Improvement of the mechanical performances of concrete cylinders confined actively or passively by means of SMA wires

The present study deals with crush tests of concrete cylinders confined by shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. Two cases were considered. First, an active confinement was achieved by wrapping a wire previously prestrained in martensitic state and then subjected to the memory effect. Second, a passive confinement was obtained by using the same SMA, but in austenite state. For comparison purpose, an unconfined cylinder was also tested. The influence of the unwrapped zones of the confined cylinders was also investigated, leading to the use of a specially designed device to avoid premature failure in these zones. The comparison between active and passive confinements was investigated. The test results show that stiffness, strength and ductility are significantly improved in the case of the active confinement.