EFFECT OF HEAVY LATERAL REINFORCEMENT ON THE STRENGTH OF CONCENTRICALLY LOADED RC COLUMNS . PROTECTION OF CONCRETE. PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE, SEPTEMBER 11-13, 1990

Lateral reinforcement is used in columns to prevent longitudinal reinforcement from buckling and to confine concrete. There are different types of lateral reinforcement such as circular, continuous spirals, rectangular ties, continuous rectangular spirals and mesh reinforcement. In this research, the effect of heavy lateral reinforcement, i.e. mesh reinforcement, on the behavior of reinforced concrete centrically loaded columns is studied. The behavior of twenty five reinforced concrete columns having mesh reinforcement was studied considering the effect of changing the dimensions of the mesh reinforcement and the percentage of the lateral steel. A certain factor named the confinement factor has been considered to evaluate the change in both the ultimate strength and the ultimate strain. An equation has been deduced a certain formula was found calculating the gain in the concrete strength due to the existence of lateral reinforcement in the form of a mesh. (Author/TRRL)