Lecture 06 Tied columns

The A tied column is a concrete column reinforced with rectangular reinforcement called ties (Figure 6-1) in addition to longitudinal reinforcement. The part of the section enclosed by the ties is called the core. The part of the section outside the core is called the shell.

Figure 6-1 Tied column One of the conclusions from the ACI Column Investigation (Richart ) that has stood the test of time is the simple relationship. fc = C*fc fc : compressive strength of concrete in a vertically cast column C : A coefficient with the value 0.85 fc : Strength of concrete determined using 6*12-in. test cylinders. There is, indeed, no reason to expect that C should be unity even if the distributions of cement, water, fine aggregate, and coarse aggregate are identical in the column and in the cylinder. The curing rates in structural members of different size would be different leading to different strengths at different times. On the other hand, there is no way to arrive at the value of C from first principles. It needs to be determined by tests. The value of 0.85 was based on the results of columns tested with and without longitudinal reinforcement in the course of the ACI Column Investigation (Reference). Its being smaller than unity was rationalized by recognizing that in a column, considerably taller than the test cylinder, the coarse aggregate tends to sink to the lower parts of the column driving the water to the top. The migration of the water to the top increases the water-to-cement ratio in the upper parts of the column leading to strength lower than that in the cylinder. It is to be noted that C = 0.85 was not the result of a statistical study but of a judgment call. Strictly, its use should be limited to the ranges of the variables included in the ACI Column Investigation. However, the constant C = 0.85 has been used universally for reinforced concrete structures, even for horizontally cast beams. We shall assume it to be correct in discussing the strength of the tied column. Figure 6-2 shows typical stress-strain relationships of for a concrete cylinder, a plain concrete column, and a tied column. Note that, after the peak stress is reached, stress decreases with increasing strain. Tthe rate of decrease of the stress of the tied column is less than that of the plain concrete. This is attributable to the effect of ties because that ties prevent horizontal expansion of concrete. The effect is especially large along the diagonals of
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the section. The effect is larger if the spacing of ties is smaller and the section has the cross or interlocking-ties as shown in Figure 6-3.

Figure 6-2 Stress-strain relationship of concrete cylinder, plain concrete column, and tied column Example 1 We have a ten-feet-long column with a section shown in Figure 6-43. The reinforcing bars are Standard standard Grade 60 A706 #6 bars and the nominal strength of the concrete is 6000 psi. Compute the relationship between the applied axial-force P and the deformation of the column under for transient concentric compressive forces. Assume that the stressstrain relationship for steel is as shown in Figure 6-4a and those the stress-strain relationships for concrete cover and core can be described with by the solid and broken lines in Figure 6-4b, respectively. Note that the assumed compressive strength of concrete (5100 psi) is 0.85 times the nominal strength (6000 psi). Figure 6-3 Tied column under concentric compressive force

Figure 6-4 Stress-strain relationship Solution

Figure 6-5 Force-deformation relationship

The compressive force carried by the reinforcing bars at the yield point is obtained multiplying the yield strength (60 ksi) and the sectional area of the bars (12#6). Because the area of #6 bar is 0.44 in2, we get

Psy = f y Ast = 60 ksi ( 12 0.44 in.2 ) = 320 kip

The shortening of the column at the strain of 0.002 is:

2 = y L = 0.002 ( 12in./ft 10 ft ) = 0.24 in.

The force-deformation relationship for steel is shown in Figure 6-5a. The area of the core is obtained subtracting the area of steel from (16 x 16). The compressive force carried by the core at the strain of 0.001 is obtained multiplying 3,800 psi and the area of the core.

Pc1 = 3.8 ksi ( 16 in. 16 in. 12 0.44 in.2 ) = 3.8 ksi ( 256 in.2 5 in.2 ) = 954 kip
The shortening of the column at the strain of 0.001 is:

1 = 0.001 ( 12in./ft 10 ft ) = 0.12 in.

The forces and the shortening of the column at the strain of 0.002 are obtained similarly and we get the forcedeformation relationship for the core (Figure 6-5b). Similarly, we get the relationship for the cover noting that the area of the area of the shell is (20 x 20) (16 x 16) as shown in Figure 6-5c. Adding these three contributions leads to the relationship shown in Figure 6-5d.
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Design axial strength of columns

(Pujol-sensei)

The formulation presented has three implicit assumptions: 1) The peak axial load is not to be sustained for a long period of time, 2) The load is applied with no eccentricity, 3) The column is plumb and straight. In practice, none of these assumptions is accurate. Axial loads caused by gravity can act on columns for long periods of time, -intentionally or unintentionally- loads are always applied at a certain distance from the axis of the column, and columns are seldom perfectly straight and vertical. In design, we need to consider these differences between our theory and reality because: 1) the strength of a cylinder or a column loaded slowly (or for a long period) is lower than the strength of a similar cylinder loaded rapidly. In fact, a plain-concrete column can resist a sustained concentric axial load equal to 90% of its expected short-term strength for hours, some times days, but usually not for months. As the magnitude of the sustained load increases the time to failure decreases. 2) eccentricity and deviations between the line of action of the load and the axis of the element result in bending. And bending causes additional compression of some of the fibers in the element and thus results in a reduction in resistance to axial compression. To account for the effects of sustained loads and unexpected eccentricity, the maximum load that can be applied to tied columns is limited to For columns with tie reinforcement

Pn ,max = 0.80 0.85 f c ' ( Ag Ast ) + f y Ast

A g A st + f y A st Pn , max = 0.8 0.85 f c

To provide a margin of safety against possible variations in the strength of the materials, unexpected deviations from our projections and reality, and because the consequences of the failure of a column can be catastrophic, the nominal capacity is reduced further using a strength-reduction factor <1:

A g A st + f y A st Pn , max = 0.8 0.85 f c

In the current code, is 0.65 for tied columns.

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Example 2: Compute the design axial strength of the column described in Example 1 using = 0.65. Solution (Pujol-sensei)

A g A st + f y A st Pn , max = 0.8 0.85 f c

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Pn , max = 0.65 0.8 0.85 6ksi 20in 20in 12 0.44in 2 + 60ksi 12 0.44in 2 Pn , max = 0.65 0.8 [ 2330kip] =1210 kip

Observe that the design capacity is approximately half the nominal capacity. Remember: 1) The axial strength of an actual column is obtained assuming that the concrete strength is 85% of that of test cylinders. 2) The sum of the contribution of steel and concrete gives the axial strength of a column.

Exercise Repeat Examples 1 and 2 assuming that we use #5 7 bars. You will note that the contribution of steel to the design axial strength is still much smaller than that of concrete.