Experimental Study on the Steel Bar/Wire Mesh Reinforced Preplaced Aggregate Concrete Composite Strengthening of Concrete Square Columns

The authors propose a structural strengthening method combining the concepts of preplaced aggregate concrete (PAC) and steel wire mesh reinforce mortar strengthening. The steel bar/wire mesh reinforce preplaced aggreate concrete (SWPAC) composite structural strengthening is targeted at cases where large increase of structural resistance are required, sectional enlargement is restraint and hash fire protection and durability requirements. The preliminary experimental study shows that the proposed structural strengthening method is practically feasible. The strengthened structure is ductile enough to work as structural members. For thin layer strengthening, lateral confinement of the strengthening concrete would be a key topic for later investigations.