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A new steel jacketing method for RC columns

Article  in  Magazine of Concrete Research · January 2009

DOI: 10.1680/macr.2008.61.10.787

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 ACI STRUCTURAL JOURNAL
Title no. 107-S64
Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Columns Confined by
New Steel-Jacketing Method
by Eunsoo Choi, Young-Soo Chung, Joonam Park, and Baik-Soon Cho
This paper introduces a new steel-jacketing method for reinforced
concrete (RC) columns using external pressure. Experimental tests
of concrete cylinders and RC columns are performed to assess the
effectiveness of the proposed method. Single- and double-layered
jackets are introduced. The newly jacketed cylinders show good
results in terms of increasing the compressive strength and
ductility compared to plain cylinders. The double-layered jackets
are estimated to show equal performance to that of a single steel
jacket having the same thickness as the double-layered jacket. Four
columns are prepared and two of them are confined by steel jackets
with external pressure; one is a single-layered jacket and the other
is a double-layered jacket. The proposed steel-jacketing method
increases the ductility of lap-spliced RC columns. The double-
layered jacketed column produces more ductile behavior than the
single-layered jacketed column.
Keywords: external pressure; grouting; reinforced concrete columns;
seismic retrofit; steel jacket.
INTRODUCTION
In South Korea, many reinforced concrete (RC) bridge
piers were constructed using lap splicing with starter bars
projecting above the foundation before the seismic design
code of the Korea highway bridge design specification
(KHBDS) enacted in 1992. Even after the implementation of
the KHBDS, some bridges were constructed with the lap-
spliced connections because their designs had been
completed before the implementation (Chung et al. 2008). It
is known that spliced reinforcement with short splice lengths
and inadequate confinement in the critical region, including
the base of bridge piers, can allow splitting bond failure that
leads to stiffness degradation, loss of energy dissipation
capacity, and low deformation capacity (Harajli 2008;
Chung et al. 2004). Since the first steel-jacketing method
(Chai et al. 1991) as a seismic retrofitting technique was
introduced, external confinements of steel and fiber-
reinforced polymer (FRP) have been recognized as a very
effective means to improve the performance of the lap-
spliced region of RC columns. Each of the existing external
jacketing methods has strong and weak points. Concrete and
steel jackets are very effective for improving the ductility of
bond failure at lap-spliced points. It is inconvenient,
however, to install such jackets on RC columns because
doing so requires using scaffolds and allowing for the curing
of the concrete in concrete jackets or for curing the grout
between the steel and the concrete when using steel jackets.
Additionally, concrete jackets increase the sectional area of
a column; and steel jackets produce sectional discontinuity
because they are installed only around critical sections of a
column. FRP jackets have several advantages over steel and
concrete jackets: 1) ease of installation; 2) no increment of
the cross section of RC columns; and 3) no increment of the
flexural or shear stiffness of the structure, which were found
654
TECHNICAL PAPER
by Harajli and Dagher (2008) to be significant characteristics
for seismic rehabilitation. Increased stiffness reduces the
fundamental period of the structure and increases the applied
seismic load. The FRP jackets are probably preferred in
practice due to the aforementioned benefits (Pantelides et al.
2004; Pantelides et al. 2007). The price of FRP jackets,
however, is generally higher than that of concrete or steel
jackets. Also, FRP jackets use adhesives such as epoxy to
attach themselves to the concrete surface. The adhesive has
been proven to reduce the effectiveness of jackets on
concrete cylinders because it generates a thin gap between
the concrete and the jacket (Choi et al. 2009).
This study proposes a new steel-jacketing method that
uses the external application of lateral pressure to attach steel
jackets on the surface of columns. The proposed method
does not require the application of grout between the steel
jackets and the concrete surface to attach them together.
Compressive tests of concrete cylinders and a bending test of
RC columns confined by steel jackets were conducted
following the application of the proposed method to assess
the effectiveness of the technique.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
The objective of this study is to propose a new steel-
jacketing method for RC columns without grouting. The
method is not expected to produce the composite behavior
between steel jackets and concrete in the conventional
methods and thus can solve the problem of increasing the
lateral stiffness of steel jacketed columns. The new method
also offers the following advantages: 1) no increase in the
cross section of RC columns; 2) no use of an adhesive, such
as epoxy; and 3) allows for installation of steel jackets at any
position of a column (bottom, middle, or top).
CONCRETE CYLINDERS TEST AND RESULTS
Twelve concrete cylinders of 150 x 300 mm (Φ x H; 6 x
12 in.) were fabricated with a design strength of 24 MPa
(3.48 ksi). A steel jacket and lateral strip bands were used to
confine a cylinder, as shown in Fig. 1(a). The dimensions of
each jacket were 290 mm (11.4 in.) in height and 480 mm
(18.9 in.) in width. The height of the steel jacket was less
than that of the concrete cylinders, which guaranteed that no
compressive force would be transferred to the steel jackets.
The width of the jacket was larger than the perimeter of the
cylinder by 10 mm (0.394 in.) to allow the jacket to wrap
ACI Structural Journal, V. 107, No. 6, November-December 2010.
MS No. S-2008-239.R7 received April 7, 2009, and reviewed under Institute publication
policies. Copyright © 2010, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including the
making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright proprietors. Pertinent
discussion including author’s closure, if any, will be published in the September-October
2011 ACI Structural Journal if the discussion is received by May 1, 2011.
ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010
Eunsoo Choi is an Assistant Professor at Hongik University, Seoul, Korea. He
received his BS and MS from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, and his PhD from the
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. His research interests include the
application of shape memory alloys for civil structures, seismic retrofits for reinforced
concrete columns, and fragility analysis to assess seismic performance of structures.

Young-Soo Chung, FACI, is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering,

Chung-Ang University, Korea. He received his PhD from Columbia University, New
York, NY, in 1988. His research interests include the seismic analysis and design of
reinforced concrete structures, especially for concrete bridge structures, concrete
structural design code, damage assessment, and reliability.

Joonam Park is a Senior Researcher at Korea Railroad Research Institute. He

received his BS from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, and his MS and PhD from the
Georgia Institute of Technology. His research interests include seismic retrofit of
concrete structures, concrete air-tightness, and seismic-risk analysis.

Baik-Soon Cho is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and

CMRC, Inje University, Gimhae, Korea. He received his PhD from the Georgia
Institute of Technology. His research interests include experimental and analytical
research in the use of FRP composite and other advanced materials for the
strengthening and repair of concrete structures and the application of composite
materials to civil engineering.

completely around the cylinder and slightly overlap itself.

The new jacketing procedure is explained in a previous study
as follows: 1) wrap a jacket around a cylinder; 2) press the
jacket with clamps; 3) weld the overlap line; and 4) weld
lateral strip bands crossing the welding line (Choi et al.
2009). The lateral strip bands were used to prevent the failure
at the welding line because it proved to be a weak point in the
previous tests, and the clamp used to introduce lateral
pressure on the steel jackets had two horse-hoops at the tip
(Choi et al. 2009).
The thicknesses of the jackets were 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mm
(0.0394, 0.0591, and 0.0788 in.); the volumetric ratios of the
steel jackets were 0.0133, 0.002, and 0.0267, respectively.
The yield strength of the steel jackets was 400 MPa (58.0 ksi).
The 2.0 mm (0.0788 in.) jacket consisted of two 1.0 mm
(0.0394 in.) jackets; this arrangement is referred as a double-
layered jacket hereafter. The goal of the test was to check
whether: 1) a jacket increases the strength and the ductility of
the confined concrete; and 2) a double-layered jacket functions
comparably to a single-layered jacket of the same thickness.
A series of compressive tests for plain and jacketed
cylinders was performed. A displacement transducer located
between two rigid plates was used to measure the axial
deformation of compressed cylinders. The axial strains of
the cylinders were calculated from the axial deformation
divided by the original length of the cylinders. The stress-
strain curves of the three plain and nine jacketed cylinders
are shown in Fig. 1(a). The average peak strength of the three
plain cylinders was 27.8 MPa (3.89 ksi). The corresponding
values for the 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mm (0.0394, 0.0591, and
0.0788 in.) jacketed specimens were 39.3, 44.7, and 49.8 MPa
(5.74, 6.48, and 7.22 ksi), respectively, and the increments of
the strength were 47.8%, 66.8%, and 85.8%, respectively.
The proposed steel-jacketing method was effective to
increase the peak strength and the ductility of the confined
concrete. Figure 1(b) shows the peak strengths of the
jacketed cylinders versus the thickness of the jackets. The
solid triangles in the figure represent the mean peak
strengths of the three types of jacketed cylinders. The linear
regression of the three mean peak strengths shows nearly a
perfect linear relationship between the peak strength and the
jacket thickness. Confinement effectiveness is expressed as
the ratio of the peak strength of confined concrete to that of
plain concrete. Thus, the result proves that the double-
Fig. 1—Compressive test results of confined cylinders by
steel jackets. (Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.; 1 MPa = 145 psi.)
layered jacket consisting of two 1.0 mm (0.0394 in.) jackets
works as a single jacket of 2.0 mm (0.0788 in.) thickness.
Figure 2 shows the vertical and the circumferential strain
of the steel jackets versus the applied stress. Both strains
were measured at the middle of the jacketed cylinders. The
vertical strains of the steel jackets are almost undeveloped
until the axial strain reaches 0.0045, which means that the
steel jackets do not behave compositely with the concrete
cylinders in the axial direction. In other words, the concrete
inside the steel jacket slips the steel surface during the
compressive test. The vertical strains of the steel jackets are
not from the compression but from the bulge of the concrete.
Thus, the vertical strains show the same tracks as the
circumferential strains that are apparently from the bulge of
the concrete.
RC COLUMN TESTS
Test specimens
Four circular columns, each 400 mm (15.7 in.) in diameter
and 1100 mm (43.3 in.) in height, were fabricated with a
ratio of 3.5, as can be seen in Fig. 3; they were designed
following the pre-1992 design code of KHBDS. Each
column was fabricated with 16 D13 longitudinal bars, and
D6 bars were used for the transverse reinforcement. The
space between the transverse reinforcements was 130 mm
(5.12 in.). The measured yield strength of the longitudinal

ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010 655

Fig. 2—Vertical and circumferential stress-strain curves of
cylinders confined by steel jackets. (Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.;
1 MPa = 145 psi.)
reinforcements was 325 MPa (47.1 ksi). The cover concrete
of the specimens was 40 mm (1.57 in.) and the center-to-
center distance of the longitudinal bars was 67 mm (2.64 in.).
Three of four circular columns had a 50% lap splice of the
longitudinal reinforcements from starter bars projecting
from the foundation, and two of three columns were jacketed
by a single-layered (1.0 mm [0.0394 in.]) or a double-layered
steel (2.0 mm [0.07874 in.]); these columns are indicated as
Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB for the unjacketed and
Specimens RC-N-SP50-UB1 and RC-N-SP50-UB2 for the
jacketed specimens in Table 1. The 50% lap splice means
that half of the 16 bars were spliced from the starter bars. The
length of the lap splice was 200 mm (7.87 in.). The remaining
column was constructed without the lap splice to compare the
results with those of the others; the unspliced column is
indicated as Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB in Table 1. The
maximum aggregate size was 9 mm (0.354 in.) and the
design compressive strength was 24 MPa (3.48 ksi).
Seismic retrofit
Two of the three lap-spliced test specimens were retrofitted
with steel jackets. The required thickness and the length of
656
Fig. 3—Details of RC column. (Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.)
the steel jackets can be calculated using Eq. (1) from
Priestley et al. (1996)
0.18 ( ε cm – 0.004 )Df cc′
t j = -------------------------------------------------------
- (1)
f yj ε sm
where tj is the jacket thickness, fyj is the yield stress, εsm is
the strain at maximum stress, fcc′ is the compression strength
of the confined concrete, D is the diameter of the column,
and εcm is the maximum required compression strain.
The length of the jacket can be obtained as maximum (D;
0.25L), where D and L are the diameter and L is the diameter
and the length of the column, respectively.
Equation (1) is based on the assumption that the increase
in energy absorbed by the concrete resulting from
confinement is equal to the strain-energy capacity of the
transverse steel as it is trained to peak stress. Also, the
ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010
Table 1—Description of column specimens
Longitudinal reinforcement
Diameter/ No. of bars/
Specimen height, mm volumetric steel ratio
RC-N-SP00-NUB
RC-N-SP50-NUB D = 400 No. 16-D13
RC-N-SP50-UB1 H = 1400 ρs = 1.61%
RC-N-SP50-UB2
Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.
equation has been built by considering the confined section
under axial compression. Thus, when used for the sections
subjected to bending or combined bending and axial
compression, it tends to be conservative.
The calculated thickness and length of the jacket are
1.425 and 400 mm (0.0561 and 15.7 in.), respectively. In
this study, 1.0 mm (0.0394 in.) thickness stainless steel
plates were used for the jackets; the corresponding
volumetric ratio was 0.005. Thus, one column was jacketed
with 1.0 mm (0.0394 in.) steel plate (Specimen RC-N-SP50-
UB1) and the other was jacketed with a 2.0 mm (0.0788 in.)
plate consisting of two 1.0 mm (0.0394 in.) steel plates
(Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2) whose volumetric ratio was
0.01; the second jacket represents the double-layered jacket.
Both of the columns were jacketed 400 mm (15.7 in.) above
the top of the footing. The yield stress of the steel jacket was
measured experimentally as 236.7 MPa (34.3 ksi).
The jacketing procedure for the RC columns was similar to
that for the concrete cylinders. Turnbuckles and steel bands
were used instead of clamps to introduce the external pressure
on the steel jackets, as shown in Fig. 4. A total of four
turnbuckles were installed at the top and the bottom of the
steel jackets and turn-rolled out. The developed external
forces from each turnbuckle were measured as varying from
2.0 to 6.0 kN (0.450 to 1.349 kips); thus, the average force
was 4.0 kN (0.90 kips). Under that external pressure, the
overlap line of each steel jacket was welded, and then five
lateral strips were welded to reinforce the welding line. For
the double-layered jacket (Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2), the
lateral strips were used only on the outside jacket.
Test setup, instrumentation, and loading pattern
Because the test columns were cantilevers, the test setup
was established for a combination of axial and lateral
loadings using column-footing assemblages. The two loads
were assigned independently. A constant axial load of
0.1fc′Ag was applied by stressing a pair of high-strength steel
rods against the reinforced strong floor via a loading frame.
Chai et al. (1991) used the axial load of 0.171fc′Ag in their
column tests and, thus, the axial load in this study was
relatively low. Cyclic lateral loads were applied by a 2000 kN
(449.6 kips) hydraulic actuator mounted on the shear wall. All
columns were instrumented to measure displacements and
their corresponding loads and strains. A quasi-static load
was applied at the top of the columns under displacement
control. A lateral load was applied in the form of a drift ratio
starting from ±0.25% that was first increased to ±0.5%,
which was then increased by 0.5% increments up to failure.
Each drift ratio was applied twice. The drift ratio was
calculated as the ratio of input displacement to column
height of 1400 mm (55.18 in.).
ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010
Transverse reinforcement
Volumetric
confinement Space,
Lap splice, % steel ratio mm Steel jacket
0 —
50 —
ρs = 0.27% 130/130
50 1 mm
50 1 mm x 2
Fig. 4—Jacketing procedure of RC column: (a) as-built
column; (b) apply external pressure on steel jacket; (c) weld
overlap line; and (d) weld lateral strip bands.
TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSSION
General behavior and failure mode
In general, the first flexural crack in all unjacketed
specimens developed at a point 700 mm (27.6 in.) from the
base of the column when the lateral drift ratio reached 0.5%.
For the unjacketed column with lap spliced reinforcements
(Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB), a vertical crack appeared at
the drift ratio of 1.0%, and a crack developed at the support
footing at the drift ratio of 1.5% due to the splitting of the
lap-spliced reinforcements. It seems that splitting bond
failure at the drift ratio of 2.5% induced cover-concrete
spalling along the splice length, and the test was completed
at this point. For the unjacketed column with continuous
reinforcements (Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB), the first
vertical crack was formed at the drift ratio of 2.0% and the
cover concrete spalled off at the drift ratio of 3.0%. In tests
of the unjacketed columns, vertical cracks were initiated at
the column base and then propagated upward as the lateral
drift increased. Meanwhile, a fracture of a longitudinal
reinforcement occurred at the drift ratio of 6.0%.
Figures 5(a) and (b) show the failure modes of the
unjacketed column specimens. A typical flexural failure is
observed due to splitting of spliced reinforcement for Specimen
RC-N-SP50-NUB. For Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB, however,
the failure mode displays somewhat differently from the
former specimen. Both the buckling of reinforcements and
core concrete crushing took place in the specimen. It is thus
postulated that the failure mode was due to a combined effect
657
Fig. 5—Failure modes and developed cracks of column specimens.
of flexure and axial compression. This can be attributed to
the relatively large stress at a large drift ratio, which leads to
the buckling and eventually fracture of the reinforcement
and hence core concrete crushing. For the jacketed columns,
as shown in Fig. 5(c) and (d), first flexural cracks were
generally observed at the drift ratio of 0.5% and initiated at
the location above the height of steel jackets. Then, most
flexural cracks seemed to propagate toward the inside of the
steel jackets and thus were not visible. A relatively small
amount of the flexural cracks were observed in the jacketed
specimens compared to the unjacketed specimens, when the
steel jackets were removed from the specimens after
completing the test. In particular, flexural cracks were not
even fully developed in Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2 (the
double-layered jacket). Accordingly, the propagation of these
cracks does not seem to be severe enough to reach the failure
of the columns.
The observation of the column test results also indicates
that the failure of the jacketed columns was initiated by the
flexural cracks developed at the column-footing interface.
The flexural cracks that occurred at the position were first
formed at the drift ratio of 2.0% and 1.5% for Specimen
RC-N-SP50-UB1 and Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2,
658
respectively. Once these cracks formed, a slight bulge of
the steel jackets was observed when the lateral drift
increased up to the drift ratio of 3.0% and 5.0% for Specimen
RC-N-SP50-UB1 and Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2, respectively.
The bulge in the steel jackets, however, did not seem to affect the
failure of the columns.
Lateral load-drift response
Figures 6 and 7 show the applied shear force versus
drift ratio response of the column specimens and the
envelopes of the hysteretic curves. In Fig. 8(b), Specimen
RC-N-SP00-NUB developed an initial flexural crack at
0.5% drift and the reinforcing bar was yielded at 1.0% drift;
the yield was assessed from the strain of a section of a
reinforcing bar measured at the bottom of the column. At the
drift ratio of 1.0%, the measured strain was 5.523 × 10–3,
which is 3.6 times the yield strain of the reinforcements.
After the drift ratio of 4%, at which the cover concrete was
crushed and the reinforcements were exposed, the load-
carrying capacity of the column decreased until the drift ratio
of 6.0%. Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB showed an abrupt
softening behavior out of line with the behavior of
comparing to the other specimens. The cause of the behavior
ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010
Fig. 6—Strains of longitudinal reinforcement versus lateral force. (Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.; 1 kN = 0.225 kip-force.)

is assumed to be the compressive failure of the core concrete

and the fracture following buckling of longitudinal
reinforcements. Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB with lap-
spliced reinforcement in Fig. 8(a) showed its maximum
capacity at 1.5% drift ratio and the column was failed at
2.5% drift ratio; the failure criterion of the columns was
defined as the displacement corresponding to 85% of the
flexural strength.
The strain of a lap-spliced longitudinal reinforcing bar was
measured at the bottom of the column, and the yield of the
reinforcing bar was observed at a strain of 2.267 × 10–3 and
a drift ratio of 1.0%. Because of the bond slip at the lap
splice, relatively small strains of reinforcements developed,
compared to those of Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB. The
softening behavior was observed beginning from the drift
ratio of 1.5%, where a flexural crack developed at the bottom
of the column due to the bonding slip.
Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB1 reached its maximum Fig. 7—Effective stiffness versus drift level of column
capacity and developed a crack at the column-footing specimens. (Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.; 1 kN = 0.225 kip-force.)
interface upon reaching 2.0% drift ratio. The specimen failed
at 5.0% drift ratio. Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2 developed
cracks at the column-footing interface at 1.5% drift ratio and that the steel jackets delayed the failure that would otherwise
reached maximum capacity at 3.0% drift ratio. The failure occur earlier due to the bonding slip and induced more
point of the specimen occurred at 6.0% drift ratio. The ductile behavior. The double-layered jacket (Specimen RC-
envelopes of the two jacketed specimens show a similar N-SP50-UB2) showed 22% more ductile behavior than the
trend to that of Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB in the pushing single-layered jacket (Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB1). The
phase, but with more ductile behavior. This result indicates failure loads were 64.8 and –46/5 kN (14.57 and –10.45 kips)

ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010 659

Fig. 8—Load-displacement response of columns. (Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.; 1 kN = 0.225 kip-force.)
for Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB, 79.5 and –56.5 kN
(17.87 and –12.70 kips) for Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB,
73.5 and –77.5 kN (16.52 and 17.42 kips) for Specimen RC-
N-SP50-UB1, and 73.5 and –81.3 kN (16.52 and –18.28 kips) for
Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2, respectively. The jacketed specimens
showed similar failure loads.
Displacement ductility
Based on the envelopes as shown in Fig. 9, the ultimate
and the yield displacements are assessed, as arranged in
Table 2. The ultimate displacement Δu was defined as the
lesser of the measured displacements between when
longitudinal or confinement steel exceeds its fracture state
and when the strength on the descending branch of the force-
displacement envelope curve becomes less than 0.85Vmax.
The yield displacement Δy was defined as the displacement
of the crossing point of the following two lines: the straight
line that passes through the origin and 0.75Vmax of the
envelope curve and the line that passes Vmax on the envelope
curve parallel to the x-axis. The results of displacement
ductility μ = Δ/Δy are listed in Table 2. The ultimate
displacements of Specimens RC-N-SP50-UB1 and RC-N-SP50-
UB2 were 1.77 and 2.03 times that of Specimen RC-N-SP50-
660
NUB. The average values of displacement ductility for the
jacketed columns were 4.87 and 5.65 for 1.0 and 2.0 mm
(0.0394 and 0.07874 in.) jackets; the ductility of Specimen
RC-N-SP50-UB2 is close to that of Specimen RC-N-SP00-
NUB (μ = 5.86). The aforementioned results indicate that the
proposed steel-jacketing method can enhance the
displacement ductility of the lap-spliced columns. Also, the
performance of the double-layered jacket is better by 14.7%
than that of the single-layered jacket. Thus, the double-
layered jacket was proven to be more effective for the
jacketing of RC columns as well as for concrete cylinders.
Strains of longitudinal reinforcements
In addition to the global behavior of the specimens, the
local behavior at the critical region was investigated by
measuring the strains of reinforcements of the specimens and
analyzing the characteristics of the failure of the specimens.
Strain gauges on longitudinal reinforcements were placed at
200 mm (7.874 in.) above the base of the specimens. The
gauges were attached at the front side of the actuator and
farthest away from the center of the cross section. Figure 6
shows the load-strain relationships for each specimen. The
pushing and pulling action produced tensile or reversed
ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010
strains, respectively. The strains of Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB jacket, was considered too conservative; thus, a 1 mm
with a lap splice barely reached yield strain just before its (0.0394 in.) thickness seemed not too thin to provide
failure. The maximum strain was observed as 2.35 × 10–3. confinement. The second cause would be low external
Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB with continuous reinforcements pressure on the steel jackets. The set of a turnbuckle and a
showed ductile behavior of the longitudinal bar in tension and steel band in Fig. 8(b) seemed to not be an effective device
compression. The strains of the longitudinal bar greatly to introduce enough external pressure, and the developed
exceeded the yield strain; 8.5 times in tension and 1.9 times pressure varied too much. Also, the devices were placed at
in compression of the yield strain. Meanwhile, the maximum the top and the bottom of the steel jacket; however, the lap
tensile strain was approximately 4.5 times the maximum splice was located at the middle of the jacket. This made it
compressive strain. In the compressive section, the core hard to introduce effective pressure at the lap-splice region.
concrete shared compressive load with the longitudinal bars An effective device to apply enough external pressure should
and, thus, the compressive strains of the bar were relatively be developed, and the second test should be conducted to
small. The bars, however, endured all of the tensile load in improve the satisfactory performance of the proposed steel-
the tensile section after cracking; and relatively large strains jacketing method.
were developed. The specimen with the lap splice did not
develop full plastic deformation of the longitudinal Flexural strength and stiffness
reinforcement as did the specimen with continuous
As shown in Fig. 8 and 9, the steel jackets did not increase
reinforcements. Thus, it seemed that the splitting failure at the
lap splice in Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB governed the failure. the strengths of the jacketed columns, which were almost the
same as that of the lap-spliced column. The peak flexural
For Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB1, the longitudinal strengths of Specimens RC-N-SP00-NUB and RC-N-SP50-NUB
reinforcement did not yield, whereas the reinforcement of were 185.2 kN-m and 150.9 kN-m (136.6 kip-ft and 111.3
Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2 experienced the yield. The kip-ft), respectively. Thus, the lap-spliced column showed
maximum strains were 1.36 × 10–3 and 3.84 × 10–3 for
18.5% less flexural strength than that of the continuous
Specimens RC-N-SP50-UB1 and RC-N-SP50-UB2,
reinforcement column. The values of the jacketed columns
respectively. The failure of Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB1 was
Specimens RC-N-SP50-UB1 and RC-N-SP50-UB2 were
similar to that of Specimen RC-N-SP50-NUB; this means
145.9 kN-m and 158.9 kN-m (107.6 kip-ft and 117.2 kip-ft),
that the 1 mm (0.0394 in.) jacket did not prevent the splitting
respectively. The steel jackets proposed in this study did not
failure at the lap splice. The 2 mm (0.07874 in.) jacket of
enhance the flexural strength of the columns; however, this
Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB2, however, produced full plastic
strain at the reinforcement, which was less than that of the seemed to be caused from not enough external pressure on the
continuous reinforcement. Thus, it seemed that the 2 mm jackets. A previous study indicated that the conventional steel
(0.07874 in.) jacket partially prevented the splitting failure at jackets enhanced the flexural strength as well as the ductility
the lap splice. If the 2 mm (0.07874 in.) jacket prevented the
splitting failure at the lap splice perfectly, the failure would
be changed to the pullout mode as indicated by Harajli
(2006), and the full plastic strain was developed at the
reinforcement like Specimen RC-N-SP00-NUB. This
observation corresponded to the envelop curves of the force-
displacement in Fig. 7. The flexural softening behavior of
Specimen RC-N-SP50-UB1 started from 20.5 mm (0.807 in.)
drift which was close to 19.5 mm (0.768 in.) for Specimen
RC-N-SP50-NUB. The softening behavior of Specimen RC-
N-SP50-UB2, however, started from a 27.5 mm (1.083 in.)
drift, which was larger by 41% than that of Specimen RC-N-
SP50-NUB. Because the softening behavior started from the
beginning of splitting failure, the 2 mm (0.07874 in.) jacket
surely delayed the splitting failure.
The 2 mm (0.07874 in.) jacket produced a better effect on
the lap-spliced specimen than the 1 mm (0.0394 in.) jacket.
The first cause seemed to be the thickness of the jacket. Fig. 9—Envelopes of load-displacement curves of columns.
However, Eq. (1), used to calculate the thickness of a steel (Note: 1 mm = 0.0394 in.; 1 kN = 0.225 kip-force.)

Table 2—Displacement ductility

Yield Peak Ultimate
Specimen Force, kN Displacement, mm Force, kN Displacement, mm Force, kN Displacement, mm Displacement ductility, μ
99.2 7.06 112.4 65.6 107.8 13.0
RC-N-SP00-NUB –82.3 –9.09 –93.3 –61.9 –89.3 –14.0 —

RC-N-SP50-NUB 80.8 8.45 91.6 27.0 132.3 30.5 6.97

–66.9 –8.67 –75.9 –23.3 –109.8 –42.1 5.01
78.0 9.89 88.4 39.0 105.8 19.5 3.19
RC-N-SP50-UB1 –76.5 –9.15 –86.7 –54.5 –102.0 –20.5 2.69
82.5 9.39 93.5 45.3 110.0 20.0 4.08
RC-N-SP50-UB2 –85.1 –12.4 –96.5 –80.0 –113.5 –45.6 5.65
Note: Normal text is pushing; italic text is pulling; 1 mm = 0.0394 in.; 1 kN = 0.225 kips.

ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010 661

of lap-spliced columns with a strong footing (Chai and
Priestley 1994). Therefore, it seems that the jacketed
specimens with the lap splice would show increased flexural
strength if they have relative strong external pressure onto
themselves.
The flexural effective stiffness versus drift ratio is
calculated for each cyclic load, as shown in Fig. 7. The
column with the continuous reinforcement (Specimen
RC-N-SP00-NUB) shows a higher stiffness for all drift
levels than the column with the lap splice. Chai and
Priestley (1994) indicated that the lap-spliced RC columns
jacketed using the conventional steel-jacketing method had a
10 to 15% increase of flexural stiffness. At the drift level of
0.25%, however, the effective stiffness of the lap-spliced
column was determined as 18.6 kN/mm (106.1 kip/in.),
whereas the values of the columns confined in 1.0 and 2.0 mm
(0.0394 and 0.07874 in.) steel jacket were 17.3 and 17.4 kN/mm
(98.7 and 99.3 kip/in.), respectively; the effective stiffness of
the jacketed column was 7.0% less. The noncomposite
behavior of the newly proposed steel jacket is beneficial in
the seismic retrofit of RC columns because it does not
disturb the original stiffness of the columns. Increased
stiffness draws more seismic acceleration into the columns
and, thus, could reduce the effectiveness of steel jackets.
CONCLUSIONS AND OBSERVATIONS
This paper has proposed a new steel-jacketing method for
RC columns. The method uses lateral pressure externally
applied on steel jackets to tightly attach the jackets on
concrete surfaces and thus does not require the grout used in
conventional jacketing methods. A series of compressive
tests of concrete cylinders were conducted to assess the
performance of the proposed method.
This new jacketing method increased the strength and the
ductility of the concrete cylinders. The jacket system was
able to make full use of the capacity for plastic deformation
afforded by the jackets. Reinforcement with strip bands was
shown to protect the welding line from fracture. The double-
layered jacket was shown to offer performance equal to that
of a single jacket of the same thickness. The relationship of
the peak strength versus the thickness of jackets is almost
linear. The measured strains on the steel jackets in the
vertical and circumferential directions indicate that the
jackets do not behave compositely with concrete because the
circumferential strains are nearly the same as the vertical
strains; if there is a composite behavior between the jackets
and the concrete, the vertical strains differ from the
circumferential strains.
In the column tests, the new steel jackets enhanced the
displacement ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the
RC columns with the lap splice. The jackets did not increase
the flexural strength; however, this seemed to be from the
imperfect installation of the jackets with not enough external
pressure. The effective stiffness of the columns did not
increase because the jackets did not induce the composite
behavior between the jackets and the concrete. This property
of the new steel-jacketing method is beneficial because it
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does not disturb the original stiffness of the columns. The
performance of the double-layered jacket was better for
increasing ductility and energy dissipation capacity than the
single-layered jacket. Thus, it seemed that the double-
layered jacket is also effective for use in the retrofit of RC
columns. Related to the column testing, it should be noted
that the axial load placed on the column specimens was
relatively low compared with that of other experiments.
The newly proposed steel-jacketing method can be used to
easily install steel jackets at any location on RC columns
(bottom, middle, or top), and it is assessed to have several
advantages over the conventional method. The new steel
jackets can change the bonding failure of lap-spliced
reinforcements from the splitting failure mode to pullout
failure mode. Jackets applied by the proposed method can
also prevent the compression failure of the core concrete
observed in the specimen with the continuous reinforcements.
An equation to determine the proper thickness for the
proposed steel jackets should be developed in the future.
Also, a proper pressing device to induce the effective
pressure on the steel jackets should be developed for the
success of the proposed steel-jacketing method.
AKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program
through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the
Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (Project No. 2009-0084752).
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ACI Structural Journal/November-December 2010