Eccentric compression behavior of CFRP-confined reactive powder concrete-filled steel tube slender columns

Ultra high and large-span structural components are needed in urban modernization construction to meet the engineering requirements. Reactive powder concrete-filled steel tubes (RPCFSTs) provide a cost-effective and efficient solution for optimizing space utilization in super high-rise buildings and enhancing the crossing capacity of bridge, which accords with such development. However, these components have inherent drawbacks in terms of local buckling and corrosion resistance. The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) confinement to suppress this innate deficiency has been proven to show great advantages in limited trial results. This article establishes a comprehensive test scheme to investigate the eccentric compression performance of CFRP-confined RPCFST columns. A total of 11 specimens were prepared and subjected to biased compression test by varying the component length (400, 800, 1200, and 1600 mm), number of CFRP layers (0-3), and load eccentricity (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 mm). The results showed that the CFRP confinement could effectively enhance the bearing capacity and energy dissipation capability of RPCFST columns while delaying the local buckling of slender specimens with low slenderness ratios. The improvement of ultimate load due to CFRP confinement exceeded 42.5 %. However, in specimens with higher slenderness ratios and with increasing load eccentricity, the confinement effect of the steel tube on the core RPC tended to weaken. An N-M interaction model for slender CFRP-confined RPCFST columns was established, and this model was validated to be in good agreement with the experimental results. The conclusions drawn from this study might given a solid foundation for the future application of CFRP-confined RPCFST structures.