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Title: Rehabilitation of pre-loaded reinforced concrete columns exposed to fire using advanced strengthening techniques

Authors: Mohanad Wisam Mousa; Ahlam Sader Mohammed; Sarmad Shafeeq Abdulqader

Addresses: Civil Engineering Department, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq ' Civil Engineering Department, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq ' Civil Engineering Department, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq

Abstract: This study presents an experimental investigation on the rehabilitation of fire-damaged reinforced concrete (RC) columns using two strengthening techniques: full wrapping with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and jacketing with ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). Seven small-scale RC column specimens were tested under eccentric loading with an eccentricity of (e = 45 mm). The fire-exposed specimens were subjected to temperatures of (500 °C) and (700 °C) for (60 min) under a pre-applied axial load equal to (50%) of the ultimate load capacity, followed by sudden water quenching. An unexposed reference column was used for comparison. The results showed that fire exposure reduced the ultimate load-carrying capacity by (29.69%) and (51.26%) at (500°C) and (700°C), respectively. After rehabilitation, columns strengthened with CFRP showed capacity increases of (35.86%) and (83.91%), whereas those strengthened with UHPC achieved higher increases of (93.62%) and (157.47%), respectively.

Keywords: fire-damaged reinforced concrete columns; carbon fibre reinforced polymer; CFRP; ultra-high-performance concrete; UHPC; eccentric loading.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2026.153261

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2026 Vol.22 No.11, pp.1 - 23

Received: 04 Jan 2026
Accepted: 31 Jan 2026
Published online: 29 Apr 2026 *