Retrofitting of Reinforced Concrete Columns under the Blast Using Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Wraps

Explosion caused by massive and congested explosives around a building can have catastrophic effects, causing damage and destruction to buildings, as well as injuries to residents. However, the effect on residential buildings will be far more devastating because these structures are designed only against the force of an earthquake. Using concrete structures and reinforced concrete moment frame systems in modern building is being more common nowadays. Also columns are the most important structural elements against blast loading. According to these facts, the aim of this study is investigating RC column's behavior precisely and retrofitting them under the blast loading. At first, the blast simulation and modeling of RC columns have been presented by ABAQUS finite element software and the accuracy of the presented modeling method is evaluated using experimental results. Then, by applying nonlinear dynamic analysis, reinforced and unreinforced columns are compared based on the maximum deflection parameters and stress values in rebar. Various forms of the FRP wraps are tested, during the finite element modeling, in order to find the best retrofitting strategy.