Effectiveness of ECC Encasement on the Compressive Behaviour of Slender CFST Column– A Numerical Study

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical study on the compressive behavior of Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) encased slender Concrete Filled Steel Tube (CFST) column under concentric loading. In this study, a detailed Finite Element (FE) model was developed using ABAQUS to investigate the compressive behavior of the columns. The FE model was first validated against the existing test results and then employed to conduct a comprehensive parametric study. In the parametric study, the effects of various parameters such as the concrete-to-steel ratio, the thickness of the ECC layer, the strength of the steel tube, and the compressive strength of ECC and core concrete were investigated on the compressive behavior of the columns. The parametric study provided valuable insights into the compressive behavior of slender ECC CFST columns under concentric loading and highlighted the potential application of ECC as effective encasing material for enhancing the performance of CFST columns. Furthermore, this study investigated the failure modes of the columns, including local buckling of the steel tube and the crushing of the concrete. The result of this study showed that ECC, as an encasing material dramatically enhanced the columns’ load carrying capacity under compression. The findings of this investigation would be beneficial for day-to-day design practitioners.