UC Irvine

The main goal of this research study is to evaluate the structural behavior of symmetric and asymmetric built-up composite columns subjected to lateral loading. The composite columns were made up of two outer layers of high-strength structural mortar with three-dimensional welded-wire space truss incorporating diagonal cross wires welded to welded wire reinforcement (WWR) on each side of a fire retardant Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam inner core. This study deals with the experimental investigation and methodology carried out for the fabrication and testing of these built-up columns with the EPS sandwich panels. The peak load, maximum strains and horizontal displacements of each of the specimens were obtained and the different failure modes were identified and recorded.

This thesis also presents the detailed output of the nonlinear 3-D finite element analysis of the composite columns modeled using ANSYS. The numerical analysis results were comparable with the experimental results and were conservative. The conclusions from the experimental test results were drawn and the scope for future research work is also discussed.