Seismic Behaviour of RC Columns Strengthened with Steel Bar/wire Mesh Mortar

In order to enhance the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns more efficiently, a thought to strengthen concrete columns by using steel bar/wire mesh mortar (FS) was proposed. An experimental study including five RC square columns strengthened with FS and steel bar mat mortar (S), respectively, under constant axial loading and lateral cyclic loading was carried out. Seismic bearing capacity, ductility, failure modes and hysteretic characteristics of all columns were tested, and the effect of reinforcement ratio and strengthening method to the tested columns was analyzed. The results showed that the energy dissipation capacity of FS strengthened columns was 73% higher than that of the S strengthened column, though the reinforcement ratio of the former was only 3.02% higher than that of the latter.