ABSTRACT
Described in this paper is a seismic retrofitting method for an existing circular steel pier column by carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), which shows extremely high tensile strength and is light in weight compared with current retrofitting materials such as concrete, steel plates etc. In the method, carbon fiber sheets impregnated with epoxy resin are fixed around the pier column to restrain the occurrence of elephant foot buckling. The retrofitting effect is verified through a cyclic loading test by using 4 small-sized specimens. It is concluded that the proposed method can control the ultimate strength and improve the ductility capacity without changing the flexural stiffness of the pier column by changing the number of the layers of CFRP. Application of the seismic retrofitting method to the existing steel pier column is also discussed.
