HIGH-PERFORMANCE FIBER-REINFORCED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITES FOR SEISMIC DESIGN: A REVIEW OF COLUMNS

High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCC) have emerged in recent decades as a promising class of materials for damage-resistant reinforced concrete structures, including bridge columns. Compared to ordinary concrete, HPFRCC carries tensile load after matrix cracking, has greater toughness under tension and compression, and promotes diffuse microcracking behavior which results in reduced maximum crack widths. Although the fundamental properties of HPFRCC materials have been widely studied, collective information on the large-scale seismic behavior of bridge columns incorporating these materials is less understood. This paper provides a brief review of the testing and response of HPFRCC bridge columns under earthquake loading. A variety of experimental columns constructed with HPFRCC are surveyed, including those incorporating precast elements, base rocking, posttensioning, and unconventional reinforcing materials. The discussed studies indicate that replacement of ordinary concrete with HPFRCC in columns can lead to greater damage tolerance and reduced residual deformations after an earthquake.