Axial load behaviour of steel tube columns in-filled with various high performance concretes

Abstract

This research concentrates on the axial load behaviour of circular, square and rectangular concrete filled steel tube (CFST) columns incorporating high-performance self-consolidating concretes such as ultra-high strength concrete (UHSC), engineered cementitious composite (ECC), lightweight concrete (LWC), and crumb rubber concrete (CRC). Seventy-four CFST specimens with varying slenderness, shape, concrete type and presence of internal bar reinforcements are tested experimentally under axial compression loading. The effect of these variables on axial load-deformation response, strain characteristics, failure modes, concrete confinement and axial strength are evaluated through experimental results. Performance of existing analytical/code based models for axial strength and concrete confined strength is evaluated. Concretes without coarse aggregates including UHSC proved less effective at enhancing axial strength of filled tube columns through confinement. In contrast, confinement in filled steel tube columns was found most effective with the use of concretes with coarse aggregates such as LWC and CRC.