Innovative hybrid reinforcement constituting conventional longitudinal steel and FRP stirrups for improved seismic strength and ductility of RC structures

The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement is becoming increasingly attractive in construction of new structures. However, the inherent linear elastic behavior of FRP materials up to rupture is considered as a major drawback under seismic attacks when significant material inelasticity is required to dissipate the input energy through hysteretic cycles. Besides, cost considerations, including FRP material and construction of pre-fabricated FRP configurations, especially for stirrups, and probable damage to epoxy coated fibers when transported to the field are noticeable issues. The current research has proposed a novel economical hybrid reinforcement scheme for the next generation of infrastructures implementing on-site fabricated FRP stirrups comprised of FRP sheets. The hybrid reinforcement consists of conventional longitudinal steel reinforcement and FRP stirrups. The key feature of the proposed hybrid reinforcement is the enhanced strength and ductility owing to the considerable confining pressure provided by the FRP stirrups to the longitudinal steel reinforcement and core concrete. Reinforced concrete beam specimens and beam-column joint specimens were tested implementing the proposed hybrid reinforcement. The proposed hybrid reinforcement, when compared with conventional steel stirrups, is found to have higher strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation. Design methods, structural behavior, and applicability of the proposed hybrid reinforcement are discussed in detail in this paper. (C) Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016