There is an increasing trend of using structural aluminium within the construction industry, due to its superior mechanical properties, such as high strength‐to‐weight ratio and high resistance to corrosion. The use of aluminium combined with concrete can be advantageous in terms of the resultant structural capacity. Currently, the design standards for the structural use of aluminium are substantially conservative and less exhaustive, which limits the full exploitation of aluminium as a structural material. This paper aims at developing more reliable structural design specifications based on experimental testing of aluminium‐concrete composite columns. A series of specimens comprising concrete‐filled aluminium hollow sections were experimentally investigated. Square hollow sections and rectangular hollow sections with different aspect ratios were considered. The hollow sections employed 6082‐T6 aluminium alloy and were filled with concrete of C30 grade. The specimens were subjected to gradually increasing axial compressive loading until their failure. The behaviour of the specimens was observed through continuous monitoring and recording of the strain and displacement through instrumentation mounted on the specimens at critical locations. The experimentally obtained load capacities were compared to those predicted by European design specifications. Conclusions with regards to the structural efficiency of concrete‐filled aluminium alloy columns are drawn and design recommendations in line with the observed structural response are made.
The current study numerically investigates the structural behaviour of aluminium alloy square and rectangular hollow cross-sections under compression and uniaxial bending. Material and geometric nonlinear responses were carefully considered within finite element modelling. Geometric imperfections were also included through the execution of an initial eigenvalue buckling analysis. A thorough parametric study was carried out over a range of width-to-thickness ratios used in practice. Different initial loading eccentricities were examined generating various ratios of compressive axial load and bending moment at failure. The relatively new 6082-T6 heat-treated aluminium alloy, which is increasingly employed in structural applications owing to its high strength, was selected for this study. Based on the obtained numerical capacities, the EN 1999-1-1 design interaction curves were assessed providing rather conservative predictions, particularly for the stockiest cross-sections. The simplified Continuous Strength Method was, also, evaluated exhibiting slightly more accurate with less scattering strength provisions.
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