Data To: Efficient Approach to Measuring Strength and Deformation of Passively Confined Concrete

We present data for a novel experimental method developed to determine the increase in concrete strength and the evolution of both axial and lateral deformation under confined compression. In contrast to expensive and time-consuming triaxial experiments, the present method requires only a uniaxial testing machine with displacement control.

In the proposed setup, a concrete cylinder is surrounded by metal rings, which are activated by the lateral expansion of concrete and provide passive confinement. The magnitude of confinement can be easily controlled by the dimensions and spacing of the rings. In contrast to triaxial tests, the stress history is much closer to that encountered in real structural members. The most suitable measuring setup is a combination of conventional and non-contact measurements, namely of the vertical extensometers for the axial strain and digital image correlation (DIC) for the hoop strain.

The proposed setup was successfully verified on 20 concrete cylinders 100x200 mm with 4 different aluminum ring layouts.

Specimen designation and geometry (ring height is 9 mm in all cases):
8R t2 = 8 rings, ring thickness 2 mm
8R t3 = 8 rings, ring thickness 3 mm
12R t2 = 12 rings, ring thickness 2 mm
12R t3 = 12 rings, ring thickness 3 mm

Additional data can be provided on request.