Experimental and numerical study of PEN FRP-strengthened circular RC columns under lateral cyclic loading with high axial compression ratio

This paper presents experimental studies and numerical simulations of circular reinforced concrete (RC) columns wrapped with Polyethylene Naphthalate fiber reinforced polymer (PEN FRP, a kind of large-rupture-strain FRP) and conventional CFRP. A total of seven columns were designed and fabricated, including a control column, three columns strengthened with CFRP, and three columns strengthened with PEN FRP. All columns were subjected to cyclic lateral load and a constant high axial load. The effectiveness of PEN FRP strengthening was systematically analyzed and discussed regarding the failure mode, displacement ductility, lateral cyclic load–displacement curve, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity. The test results indicated that the control column exhibited inferior ductility and peak lateral strength, while FRP-strengthened columns possess better energy dissipation capacity and ductility. Further study found that PEN FRP was preferred to CFRP with similar tensile stiffness in seismic strengthening. Finally, based on the cyclic compression model of LRS FRP-strengthened concrete, the improved tensile model of FRP-strengthened concrete, and the cyclic stress–strain model of reinforcing steel, numerical simulations for seismic performance were carried out in OpenSees. It was found that the numerical simulation results of all FRP-strengthened RC columns were in excellent agreement with the test results. To better understand the effect of FRP confinement stiffness on the seismic performance of circular columns, parametric analysis was performed. Results showed that the numerical simulations need to consider the buckling of longitudinal reinforcement for accurately predicting the seismic behavior of FRP-strengthened columns of lower confinement stiffness.