Concrete Confined with Fabric-Reinforced Cementitious Matrices – FRCMs: Strength Models

Composite materials employing cement-based mortars, termed fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites, have recently entered the market as a promising, sustainable, and durable solution for the repairing and strengthening of concrete or masonry members. This paper presents an analytical study on the confinement of concrete with FRCM composites. To this purpose, a wide database including results of compression tests performed on over 290 concrete cylinders externally wrapped with FRCM was assembled. The collected results were employed to perform an overall analysis of the efficiency of the FRCM confinement by varying some parameters, such as: fiber type and mesh geometry, number of employed layers, composition of the inorganic matrix and compressive strength of the unconfined concrete. Then, relationships for estimating the compression strength of the FRCM confined concrete were developed, and comparisons with the formulations available for FRP composites were performed.