Experimental investigation of the behavior of variably confined concrete

The behavior of concrete subject to variable levels of confining pressure under concentric axial loading is presented. An extensive experimental investigation of this behavior, using FRP-confined concrete cylinders, is used to develop an understanding of the relationships required to accurately model the behavior of concrete subject to passively induced varying levels of confinement. In particular, the relationship between transverse and longitudinal strains—the dilation relationship—is investigated and a model for this behavior, based on the stiffness of the confining materials, is proposed.Concrete compressive strength is observed to increase with increasing confinement. Axial strain capacity is observed to increase to a greater degree than the compressive strength resulting in a more ductile axial stress-strain behavior for confined concrete as compared to unconfined concrete. The axial stress-strain behavior is also observed to change from parabolic to bilinear as the level of confinement is increased.