Axial Capacity of Concrete Filled Stainless Steel Columns

Abstract

Concrete filled steel columns have been used widely in structures throughout the world in recent years especially in Australia and the Far East. This increase in use is due to the significant advantages that concrete filled steel columns offer in comparison to more traditional construction methods. Composite columns consist of a combination of concrete and steel and make use of these constituent material's best properties. The use of composite columns can result in significant savings in column size, which ultimately can lead to significant economic savings. This reduction in column size can provide substantial benefits where floor space is at a premium such as in car parks and office blocks. The use of stainless steel column filled with concrete is new and innovative, not only provides the advantage mentioned above, but also durability associated with the stainless steel material. This paper concentrates on the axial capacity of the concrete filled stainless steel columns. A series of tests was performed to consider the behaviour of short composite stainless steel columns under axial compressive loading, covering austenitic stainless steels square hollow sections filled with normal and high strength concrete. Comparisons between Eurocode 4, ACI-318 and the Australian Standards with the findings of this research were made and comment.