Interface treatment in shotcrete jacketing ofreinforced concrete columns to improve seismic performance

An investigation of the effectiveness of the interface treatment when column concrete jacketing is performed is presented. Alternative methods of interface connection were used in order to investigate the performance of strengthened concrete columns. These connecting techniques involved roughening the surface of the original column, embedding steel dowels into the original column and a combination of these two techniques. The experimental program included three strengthened specimens, one original specimen (unstrengthened) and one as-built specimen (monolithic). The specimens represented half height full-scale old Greek Code (1950?) designed ground floor columns of a typical concrete frame building. The jackets of the strengthened specimens were constructed with shotcrete. All specimens were subjected to displacement controlled earthquake simulation loading. The seismic performance of the strengthened specimens is compared to both the original and the monolithic specimens. The comparison was performed in terms of strength, stiffness and hysteretic response. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the strengthening methods and indicate that the proper construction of a jacket can improve the behaviour of the specimens up to a level comparable to monolithic behaviour. It was found that different methods of interface treatment could influence the failure mechanism and the crack patterns of the specimens. It was also found that the specimen that combined roughening with dowel placement performed the best and all strengthened columns were better at dissipating energy than the monolithic specimen.