Restrained concrete shrinkage in case of strengthened bridge piers by concrete jacketing

摘要

Reinforced concrete (RC) jacketing of weak bridge pier columns is an effective retrofittingtechnique, particularly in seismic regions. The effect of restrained concrete shrinkageon the strength of concrete jackets is investigated in this study. A series of compressivetests are performed on square prism concrete specimens where steel plates are placed to representthe restrained shrinkage effect on the concrete of the jacket. Then, a numerical procedureto simulate the concrete shrinkage effect using the finite element method is proposed andresults are justified and validated using the experimental data. The results indicate that restrainedconcrete shrinkage considerably reduces the stiffness and the maximum load of thestrengthened elements.