Finite element modeling of FRP wrapped high strength concrete reinforced with axial and helical reinforcement

The most general use of high-strength concrete is for construction of high-rise buildings. High strength concrete has highly advantageous structural properties which can lead to significant cost and also time savings in heavily loaded concrete structures. In this paper a methodology is proposed for deriving a non-linear finite element model to analyse the behaviour of high strength concrete columns wrapped with carbon-fibre-reinforced-polymer (CFRP) jackets and reinforced with axial and helical steel bars. In the finite element analysis, the material and geometric nonlinearities are taken into consideration and the results of material testing of the constituent materials (concrete, steel and FRP) are explored to set up the model. Due to lack of axis of symmetry in this complex model, creating the whole column has had the most precise result among all the alternatives which were examined to achieve an appropriate model as a representative of the true specimens. There was a good correlation between the axial load-deflection results of the experimental tests and the finite element model of the concentrically loaded columns proving the accuracy of the developed model.