Concrete is the most popular and widely used construction material due to its relatively low cost, versatility, and adaptability. Recent past experiences show that the reinforced concrete (RC) structures deteriorating prior to the expected service life when exposing to aggressive chloride or carbonation‐induced environments. This is because of the general assumption that if the strength criteria are satisfactory, the concrete would be sufficiently durable. This assumption does not take into account the variability in concrete resulting from the actual concreting practices, such as placement, consolidation, finishing, and curing. In other words, concrete in the specimens cast for compressive strength bear little resemblance to the concrete in the actual structure. This paper presents a detailed review on the developments that are taking place globally toward the performance‐based specifications for achieving the long‐term durability of RC structures. Also, based on the in‐house experimental studies and available knowledge, a durability performance criterion is suggested for structures exposed to chloride or carbonation‐induced environments toward enhancing the service life.

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Near-surface mounted reinforcement system using fibre reinforced polymer bars has been widely considered as an accepted system for strengthening of reinforced concrete columns, particularly with respect to increasing the flexural resistance. It involves cutting grooves into the concrete cover and bonding laminates inside the grooves with fillers (either epoxy resin or cement mortar) ensuring proper bond between fibre reinforced polymer laminate and concrete to prevent premature failure (debonding of laminate). Near-surface mounting does not require extensive surface preparation and takes minimum installation time than externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer. Unlike conventional fibre reinforced polymer jacketing technology, the efficiency of near-surface mounted bars does not depend on the geometry of the column cross-section as well. Previous experimental studies indicate that strengthening using near-surface mounting increases the lateral strength capacity and energy dissipation capacity of reinforced concrete columns. However, the scope of employing a strengthening system for structural retrofits is constrained by the limitations of the material used for strengthening. The lack of adequate confinement results in reduced ductility and energy dissipation capacity for columns strengthened using near-surface mounted technique, particularly under increased loading eccentricities. Jacketing of columns using fibre reinforced polymer increases confinement; however, the efficiency was observed to be reduced at increased loading eccentricities. Similarly, the flexural capacity and drift capacity under low levels of axial load were not observed to be significantly enhanced by the use of fibre reinforced polymer jacketing. Previous studies have indicated that a combination of these two systems could provide effective behaviour for reinforced concrete columns under eccentric loading. Therefore, this research focuses on utilizing a combination of these two methods in the form of a hybrid fibre reinforced polymer reinforcing system consisting of near-surface mounted bars and fibre reinforced polymer confinement to study the structural response of strengthened reinforced concrete columns under eccentric axial compression.

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