Behaviour of inorganic polymer concrete columns reinforced with basalt FRP bars under eccentric compression: An experimental study

In this paper, a new composite system for concrete structures, i.e. inorganic polymer concrete column (IPCC) reinforced with basalt FRP bars, which combines the outstanding features of inorganic polymer concrete (IPC) and basalt reinforcement such as good corrosion resistance and fire resistance was proposed. The inorganic polymer binder was made of industrial by-products including fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag, and alkaline activating solution. The mechanical behaviour of short IPCC under eccentric compression was experimentally investigated and compared with control steel-reinforced ordinary Portland cement concrete columns (OPCC). The effect of eccentricity on overall failure mode and load-displacement/strain response of the specimens was studied. Results indicate that the load-carrying capacity of IPCC was approximately 30% lower than that of OPCC, while the ultimate displacements of IPCC were 65% and 15% larger than those of OPCC under large and small eccentricities, respectively. The IPCC specimens had almost similar overall load-displacement/strain response as the OPCC specimens up to the final failure. The ultimate longitudinal strains on the compression face of IPCC under large and small eccentricities were one time and 22% larger than those of OPCC respectively due to the relatively lower strength of IPC than ordinary concrete. In addition, the sine-shaped model can be used for IPCC to predict the lateral deformation along the column length at various load levels until final failure.