Concrete Filled Structural Plastic Columns

A theoretical analysis and experimental tests were conducted on commercially available plastic pipe (PVC and ABS) filled with a concrete core. The theoretical analysis implied an interaction between the concrete core and plastic pipe and a corresponding increase in strength of the concrete core. Under a column loading, the structural behavior of the plastic pipe was similar to the behavior of spiral reinforcement. The plastic pipe increased the strength of the concrete core approximately 3.2 times the pipe burst pressure. Slenderness ratio effects reduced the column capacity once they reached a value of 20. Test results show that concrete filled plastic pipe columns show considerable promise for structural applications.