Cross section design of and mechanical performance investigation into RPC hollow members

Based on stability theory and the material behavior of reactive powder concrete (RPC), hollow compression members were designed based on the shear strength of the thinnest part of the cross section. The bearing capacity of the hollow compression member was calculated theoretically. Four of the designed hollow compression members were constructed, on which axial compression tests were performed. A Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system was adopted in the test to obtain the field strain nephogram and load-actual deformation curves of the compression members. An RPC constitutive model was constructed based on the Weibull distribution, and the corresponding RPC damaged plasticity model was also constructed in ABAQUS. The performance of the hollow compression member was simulated using the RPC damaged plasticity model and the results agree well with the theoretical and test results. The failure compression stress is close to the RPC strength, which verified the rationality of the designed cross section. This research can serve as a reference for the application of RPC in frame structures.