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Analytical Investigation on the Compressive Behaviour of CHS Tubular Columns Strengthened Using FRP Composites

Abstract

There are increasing research efforts concerning the application of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) to steel structures with very promising results. One particular researched area is the application of composite materials to hollow structural steel (HSS) tubular sections and their resulting behaviour, and the application of FRP composites to circular steel hollow section (CHS) is the focus of this study. The main objective of this investigation is to assess the feasibility of strengthening circular hollow steel tubular sections subjected to compression and to develop or predict the suitable wrapping scheme of FRP to enhance the structural behaviour of it. For this study, mild steel tubes by varying D/t ratio are considered with the main variable being FRP characteristics. Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) was considered and used as continuous sheets with several other parameters such as the number of layers and wrapping scheme. Analytical investigation has been done in this paper to predict the axial compressive strength of circular hollow steel tubes strengthened with CFRP as per the recommendations of various codes and standards. Evaluation of the results will lead to optimum FRP jacketing/wrapping arrangements for the steel tubes considered here.

V.Viveka, B. Shanmugavalli and Dr. M.C. Sundarraja

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