Identifier

etd-11152012-103115

Degree

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have found extensive applications in the field of Civil Engineering due to their advantageous properties such as high strength-to-weight ratio and high corrosion resistance. This study presents a simple and efficient frame finite element (FE) able to accurately estimate the load-carrying capacity and ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) circular columns confined with externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) plates and/or sheets. The proposed FE considers distributed plasticity with fiber-discretization of the cross-sections in the context of a force-based (FB) formulation. The element is able to model collapse due to concrete crushing, reinforcement steel yielding, and FRP rupture. The frame FE developed in this study is used to predict the load-carrying capacity of FRP-confined RC columns subjected to both concentric and eccentric axial loading. Numerical simulations and experimental results are compared based on experimental tests available in the literature and published by different authors. The numerically simulated responses agree well with the corresponding experiment results. The outstanding features of this FE include computational efficiency, accuracy and ease of use. Therefore, the proposed FE is suitable for efficient and accurate modeling and analysis of RC columns confined with externally retrofitted FRP plates/sheets as for parametric studies requiring numerous FE analyses.

Date

2012

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Barbato, Michele

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1712

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