Seismic behaviour of cross-shaped steel fibre reinforced concrete columns

This paper proposes a novel cross-shaped column in which steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is integrated with a high-strength stirrup to enhance its seismic behaviour. An experimental investigation was conducted on eight cross-shaped column specimens subjected to cyclic lateral loading. All of the specimens were evaluated in terms of their cracking patterns, failure modes, hysteresis behaviour, deformation and ductility, strength and stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation performance. The effects of the stirrup strength, stirrup spacing, steel fibre content, and axial load ratio were investigated. The experimental results demonstrated that all of the specimens exhibited flexural failure. The cracked concrete of the specimens with steel fibres could be prevented from spalling. The hysteresis loops of all of the specimens were relatively full without a readily observable pinching phenomenon and the specimens possessed a satisfactory energy dissipation capacity. Compared with the normal specimens, the specimens with high-strength stirrups, close stirrup spacing, and steel fibre exhibited a higher energy dissipation capacity, lateral bearing capacity, displacement ductility, and initial stiffness. However, the ductility rapidly decreased as the axial load ratio increased. Additionally, neither the incorporation of steel fibre nor the reduction of the stirrup spacing or the axial load ratio substantially mitigated the stiffness degradation. Based on the test results, calculation models were proposed for calculating the seismic bending moment capacities of the specimens. The calculated values were in accordance with the test results.