FRP-confined concrete-encased cross-shaped steel columns: stub column tests

FRP-confined concrete-encased cross-shaped steel columns (FCCSCs) are a new form of hybrid columns recently developed at the University of Wollongong. An FCCSC consists of a square FRP outer tube, a cross-shaped steel section and concrete filled in between. This sectional configuration ensures that the concrete is very effectively confined despite the square shape of the column, and that the steel section is well protected and constrained by the FRP tube from corrosion and buckling, leading to a column that is highly ductile and corrosion-resistant. In this paper, results from a series of stub column tests are presented to demonstrate some of the expected advantages of the new column form.