Ultimate moment capacity of foamed and lightweight aggregate concrete-filled steel tubes

An experimental investigation of lightweight aggregate and foamed concrete contribution to the ultimate strength capacity of square and rectangular steel tube sections is presented in this study. Thirty-four simply supported beam specimens, 1000-mm long, filled with lightweight aggregate and foamed concretes were tested in pure flexural bending to calculate the ultimate moment capacity. Normal concrete-filled steel tubular and bare steel sections of identical dimensions were also tested and compared to the filled steel sections. Theoretical values of ultimate moment capacity of the beam specimens were also calculated in this study for comparison purposes. The test results showed that lightweight aggregate and foamed concrete significantly enhance the load carrying capacity of steel tubular sections. Furthermore, it can be concluded from this study that lightweight aggregate and foamed concretes can be used in composite construction to increase the flexural capacity of the steel tubular sections.