Ultimate bearing capacity of reinforced concrete masonry columns subjected to eccentric load

Abstract

An experimental and theoretical study of columns made of reinforced concrete masonry loaded by an eccentric compression is presented. Experiments are conducted to investigate the deformation characteristics and the mechanical performances of 16 columns, which are divided into eight groups using different geometries. Using fundamental assumptions and a theoretical calculation method for the ultimate bearing capacity of the reinforced masonry columns, a new formula for the ultimate bearing capacity is presented in this paper. Load–midheight lateral displacement curves are predicted by a numerical analysis which gives good agreement with the model test results. This study provides a database that can be used to improve the design codes of reinforced concrete masonry columns.

Keywords:

• column
• reinforced masonry
• slenderness ratio
• eccentricity

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50978171).