ABSTRACT
Column is considered the most important component of a building as it conveys the total vertical loads of the building to the ground. However the member could lose its strength and stiffness due to damages occurred during its service life. Hence repair and strengthening of existing columns become major part of construction activities. Ferrocement jacketing is one of the most economical retrofitting techniques to increase the strength of reinforced concrete columns.
The experimental study was conducted on the improvement of structural performance of damaged columns using ferrocement jacketing. The work focuses on studying the following aspects of using ferrocement jackets on square and rectangular columns subjected to axial compression: (a) to study the enhancement in performance with increase in number of layers (2 & 3 layers) (b) to evaluate the efficiency of damaged columns after jacketing in terms of strength gain. A total of 12 columns were prepared for the experimental study which were loaded up to 100% of its ultimate load carrying capacity and repaired using ferrocement jacketing. The study was investigated in terms of ultimate load carrying capacities and axial deformations of rehabilitated columns. The test results indicated that repaired columns showed substantial increase in strength and restored its original strength in case of failed columns.
