Flexural response of polymer concrete filled steel beams

In view of the mounting cost of rehabilitating deteriorating infrastructure, further compounded by intensified environmental concerns, it is now obvious that the evolvement and application of advanced composite structural materials to complement conventional construction materials is a necessity for sustainable construction. This study seeks alternative fill materials (polymer-based) to the much-limited cement concrete used in concrete-filled steel tubular structures. Polymers have been successfully used in other industries and are known to be much lighter, possess high tensile strength, durable and resistant to aggressive environments. Findings of this study relating to clasto-plastic characteristics of polymer concrete filled steel composite beams subjected to uniform bending highlight the enormous increase in stiffness, strength and ductility of the composite beams, over the empty steel tube. Moreover, polymer based materials were noted to present a wide array of properties that could be tailored to meet specific design requirements, e.g. ductility based design or strength based design. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.