Case Studies in Construction Materials 14 (2021) e00476

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Case Studies in Construction Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cscm

Repair of corroded self-compacted reinforced concrete

columns loaded eccentrically using carbon fiber reinforced
polymer
Nabil Al-Akhras* , Mohammed Al-Mashraqi
Civil Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: There is no research reported in the literature on the optimum repair scheme of corroded
Received 16 March 2020 self-compacted Reinforced Concrete (RC) columns subjected to eccentric loading using
Received in revised form 11 December 2020 carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). Therefore, this study presents a novel investigation
Accepted 14 December 2020
on the above subject. Twenty-two RC columns (250  250  1000 mm) were casted using
two steel ratios of 0.012 and 0.016. After 28 days of wet curing, 20 columns were immersed
Keywords: in 3 % saline solution and exposed to accelerated corrosion process using direct current
Concrete
supply for 21 days. The corroded columns were repaired using different schemes including
Columns
Corrosion
near surface mounted (NSM) strips in the tension and compression zones, externally
Eccentricity bonded CFRP sheet wrapped around the columns, and hybrid technique using NSM strips
and CFRP sheet. All columns were tested eccentrically (e/h of 0.38) using universal testing
machine. The test results showed that the hybrid repair technique contributes significantly
to restore the original load capacity with average load increment of 16 %. The hybrid
technique improved the deformability, toughness, and axial stiffness in the range of
uncorroded columns. The failure mode of the columns was mainly delamination and
crushing of the concrete cover in the compression zone accompanied by local buckling of
the reinforcing steel.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

1. Introduction

Reinforced concrete (RC) columns are considered the most important structural elements in the structure due to their
main role in transferring the load to the foundation and maintaining the stability of the whole structure. One of the leading
actions causing reduction in the service-life of the structures by premature deterioration of columns especially in marine
environment is corrosion of steel reinforcing bars. The corrosion starts when aggressive environment (carbonation or
chlorides attack) reaches the surrounding area of the reinforcing steel. Corrosion attack of the RC structures is frequent
worldwide due to exposure to seawater or deicing salts on bridges and parking garages. Hence, the service life of the
corroded RC structures is reduced significantly by premature deterioration of important components such as columns and
piers [1]
Corrosion of reinforcing steel causes many deterioration types including reducing mechanical properties of reinforcing
steel and cross sectional area, volumetric expansion of corrosion products leading to concrete cracking, delamination and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: alakhras@just.edu.jo (N. Al-Akhras), maalmashraqi14@eng.just.edu.jo (M. Al-Mashraqi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2020.e00476
2214-5095/© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
N. Al-Akhras, M. Al-Mashraqi Case Studies in Construction Materials 14 (2021) e00476

spalling of concrete cover, and loss of bond strength between steel reinforcement and concrete [2]. Moreover, corrosion of
steel reinforcement affects columns confinement due to corrosion of transverse reinforcement that are more vulnerable to
corrosion compared to longitudinal reinforcement because of smaller diameter and its proximity to the concrete surface [3].
Traditional repair technique including welding or bolting steel plates, casting jackets around the corroded section have
shown limited success. Most of the techniques are either high-cost or labor-intensive and often vulnerable to corrosion
mechanisms [4]. The need grows for an innovative repair solution that is durable, cost effective, and resistant to corrosion.
The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is becoming a popular solution to the rehabilitation and strengthening
of the corroded RC elements of structures in recent years because of their high-strength to weight ratio, high fatigue
resistance, ease of installation, and resistant to corrosion [5].
The FRP may be used as externally bonded (EB) sheet or near surface mounted (NSM) strips. The utilization of FRP as EB or
NSM are considered essential in the repair and rehabilitation of deteriorated RC structures. The FRP provides many
advantages such as lightweight, easy to install, high strength, corrosion resistance and excellent durability. Additionally, the
recent availability of epoxy that may set underneath water extended the application of FRP to under water structures such as
deteriorated piers.
The EB technique showed many advantages including increasing strength, ductility, stiffness, toughness of columns, and
slowing the rate of corrosion. However, the EB technique is vulnerable to premature de-bonding that reduce the confining
effect [6–8]. The NSM technique is a promising technique to upgrade RC members when flexural behavior dominates the
response of the member. Therefore, the NSM technique may be applied to eccentric columns subjected to compressive and
flexural behavior. The advantage of using NSM compared to EB technique is to provide protection from external
environmental exposure and to prevent separation and de-bonding between FRP and concrete [9,10]. The NSM technique
provides higher anchoring capacity than the EB technique due to higher bond strength between the epoxy that fills the cut
groove and the NSM strips [11,12].
Self-compacted concrete (SCC) was adopted to ensure sufficient compaction under own weight with adequate strength
and durability, fill the formwork, and encapsulate even the most congested reinforcement cages. Other advantages of SCC
include improving durability, reducing manpower, reducing noise pollution, reducing energy consumption, safer working
environment, better surface finish, accelerating construction [13]. The SCC possesses higher compressive strength and lower
stiffness than the normal vibrated concrete.
Limited studies are available in the literature concerning the behavior of RC columns repaired using FRP technique [14–
17]. Other studies have investigated the use of high-performance fiber reinforced concrete jacketing to rehabilitate the
corrosion damaged RC columns with concentric loading [18–21]. Until now, no research is available in the literature on the
viability of using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets and strips to rehabilitate corrosion damaged self-compacted
RC columns exposed to eccentric loading.
The main objective of this research is to investigate the optimum repair scheme of corroded self-compacted RC columns
subjected to eccentric loading using different combinations of CFRP strips and sheets.

2. Experimental program

2.1. Testing program

Twenty-two RC columns were constructed with overall length of 1000 mm and square cross-sectional area of 250  250
mm2. Eleven columns were reinforced with steel ratio of 0.012 using 8 steels bars of 10 mm in diameter in the longitudinal
directions and 11 columns were reinforced with steel ratio of 0.016 using 8 steels bars of 12 mm in diameter in the
longitudinal directions. The transverse steel reinforcement of the RC columns was 6 mm in diameter ties with spacing of 25
mm at 25 cm from each column end and 50 mm spacing in the 50 cm middle region of the column. Eighteen columns were
exposed to accelerated corrosion using electrical current. The testing program utilized in the study is shown in Table 1. The
hybrid repaired columns are expected to have little variability in the structural testing since the hybrid system is well
effective that consists of two repairing materials and methods: NSM strips and CFRP sheets.

2.2. Mixing, casting and curing

The SCC mixture was prepared at w/c ratio of 0.45 using Type I ordinary Portland cement. The aggregate used was
limestone coarse aggregates with maximum aggregate size of 12.5 mm, and fine aggregate a mixture of 60 % fine limestone
and 40 % silica sand. High performance super-plasticizer (STRUCTURO 520 from FOSROC Jordon) was used at 0.92 % by
cement weight to obtain flowing SCC mixture. Table 2 summarizes the details of the concrete mixture.
The SCC mixture contents were pre-batched to the required weights. The concrete mixing was performed using tilting
drum mixer of 0.01 m3 capacity. The column molds were lubricated from inside using oil to facilitate demolding the columns.
Mixing of concrete was conducted for 3 min. Casting of SCC was continued until the molds were full of concrete. The fresh
properties of SCC were evaluated using slump flow, V-funnel and L-box as shown in Fig. 1. The fresh SCC properties are
presented in Table 3.
Six cylinder (100  200 mm) specimens were casted for the compressive and splitting strengths determinations (three for
the compressive and three for the splitting) that were evaluated after 28 days of wet curing and the average values were 47

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Table 1
The testing program utilized in the study [22].

Column Designation Reinforcing Steel Exposure Repair Scheme Number of columns

Co-10 8f10 None ——— 1
Cr-10 Corrosion ——— 2
N2-10 Corrosion 2 NSM FRP 2
N3-10 Corrosion 3 NSM FRP 2
N2S-10 Corrosion 2 NSM + CFRP Sheet 1
N3S-10 Corrosion 3 NSM + CFRP Sheet 1
S-10 Corrosion CFRP Sheet 2
Co-12 8f12 None ——— 1
Cr-12 Corrosion ——— 2
N2-12 Corrosion 2 NSM FRP 2
N3-12 Corrosion 3 NSM FRP 2
N2S-12 Corrosion 2 NSM + CFRP Sheet 1
N3S-12 Corrosion 3 NSM + CFRP Sheet 1
S-12 Corrosion CFRP Sheet 2
Total columns 22

Table 2
Details of the SCC concrete mixture.

Weight (Kg/m3) Material

475 Cement
210 Water
790 Coarse Aggregate
552 Fine Aggregate
372 Silica Sand
0.9 Super-plasticizer

Fig. 1. Tests of the fresh SCC properties, (a) V-funnel, (b) L-box, (c) slump flow.

Table 3
Fresh SCC properties.

Test Value Recommended range

Slump flow 710 mm (650 800) mm
V-funel 11 s (8 12) seconds
L-box 0.9 0.8–1

and 3.3 MPa for the compressive and splitting strengths, respectively. After 24 h, the molds were demolded and the columns
were cured using wet burlaps for 28 days. Fig. 2 illustrates stages of preparing and casting the RC columns.

2.3. Reinforcing steel

Two sizes of longitudinal reinforcing steel (10 and 12 mm in diameter) were used as the longitudinal reinforcement of the
columns whereas uniform steel of 6 mm in diameter was used for the transverse reinforcement (ties) for all columns. Fig. 3

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Fig. 2. Mixing, casting and curing of the RC columns.

illustrates schematic diagram for the steel reinforcement of the columns. Table 4 summarizes the mechanical properties of
the steel reinforcement.

2.4. Accelerated corrosion process

Due to the long period required to induce significant corrosion in RC columns in practice, an accelerated corrosion process
was induced in the laboratory through externally impressed direct electrical current. The corrosion process was initiated to
produce corrosion level of about 11 % using Faraday’s law by exposing the columns to accelerated corrosion process for 21
days using current density of 215 mA/cm2. Eighteen columns were subjected to impressed electrical current for accelerating
corrosion process. The column specimens were immersed up to 900 mm of column height in water tank containing 3 % NaCl
solution. The corrosion was induced in the RC columns by applying direct electrical current of 8 A and 10 V to the steel
reinforcement (anode) of five columns on parallel at one time since the water tank occupies five columns simultaneously. An
electrical wire was connected from one reinforcing steel bar of the column to the positive pole of the power supply. Since the
steel reinforcements are excellent conductors of electricity, the distribution of the electrical current is expected to be
uniform on the reinforcing steel. An external steel plate was placed in the tank between the columns that acted as cathode.
An electrical pump was placed in the tank and used to circulate the saline solution in the tank. Fig. 4 shows schematic
diagram and photo of the corrosion process.

2.5. Repair procedure

The repair procedure for the corroded columns was conducted after 30 days of the accelerated corrosion process. The
technique used for repairing the corroded columns was CFRP strips and sheets. The corrosion cracks were sealed using epoxy
before repairing the corroded columns. Table 5 lists the physical, geometrical and mechanical properties of the NSM strips.

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Fig. 3. Schematic diagram for steel reinforcement of columns.

Table 4
Mechanical properties of the reinforcing steel.

Elongation at Failure (%) Ultimate Stress (MPa) Yield Stress (MPa) Nominal Diameter
10 588 420 10 mm
10 588 420 12 mm
3.3 460 280 6 mm

The CFRP sheets (SikaWrap 103-C) were wrapped with one layer and bonded around the column using a thixotropic
epoxy (Sikadur-330). The mechanical and physical properties for the CFRP sheet are listed in (Table 6).
An adhesive epoxy (Sikadur) was used to bond CFRP strips and sheets to the columns grooves and faces of the columns.
The adhesive consists of two parts: primer resin part A, and hardener part B. The adhesive has a high strength and modulus
and requires seven days of curing at room temperature. The mechanical and physical properties for the adhesive epoxy are
listed in Table 7.
The repair process of the corroded columns using NSM strips was conducted as follows: (1) concrete surface was
completely cleaned from the corrosion rust using diamond abrasive brush. (2) Concrete surface was marked for the grooves
using masking paper tape and pencil. (3) Grooves of 0.8 mm width and 20 mm depth were cut on tension and compression
zones of column surface using electrical cutter. (4) Grooves were cleaned from dust using compressed air. (5) The adhesive
epoxy parts A and B were mixed using ratio of 4:1. (6) The grooves were filled with the epoxy to half depth. (7) The NSM FRP
strips were pressed into the grooves and the rest of space were filled with epoxy to ensure all faces of strips were totally
covered. (8) The surface was clean smoothed using trowel and the columns were left to cure for seven days to achieve the
required bond strength of the epoxy. Fig. 5 shows schematic diagram of installing the NSM strips. The steps of repairing
corroded columns using NSM strips are shown in Fig. 6.
The repair procedure of the corroded columns using CFRP sheet wrapped around the columns was conducted using the
following procedure: (1) Grinding the corner (chamfering) of the columns to create rounded corner to facilitate wrapping of
the CFRP around the columns. (2) Smoothing and leveling column surface using diamond abrasive brush. (3) Mixing the two
parts of the epoxy resin for three minutes using electric mixer until the mixture becomes smooth in consistency with
uniform grey color. (4) The resin was uniformly painted by a plastic roller over the column's surfaces. (5) The CFRP sheet was
immediately placed over the resin coating. (6) The roller was moved uniformly and continuously over the CFRP fabric until
the epoxy resin was squeezed through the fiber strands and distributed evenly over the whole fabric surface. (7) Finally, the
columns were left to cure the epoxy at laboratory temperature for 7 days. The procedure for installing the CFRP fabric sheet is
illustrated in Fig. 7.
The repair process of the corroded columns using hybrid system of CFRP sheets and NSM strips was conducted as follows:
First, the NSM strips were installed using the aforementioned procedure. Second, the CFRP sheets were installed over the
concrete surface with NSM strips installed using the procedure described before.

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Fig. 4. Corrosion process setup of columns.

Table 5
Properties of the NSM FRP.

Property Value
Thickness 2.5 mm
Width 15 mm
Cross Sectional Area 37.5 mm2
Fiber Orientation 0
Fiber Density 1.6 g/cm3
Mean Tensile Strength 3100 MPa
Tensile E-Modulus 165 GPa
Strain at Break >1.7 (nominal)

2.6. Structural test of columns

The RC columns were structurally tested using 2000 kN universal testing machine under eccentric compressive load with
eccentricity ratio (e/h) of 0.38. The columns were confined with an upper and lower steel collars.
The upper collar (Fig. 8a) 30 mm in thickness and 150 mm in height contains two square plates: The first plate (250  250
 30 mm) with a V groove at a distance of 95 mm from its center was rested on the column’s top surface and hinged from its
end at the tension side of the column (Fig. 8c). The second plate with a thickness of 8 mm and a knife-edge in the center of the
plate (Fig. 8b). Small clearance was kept between the end of the second plate and top surface of collar steel plate to avoid any
friction during the test. Sulfur was casted between the column surface and the collar to achieve better confinement of the
column ends by filling free space between steel collar and column surface with sulfur.

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Table 6
Properties of CFRP sheets.

Property Value
Thickness 0.17 mm
Width 50 cm
Area weight 300 g/cm3
Fiber orientation 0◦ (unidirectional)
Fiber Density 1.8 g/cm3
Tensile strength of fiber 3900 N/mm2 (nominal)
Tensile modulus of fiber 230,000 N/mm2 (nominal)
Strain at break of fiber 1.5 % (nominal)

Table 7
Properties of adhesive epoxy.

Property Value
Appearance and color Resin part. A: paste, White color
Hardener part B: paste, Grey color
Color of Part A + B mixed: light grey
Yield coat = 0.7 1.5 kg/m2
Mix ratio A : B = 4 : 1 by weight
Flexural E-Modulus 3800 MPa
Tensile E-Modulus 4500 MPa
Elongation at break 0.9 %
Tensile strength 30 MPa
Density of Mixed Resin 1.31 kg/lt (at +23  C)

Fig. 5. Schematic diagram for repair columns using NSM strips.

The bottom steel collar (5 mm in thickness and 50 mm in height) was placed around the bottom end of the column to
support the bottom end during structural test. The bottom support was not anchored to the ground.
To measure the axial displacement, two linear variable displacement transducers (LVDT) L1 and L2 were mounted on the
compression and tension sides, respectively, over a gage length of 400 mm. Another LVDT L3 was placed horizontally at 300
mm from the top surface of the specimens to measure the lateral displacement as shown in Fig. 9. The monotonic axial

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Fig. 6. Repair procedure using NSM strips.

loading was applied using load control device and the test data was recorded using an automatic data acquisition system at a
rate of 3 Hz. The test data include axial loading as well as axial and lateral displacements that were measured using the LVDT.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Corrosion cracks

The corrosion cracks in columns were primarily distributed along vertical sides with varying widths comprising major
and minor cracks in each column’s face. A typical corrosion crack pattern is provided in (Fig. 10).
The measurements of the crack width were conducted using a microscope with a magnification of 10 times after the
accelerated corrosion phase. Crack width and intensity were monitored several times during the accelerated corrosion
phase. The maximum crack width for the 12-mm and 10-mm columns were found 0.8 and 0.6 mm, respectively, located near
of the edge of the columns after 21 days of accelerated corrosion. A corrosion crack index is introduced and defined as the
reinforcing steel diameter divided by the maximum corrosion width. The corrosion crack indexes near the edges of the 12-
mm and 10-mm columns were 15 and 16.7, respectively. Fig. 11 shows typical crack pattern near the edges.

3.2. Reinforcing steel mass loss

The mass loss of the corroded steel in the columns were determined by extracting steel pieces of the longitudinal and
transverse corroded steel of the columns. Fig. 12 illustrates typical corroded steel bars in the columns. Table 8 shows the

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Fig. 7. Repair process using CFRP sheet.

average mass loss of the corroded reinforcing steel bars. The 12 mm longitudinal steel bars showed an average mass loss of 13
% and the 10 mm longitudinal steel bars showed an average mass loss of 9 %. The experimental mass loss values are
compatible with the expected theoretical ones (11 %) predicted using Faraday’s law.
The transverse steel showed higher mass loss because of its proximity to the concrete surface and because of its small
diameter compared to the longitudinal reinforcing steel.

3.3. Failure mode

The uncorroded columns showed crushing failure in the compression side at 400 mm from top of the column. Buckling of
the longitudinal steel bars was obvious as shown in Fig. 13.
Final collapse of the corroded columns showed crushing of the concrete cover in the compression side and crushing of the
lateral sides of the column. One horizontal main crack and two corner longitudinal cracks were observed in the tension side.
No separation of concrete cover in the tension area was noticed (Fig. 14).
The failure mode of the NSM repaired columns was delamination of the concrete cover in the compression side
accompanied by local buckling of the longitudinal reinforcing steel bars. Cracks appeared in the laterals and compression
sides and increased and widen with the applied load, lateral cracks were widen and spread faster than compression cracks
until the two corner blocks in the compression sides were failed and separated as segments when the applied load exceeds
77 % of the ultimate column capacity. The concrete cover in the compression side was delaminated and the longitudinal steel
at 300 mm from top of the column was locally buckled (Fig. 15).

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Fig. 8. Upper collar details.

Fig. 9. Schematic diagram illustrates structural testing of columns.

The failure mode of CFRP sheet repaired columns was associated with crushing of the compression side, CFRP rupture of
the compression side, and local buckling of the longitudinal reinforcing steel bars. Two main tension side cracks with 5 mm
in width located at 20 mm from the top of the column were observed. Rupture occurred in one edge corner of the
compression side extended along 200 mm–400 mm from top of the column. This failure implies that the lateral stress that
caused buckling of the longitudinal steel was larger than any other oriented stress. In addition, the corner of the column is a
weak area that begins first to separate from the column. Fig. 16 shows the failure mode of the CFRP sheet repaired columns.
Failure mode of the hybrid columns repaired with NSM strips and CFRP sheet was identified by sudden rupture of CFRP
sheet, crushing of concrete in the compression side and buckling of longitudinal steel at the ultimate load. The hybrid N2S
columns manifest 2 main tension side cracks with 3–5 mm in width located at 20 mm from the top of the column. The N3S
columns manifest 2 main tension side cracks with 1–2 mm in width extended over 18–35 mm from the top of column
(Fig. 17).
It is noted that the failure mode of the columns may be categorized into two main modes: The first mode is for the
unconfined columns such as corroded and NSM columns. While the second mode is for the confined columns such as
uncorroded, CFRP, and hybrid columns. The uncorroded columns are considered confined by the concrete cover. While the
corroded columns are considered unconfined since the concrete cover deteriorated because of corrosion damage.
Confinement plays an important role in the behavior of columns.

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Fig. 10. Corrosion cracks for corroded column.

Fig. 11. Main corrosion cracks near the edges.

3.4. Structural behavior

The structural response of the RC columns was studied in terms of axial load-displacement curves and properties
including load capacity, stiffness, toughness, and ductility.
The axial load-displacement curves of uncorroded, corroded and repaired columns are shown in Figs. 18 and 19. The load-
displacement curves shows linear behavior at initial stage of loading then changing into nonlinear behavior afterwards. The
load reached ultimate state then declined until failure state. The figures show the effect of different repair techniques to
restore the capacity of corroded columns.
The structural response aspects for all columns are presented in Table 9 that shows the ultimate load capacity, maximum
displacement, ultimate stiffness and toughness.
The maximum axial displacement represents the axial displacement at failure. The ultimate stiffness represents the ratio
of ultimate axial load to the displacement at ultimate load. Toughness is obtained by the total area under the axial load
displacement curve.

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Fig. 12. Typical corroded bars.

Table 8
Average mass loss of steel bars.

Mass Loss (%) Type of Reinforcement

13  0.5 Longitudinal steel (K 12 mm)
9  0.4 Longitudinal steel (K 10 mm)
15  0.5 Transverse steel (K 6 mm)

3.4.1. NSM columns

The NSM columns N2-10 and N3-10 showed slight improvement in the ultimate axial load capacity of 7 % and 9 %
compared to the corroded columns (Cr-10). However, this improvement did not exceed the ultimate load of the reference
uncorroded columns (Co-10). Columns N2-12 and N3-12 showed also slight improvement in the ultimate axial load capacity
of 4 % and 8 % compared to the corroded columns Cr-12. It seems that the NSM technique is not effective as repair technique
for corroded eccentric columns with compressive and flexural behavior.
The NSM repaired columns showed the lowest maximum displacement values of 0.75 and 0.97 mm for N2-10 and N3-10
columns and 1.3 and 1.0 mm for N2-12 and N3-12 columns compared to other repaired columns. The NSM repaired columns
showed also the lowest toughness values. This result interprets that using NSM as repairing technique gives extra rigidity and
lower deformability of columns in term of axial deformation. This attributed to the extra rigidity of the NSM strips located
inside the concrete surface.
The NSM columns exhibited large initial axial stiffness due to the extra rigidity imposed by NSM strips (Fig. 18). It is noted
that the N2-10 and N2S-10 columns showed higher initial axial stiffness than N3-10 and N3S-10 columns, which may be
interpreted by the fact that the distance between the NSM strips for N3 columns is 75 mm, while the distance between the
NSM strips for N2 is 100 mm. The shorter distance between the NSM strips impose overlap of the failure wedge that
accelerate the failure and decrease the effectiveness of the NSM strips.

3.4.2. CFRP sheet columns

Repair scheme using CFRP sheet wrapped around the corroded columns contribute more significantly than using NSM
scheme to restore and strengthen the corroded columns. The CFRP columns showed improvement similar to the reference
uncorroded columns’ capacity with increase up to 15 % of the capacity of the corroded columns for S-10 columns. The CFRP
columns showed the lowest stiffness and highest ductility. Columns S-10 and S-12 displayed the highest maximum
displacement values of 1.9 and 2.4 mm. This behavior may be interpreted by the extra deformability of the columns
promoted by total confinement of CFRP sheets. The S columns repaired using CFRP sheet showed the highest toughness
followed by the hybrid columns. Wrapped columns with CFRP sheet succeeds successfully in restoring the original capacity
of corroded columns with higher deformability and lower stiffness.

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Fig. 13. Failure mode of the reference uncorroded columns.

Fig. 14. Failure mode of Cr-10 corroded column.

3.4.3. Hybrid columns

The hybrid repair scheme using NSM strips and CFRP sheet contributes significantly to restore the original ultimate load
capacity with increment reached 14 % and 16 % for N2S-10 and N3S-10 columns and 14 % and 17 % for N2S-12 and N3S-12
columns compared to the reference uncorroded columns. The hybrid technique improved the deformability, toughness, and
axial stiffness in the range of the reference uncorroded columns.

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Fig. 15. Failure mode of N3-10 and N3-12 columns.

Fig. 16. Failure mode of S-10 columns.

The hybrid repaired columns N2S-10 and N3S-10 showed excellent improvement compared to the uncorroded and
corroded columns (Co-10 and Cr-10). The improvement of N2S-10 and N3S-10 reached 29 % and 31 % compared to Cr-10,
respectively. While the incensement reached, 14 % and 17 % compared to the reference uncorroded columns Co-10. The
maximum displacement of hybrid repaired columns showed increment that reflected on the toughness of repaired columns
that exceeded the reference uncorroded columns (Co-10) by 28 % and 72 % for N2S-10 and N3S-10, respectively. It is noted
that the corroded columns showed high toughness due to the high deformability gained by corrosion.

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Fig. 17. Tension cracks in N3S columns.

Fig. 18. Axial displacement curves of columns reinforced with 10 mm.

The effect of adding one layer of CFRP sheet on NSM columns gained substantial improvement that reached 29 % and 31 %
for N2S and N3S compared to only 7 % and 9 % for N2 and N3, respectively. The characteristics of load-displacement relation
of hybrid repaired columns showed significant enhancement compared to those of the reference columns. The increment of
axial load capacity for N2S-12 and N3S-12 columns reached 39 % and 41 % compared to Cr-12 corroded columns, respectively.
While, the increase reached 16 % and 17 % compared to Co-12 reference columns, respectively.
Despite NSM strips is an effective technique in improving the bending strength of beams, they are less effective in
increasing the strength under eccentric compression due to their tendency to buckling. However, if external CFRP sheet

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Fig. 19. Axial displacement curves of columns reinforced with 12 mm.

Table 9
Summary of the axial load- displacement curve properties.

Column Ultimate load (kN) Maximum displacement (mm) Ultimate Stiffness (kN/mm) Toughness (kN.mm) Corrosion level (%)
Co-10 1504 1.1 1657 937 ————
Cr-10 1339 (-11 %) 1.4 1378 1265 9.5
N2-10 1428 (-5 %) [7 %] 0.75 2384 629 9.4
N3-10 1464 (-3 %) [9 %] 0.97 1997 839 9.2
N2S-10 1721 (14 %) [29 %] 1.1 2458 1163 8.5
N3S-10 1759 (17 %) [31 %] 1.6 1547 1781 8.8
S-10 1537 (2 %) [15 %] 1.9 945 1837 8.7
Co-12 1586 1.17 1520 1096 ———
Cr-12 1320 (-17 %) 1.2 1507 1033 13.3
N2-12 1376 (-13 %) [4 %] 1.34 1930 1326 13.5
N3-12 1424 (-10 %) [8 %] 0.99 1665 839 13.2
N2S-12 1838 (16 %) [39 %] 1.48 2081 1866 12.8
N3S-12 1862 (17 %) [41 %] 1.56 2152 1983 12.7
S-12 1602 (1 %) [21 %] 2.45 709 2929 12.5

Numbers between parentheses represent the percent change with respect to uncorroded columns.
Numbers between brackets represent the percent change with respect to corroded columns.

bonding is used with NSM strips, buckling of NSM strips may be prevented. This hybrid technique significantly improved the
strength, stiffness and ductility of the RC columns under combined bending and compression.
Using NSM strips as whole or in part of repair technique give higher ultimate axial stiffness. While using CFRP sheet gives
less axial stiffness with higher axial deformation compared to other columns.
The ultimate load capacity of corroded and NSM repaired columns reinforced by 12 mm reinforcing steel did not exceed
those reinforced by 10 mm (Table 9) due to the effect of corrosion which was more intense in the 12 mm columns than in the
10 mm columns. In addition to the effect of de-bonding on the interface of steel-concrete area that was also more intense due
to the surface area of 12 mm steel bars that was more than that of the 10 mm steel bars that affected debonding more
severely.
It is noted that there is better improvement in the initial axial stiffness for the 12 mm columns (Fig. 19) compared to the 10
mm columns (Fig. 18) in the hybrid-repaired columns. This was observed clearly in the S-12 repaired columns attributed
clearly to the role of high relative steel ratio steel.
The improvement in the axial load capacity for hybrid technique was 39 % and 41 % for N2S-12 and N3S-12. However, the
NSM repair technique showed slight improvement of only 4 % and 8 % for N2-12 and N3-12, respectively (Table 9).
Overall, adoption of NSM strips and CFRP sheet as hybrid repair technique significantly improved the axial load-carrying
capacity, toughness and axial stiffness.

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N. Al-Akhras, M. Al-Mashraqi Case Studies in Construction Materials 14 (2021) e00476

Fig. 20. Axial load with lateral deformation curves of columns reinforced with 10 mm.

Fig. 21. Axial load with lateral deformation curves of columns reinforced with 12 mm.

3.4.4. Lateral deformation

The axial load versus lateral deformation curves are shown in Figs. 20 and 21 for columns with 10-mm and 12-mm
reinforcement. The hybrid repaired columns showed higher lateral deformation than the NSM and CFRP columns. The
reference columns showed the highest lateral stiffness, followed by the hybrid columns. The lateral stiffness of the 10-mm
and 12-mm columns arranged from the highest to the lowest were Co, N3S, N2S, N3, N2, S and Cr-10. The corroded columns
showed the lowest lateral stiffness. All hybrid and CFRP repaired columns exhibited higher lateral deformation than corroded
columns with significant enhancement of initial lateral stiffness as shown in Figs. 20 and 21.
Fig. 22 shows the axial load with displacement curves for duplicate columns (Cr corroded and S repaired) from the same
set reinforced with 10 mm reinforcing steel. There is an excellent agreement in the structural behavior of the duplicate
columns (corroded and S repaired) from the same set, indicating good reliability.

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N. Al-Akhras, M. Al-Mashraqi Case Studies in Construction Materials 14 (2021) e00476

Fig. 22. Axial displacement curves of Cr and S columns reinforced with 10 mm.

4. Conclusions

Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions may be made:

1) Using NSM as repair technique contribute slightly to restore the original capacity of corroded columns with lower
deformability and toughness and higher initial axial stiffness.
2) Hybrid repair technique using NSM strips and CFRP sheet improved significantly the deformability, toughness, and axial
stiffness of corroded columns. The hybrid technique contributes significantly to restore the original load capacity with
increment reached 14 % and 16 % for N2S-10 and N3S-10 columns and 16 % and 17 % for N2S-12 and N3S-12. The increase in
the axial load capacity relative to corroded state was 29 % and 31 % for N2S-10 and N3S-10, respectively, while that
improvement reached up to 39 % and 41 % for N2S-12 and N3S-12, respectively.
3) Using CFRP sheet as repair technique succeed in restoring the original capacity of corroded columns with 15 % and 21 %
improvement in axial load capacity for S-10 and S-12 columns with higher deformability and ductility and lower stiffness.
4) The failure mode of NSM columns was defined by delamination of the concrete cover in the compression and lateral sides
and lower half of tension side area accompanied by local buckling of longitudinal reinforcing steel. The failure mode of
uncorroded, CFRP and hybrid columns was mainly associated with crushing of concrete, rupture of CFRP sheet laterally,
and cracks in the tension side. The failure mode of corroded columns was mainly associated with delamination of the
compression and lateral sides in addition to buckling of longitudinal steel.

Declaration of Competing Interest

All authors have participated in (a) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of the data; (b) drafting the
article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (c) approval of the final version.

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Deanship of Scientific Research at Jordan University of
Science and Technology (Grant 270/2017) to support this research.

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