Behaviour of over-reinforced high-strength concrete beams confined with post-tensioned steel straps - an experimental investigation

This study examines the flexural behaviour of high-strength concrete (HSC) beams confined using an innovative steel strapping tensioning technique (SSTT) able to provide active confinement. Twelve over-reinforced HSC beams (fc &equals: 50 or 80 MPa) were designed to fail prematurely by concrete crushing at mid-span. The mid-span region of eight such beams was confined externally using the SSTT with different steel strap confinement ratios, the aim of which was to delay concrete crushing. The test results are discussed in terms of the failure modes, load-deflection response and the concrete and tensile reinforcement strains observed. Although the unconfined beams failed in a brittle manner with no post-peak deflection, the steel straps were very effective at enhancing the post-peak deformation of the SSTT-confined beams by up to 126 %. Moreover, for the beams tested in this study, the use of the SSTT led to failures after yielding of the tensile reinforcement. The proposed SSTT can be used to confine HSC elements where ductility is required.