Progressive Collapse Resistance of GFRP Strengthened RC Substructures under a Column-Removal Scenario

In reinforced concrete (RC) structures, the sudden failure of a column is likely to cause severe progressive collapse due to the relatively weak tie force from the surrounding elements. Therefore, some effective strengthening measures can be used to improve the progressive collapse behavior of the structures. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been widely used in retrofitting the RC structures because of its advantages such as high strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, etc. Thereby, in this paper the progressive collapse behaviors of the glass-FRP (GFRP) strengthened RC substructures subject to a column-removal scenario were studied. A quasi-static experimental method was adopted to test the progressive collapse behavior of the substructures including control specimen and strengthened specimens. The influences of the strengthening schemes on the behavior of the tested specimens were studied by comparing all the test results. The experimental results demonstrate that the strengthening technology can enhance the progressive collapse resistance of the RC structures.