Hysteretic behavior of reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete columns under combined axial and flexural loads
摘要
Ultra-high-performance concrete is a promising material for structures in earthquake-prone regions due to its high compressive strength, excellent ductility, and superior energy dissipation capacity. Although extensive research has investigated the monotonic or cyclic behavior of reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete members under combined axial and flexural loads, direct comparisons between their monotonic and cyclic responses remain limited. Furthermore, the flexural strength prediction model for cyclically loaded reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete columns under combined axial and flexural loads has not been well-addressed in the available technical literature. To address these gaps, six reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete specimens with different steel fiber volumes and axial load ratios were tested, including three specimens subjected to monotonic loading and the remaining three subjected to cyclic loading. The results indicate that the specimens with 2% steel fiber in volume exhibited flexural failure, whereas those without steel fiber failed in shear. Compared with the monotonically loaded reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete specimens, cyclic loading reduced the fiber-bridging capacity of ultra-high-performance concrete, leading to reductions of up to 11.1% in load-carrying capacity and 21.1% in the ductility factor, respectively. An increase in the steel fiber volume or a decrease in the axial load ratio had a favorable effect on the ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Finally, a new flexural strength prediction model for cyclically loaded reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete members, incorporating both the second-order effects from axial load and the cyclic degradation of steel fiber-bridging effect in the tensile zone, was proposed and verified with available experimental data.