Confining concrete cylinders using shape memory alloy wires

This study proposed a new method to confine concrete cylinders or reinforced concrete columns using martensitic, Ti-49.7Ni (at %), or austenitic, Ti-50.3Ni (at %), shape-memory-alloy wires. Prestrained martensitic SMA wire was used to wrap a concrete cylinder and, then, was heated by a heating jacket. In the process, confining stress was developed around the cylinder by the SMA wire due to shape memory effect, which can increase the strength and ductility of the cylinder under axial compressive load. For austenitic shape memory wires, some prestraining was introduced in the wires during wrapping concrete cylinders on which post-tensioning stress was generated. In this study, 1.0 mm diameter of martensitic and austenitic SMA wire was used for confinement. Recovery tests were conducted for the martensitic and the austenitic shape memory wires to determine the recovery stress and superelastic behavior, respectively. The confinement by martensitic shape memory wires had increased the strength slightly and the ductility substantially. However, the austenitic shape memory wires only increased the ductility because the imposed prestress was too small. This study showed the potential of the proposed method to retrofit reinforced concrete columns using shape memory wires to protect themselves from earthquakes.