Compression behavior and modeling of FRP-confined high strength geopolymer concrete

Abstract Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) has proven its efficiency as a strengthening material of ordinary concrete. However, the research on the effect of these materials on geopolymer concrete is still less understood. Due to the excellent mechanical and environmental properties of geopolymer concrete, the compression behavior of confined high strength geopolymer concrete (HSGC) is experimentally and analytically investigated and compared with high strength cement concrete (HSC). The confined cylindrical test specimens of HSGC and HSC were tested in compression. The cylinders were confined using three schemes of FRP, namely one and two layers of Glass FRP (GFRP) and one layer of carbon FRP (CFRP). The stress–strain behavior of the HSGC is compared with HSC for different levels and types of confinement. For low confining pressure, there was a definite peak followed by descending portion of the stress–strain curve, whereas for high confining pressure, initially, the stress increases nonlinearly with strain, and after reaching a certain level of stress, it becomes asymptotic to a positive slope straight line. A single equation is proposed for predicting all curves of HSGC and HSC for low as well as high confining pressures. The validation of the model is also successfully shown with the data taken from the literature for a wide range of confinement levels.