Lateral Confinement Effects on the Axial Compressive Strength of Mortar Specimen

Many researchers have confirmed that the lateral confinement increases the dynamic strength of concrete-like material in compression. It has been found that the factors responsible for the lateral confinement involve in various material and structural parameters, e.g. material inertia, hydrostatic dependence, interfacial friction, specimen slenderness etc. This paper reported quasi-static and dynamic experimental results on the compressive strength of mortar specimens. A range of compression tests were conducted for cylindrical specimens with different slenderness ratios under various end constrains with difference coefficients of friction. It was found that for slender specimens, end face friction has large effect on the lateral confinement, which enhanced the axial compressive strength of mortar. Numerical modeling was also performed to understand the influence of these structural factors on the compressive strength of concrete-like materials.