ENHANCING OF CYLINDERS CONCRETE CONFINED WITH HYBRID SISAL AND GLASS FIBER REINFORCED POLYMER

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a hybrid composite as an option for enhancing concrete structures. Concrete cylinders were wrapping with a combination of natural and synthetic fibers. A total of fifteen cylindrical specimens were prepared the concrete in the 25 MPa range and tested under axial compression load. Three specimens were used as control specimens and the remaining twelve specimens were encapsulated with strips of sisal fabric and glass fibers. Three variables were taken, including the complete encapsulation, spacing, and orientation of the hybrid fiber strips of sisal and glass fibers. The results found that combining sisal fibers with glass fibers increased the energy absorption properties of the encapsulated concrete and improved the axial compression performance. The strength of all specimens wrapping with sisal-glass fibers increased compared to the uncoated specimens, especially the fully coated specimens where the compressive strength increased by about 79%. This work demonstrates that the use of HSGFRP can be an effective way to strengthen concrete structures.