Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal.

No abstract

Measures to prevent progressive collapse of structures include protection of critical elements such as columns. In support of this goal, nine tests were conducted to assess the as-built performance of typical columns and the effectiveness of carbon fiber jackets in improving their performance. A quasi-static load protocol was developed to replicate in the laboratory the damage patterns observed in blast testing in the field. Load-deflection curves (resistance functions) and jacket strain were measured. Jackets were observed to change the failure mode from brittle shear to ductile flexure and to increase the load and displacement capacities of the column. Variations in jacket strain are discussed and experimental results are used to assess predictive models for shear