Experimental Studies on the Mechanical Performances of Corroded Reinforced Concrete Columns Retrofitted with FRP

Due to the superiority of high corrosion resistance of FRP materials, more and more attentions have been attracted to the retrofitting of corroded reinforced concrete (RC) columns with FRP. This paper thus presents an experimental study on mechanical performances of corroded RC columns strengthened with FRP, focusing on the effects of different corrosion rates of the reinforcements and the retrofitting scheme. The effectiveness of externally bonded FRP to the corroded RC column to increase its load capacity and ductility is tested; the mechanical performances of the strengthened columns are theoretically investigated. The results indicate that the effectiveness of retrofitting the existing corroded RC columns with FRP jackets is much more significant than that of retrofitting the newly built columns with FRP jackets and externally wrapped with FRP jackets is much more effective to improving the structural performances of heavily corroded columns.