Confinement of concrete in two-chord battened composite columns

This article provides an analysis of the complex character of stress distribution in concrete in stub columns consisting of two HE160A steel sections held together with batten plates and filled with concrete. In such columns, evaluating the effect of concrete confinement and determining the extent of this confinement constitute a substantially complex problem. The issue was considered in close correspondence to rectangular cross section tubular elements filled with concrete, concrete-encased columns, as well as to steel-concrete columns in which reinforcement bars are connected with shackles. In the analysis of concrete confinement in two-chord columns, elements of computational methods developed for different types of composite cross sections were adopted. The achieved analytical results were compared with calculations based on test results.