Behaviour of composite columns encased with fibre reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete

Abstract

newlineComposite columns are widely used in recent years, particularly in high rise buildings, and have gained importance in construction applications. Conventional reinforced concrete structures need heavy reinforcement and stirrups in high-rise buildings, causes congestion, thus making the reinforcement placing and concreting difficult and labour-intensive. Steel structures, on the other hand, face buckling problems. New innovative structural systems with better performance and improved economy are needed in the construction field to eliminate these problems. A concrete-encased built-up steel composite column as a structural member is proposed as one such system to fulfil this requirement. Though concrete a versatile construction material has advantages due to its compressive strength and mouldable shape, it has its limitation in tension and ductility. Ductility is a vital characteristic of the structure to resist earthquake, impact and blast loading. It is well known that steel is an excellent ductile material. Hence a judicious combination of structural steel and concrete, utilizing the strength possessed by them and suppressing their weakness results in composite construction. Nowadays there is a demand for a new concrete which is more robust and more durable, with desired stress-strain behaviour, high performance and possibly a sustainable one and energy effective. The solution can be obtained by developing a promising concrete by using the waste materials as a partial replacement to cement and aggregates and a better reinforcement. newline newline