Axial behavior of RC column strengthened with SM-CFST

This paper aims to investigate the axial compressive behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns strengthened with self-compacting and micro-expanding (SM) concrete-filled steel tubes (SM-CFSTs). Nine specimens were tested in total under the local axial compression. The test parameters included steel tube thickness, filling concrete strength, filling concrete type and initial axial preloading. The test results demonstrated that the initial stiffness, ultimate bearing capacity and ductility of original RC columns were improved after being strengthened by SM-CFSTs. The ultimate bearing capacity of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns was significantly enhanced with the increase of steel tube thickness. The initial stiffness and ultimate bearing capacity of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns were slightly enhanced with the increase of filling concrete strength. However, the effect of filling concrete type and initial axial preloading of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns were negligible. Three equations for predicting the ultimate bearing capacity of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns were compared, and the modified equation based on Chinese code (GB 50936-2014) was more precise.