Structural Behavior of Short Thin-Walled Steel Columns Filled with High Strength Concrete Made of Recycled Aggregate

This paper introduces an experimental work to study the behavior of 12 recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tubular (RACFST) short columns with high-strength concrete grade subjected to axial compression loading. These columns formed from six different cross-sections involving triangle, elliptical, and hexagon, whereas the other three sections included traditional forms for control purposes, involving square, rectangular, and circular. All RACFST columns used are made of mild steel plates. These columns were divided into two groups. The steel tube thickness was the only parameter modified to study its effect properly. In addition, the study included the search for the best effective section concerning the properties of stability and confinement, so these columns were designed so that the cross-sectional areas of steel tubes were approximately equal. Also, composite action and level of ductility for these columns were studied. The ultimate failure axial load, the reduction in the axial column length, the failure pattern of cross-section shape, and lateral displacement were recorded during the test. Regarding the two groups of columns with (1 and 2) mm thick steel plates, testing data obtained from RACFST columns with elliptical and circular cross-sections respectively showed better stability and confinement of concrete and the ability to withstand a higher ultimate failure stress. Moreover, columns with polygonal sections showed when the number of ribs for the steel plates of the model or increased the angle between the two sides is (90°) or more, column cross-sections can achieve more stability and confinement, respectively. In general , increasing the thickness of the steel tubes increases. Finally, for all columns, the higher values of the concrete contribution ratio (C.C.R) led to an increase in the strength index (S.I.) values. An increase in values of final failure stresses accompanied this increase.