Tests of concrete-filled aluminum stub columns

An experimental investigation of concrete-filled aluminum tube columns is presented in this paper. The structural performance of the concrete-filled aluminum tube columns was investigated using different concrete cylinder strengths of 40, 70 and 100 MPa. A series of tests was conducted to investigate the effects of the shape of the aluminum tube, plate thickness and concrete strength on the behavior and strength of concrete-filled aluminum tube columns using square and rectangular hollow sections. The tubes were fabricated by extrusion using 6061-T6 heat-treated aluminum alloy. The overall depth-to-thickness ratio of the tube sections ranged from 8.2 to 63.8. The tube column lengths were chosen so that the length-to-depth ratio generally remained at a constant value of 3 to prevent overall column buckling. The concrete-filled aluminum tube specimens were subjected to uniform axial compression. The column strengths, load–axial shortening relationship and failure modes of the columns were presented. The test strengths were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American specifications and Australian/New Zealand standards for aluminum and concrete structures. It is shown that the design strengths do not agree well with the experimental results.