred at an earlier stage of loading, the columns were tested under cyclic lateral forces and constant axial load. Test results show that by providing external confinement over the entire length of the RC columns, the ductility is enhanced tremendously. Also, test results of this investigation revealed that the design method, proposed earlier by the authors, is very effective. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.