An experimental programme was conducted to investigate the compressive behaviour of concrete-filled cold-formed steel tubular (CFCFST) stub columns with thicker tubes. A total of 30 CFCFST stub columns were tested. The cold-formed square hollow section (SHS) tubes included unstiffened sections and longitudinally inner-stiffened sections using different stiffening methods. Two tubular thicknesses of 6mm and 10mm were considered. The overall nominal dimension of the steel section was 200×200mm, and the length of the stub columns was 600mm. Normal concrete and self-consolidating concrete with a nominal compressive strength of 30MPa were used to fill the cold-formed SHS steel tubes. The effects of the stiffeners on the rigidity, ductility, failure mode and average sectional strength of the CFCFST specimens were examined. The measured strengths of the CFCFST specimens were also compared with the predicted capacities using methods in various codes including AISC, BS5400, EC4, and DBJ and from a finite element (FE) analysis. Results demonstrate that the inner stiffeners affect the deformability, failure mode and overall strength of the stub columns with the 6mm-thick tubes more significantly. The DBJ code method is comparatively the best in predicting the strength capacity. Using the validated FE model, an extended analysis has been conducted and this has provided further insight into the mechanical behavior of the CFCFST specimens.

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is recognized as a promising anode material to prevent steel corrosion in reinforced concrete. However, the electrochemical performance of CFRP itself is unclear. This paper focuses on the understanding of electrochemical and mechanical properties of CFRP in an oxygen evolution environment by conducting accelerated polarization tests. Different amounts of current density were applied in polarization tests with various test durations, and feeding voltage and potential were measured. Afterwards, tensile tests were carried out to investigate the failure modes for the post-polarization CFRP specimens. Results show that CFRP specimens had two typical tensile-failure modes and had a stable anodic performance in an oxygen evolution environment. As such, CFRP can be potentially used as an anode material for impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) of reinforced concrete structures, besides the fact that CFRP can strengthen the structural properties of reinforced concrete.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract