Cyclic response of concrete members with bond-damaged zones repaired using concrete confinement

Abstract This paper presents the results of experimental investigation undertaken for evaluating the cyclic response of concrete members which have already experienced structural damage and total loss of load resistance due to splitting bond failure of the tensile reinforcement, and then repaired for upgrading their bond strength and flexural capacity. The original (intact) specimens consisted of beams reinforced with identical top and bottom spliced reinforcement and subjected to inelastic cyclic load reversals until total bond degradation and complete loss of flexural strength. The repair procedure consisted of removing the deteriorated concrete within the damaged splice zone, adding concrete confinement and casting new concrete. Three types of concrete confinement were investigated, namely, internal confinement by steel ties or wire mesh reinforcement, and external confinement by FRP laminates. It was found that repairing the bond-damaged zone through concrete confinement leads to substantial regain of flexural stiffness and strength up to or exceeding those for the original specimens, reduces the structural damage, and results in considerable improvement of the energy absorption and dissipation capacity under cyclic loading. The experimental results were discussed, and comparison between the experimental data and analytical predictions is undertaken.