Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.

31]37, 1998
Q 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0950]0618r98 $19.00 q 0.00
PII:S0950–0618(97)00071–8

Strength and ductility of spirally reinforced

rectangular concrete columns

Ahmed Sherif Essawy U and Moetaz El-Hawary

Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Petroleum, Kuwait

University, P.O. Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait

Received 12 December 1996; revised 1 October 1997; accepted 2 November 1997

This experimental study aims at investigating the effects of the inclusion of spiral reinforcement with or
without steel fibers on the strength and ductility of rectangular column cross sections. The study
included testing of 36 short column specimens with different spiral diameters, pitches of the spiral
rebars and steel fiber contents as ductility enhancement measures. However, the other parameters
were kept constant to observe clearly the effects of the parameters identified in this study. The results
of this investigation indicated that the inclusion of spiral reinforcement in rectangular column sections
may lead to an increase in its load carrying capacity (independent of the core diameter) and ductility
especially in cases of spiral pitches within the ACI code limitations. It also indicated that the inclusion
of steel fibers in spirally reinforced columns may lead to a significant improvement in its ductility.
Q 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: concrete columns; spirals; fiber

Introduction initiated to investigate the effects of the inclusion of

Columns of rectangular cross sections are often found
in concrete structures where their ductility is mainly
enhanced by the use of closely spaced ties or hoops.
Ductility of such columns can also be improved through
the use of fiber reinforced concrete in lieu of the
regular non-fiber concrete. On the other hand, ductility
of circular columns is known to be significantly im-
proved with the use of spiral reinforcement. The previ-
ous research work in this area is mainly concerned with
investigations of the effects of both hoops and spiral
reinforcement on the strength and ductility of circular
columns1. Other investigators developed models for
evaluating the confining effect of spirals in circular
columns and ties in rectangular columns on their
strength and ductility 2,3. A recent study involved tests
of bridge columns with interlocking spiral re-
inforcement 4 . However, the effect of spiral reinforce-
ment on rectangular column cross sections is not yet
fully understood.
The experimental study reported in this article was
spiral reinforcement on the strength and ductility of
rectangular column cross sections. It also aimed at
evaluating the relative contribution of this reinforce-
ment and use of fiber reinforced concrete on the
strength and ductility of the columns.
Experimental program
The experimental program was designed to meet the
above mentioned objectives. This program included
testing of short column specimens having spirals of
different pitches and core diameters in addition to the
control sample which had no spirals. Other parameters
such as the specimen size, longitudinal reinforcement
and lateral ties were kept constant to observe clearly
the effects of the parameters identified in this study.
The details of test specimens and the properties of the
materials are given in the following sections.
Test specimens

U
Corresponding author. Tel.: q965 4811188 ext. 5729; fax: q965 A total of 36 short column specimens having a cross
4817524; e-mail: essawy@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw. sectional area of 150 mm2 and a length of 500 mm

31
32 Spirally reinforced rectangular concrete columns: A. S. Essawy and M. El-Hawary
Figure 1 Detail of reinforcement of test specimens. Ža. Spirals of
100 mm core diameter. Žb. Spirals of 60 mm core diameter
were constructed for this study. All specimens were
provided with eight longitudinal bars of 8 mm diameter
to yield a longitudinal reinforcement ratio of 1.8% and
five ties of 4 mm diameter. The test specimens were
categorized into two series each of 18 samples. Speci-
mens of the first series were fabricated using a regular
non-fiber concrete mix whereas those of the second
series were made of concrete having 4% steel fibers by
volume. Three repetitions of five different spiral con-
figurations in addition to three more specimens without
spirals were included in each series. Investigated spiral
configurations consisted of two different core diam-
eters of 60 and 100 mm and three different pitches of
50, 100 and 150 mm to produce different volumetric
ratios of spiral reinforcement ranging from 0.09% to
Table 1 Lateral reinforcement details of test specimens
Specimen a
No. Designation Ties
1 S0 5F4
2 S 100r150 5F4
3 S 100r100 5F4
4 S 100r50 5F4
5 S 60r150 5F4
6 S 60r100 5F4
a
Three repetitions of each of these specimens were tested.
0.36%. The reinforcement details of the test specimens
for the first series are shown in Figure 1 and given in
Table 1. Those of the second series are exactly the
same but designated as FS instead of the first series
designation, S.
It should be noted that the range of volumetric ratios
of spiral reinforcement in the tested specimens was
below the minimum value specified in the recommen-
dations of the ACI Committee 1055 for spirally rein-
forced columns. These recommendations suggested an
expression for the minimum volumetric ratio of spirals
as a function of the gross cross sectional area of the
column, its core concrete area, the compressive strength
of the concrete and the yield strength of the spirals.
Two spiral spacings were also larger than the maximum
spacing specified in the ACI Building Code6 . These
were so selected as the spirals were not the only means
of confinement in the tested specimens due to the
presence of the regular rectangular ties.
Material properties
A normal weight concrete mix was designed to give a
relatively low strength value for a more pronounced
effect of confinement. Tested standard concrete cylin-
ders at the time of column testing yielded average
compressive strengths of 18.3 and 20.0 MPa for the
regular and fiber reinforced concrete mixes, respec-
tively.
Test samples of the longitudinal reinforcement made
of 8-mm undeformed bars resulted in an average yield
strength of 450 MPa. However, the samples taken from
the lateral tie and spiral reinforcement made of 4-mm
undeformed wires gave an average yield strength of 245
MPa. The steel fibers used in the second series speci-
mens were made of round steel wire fiber having a
length of 30 mm and a diameter of 0.5 mm to yield a
length to diameter ratio of 60. These fibers comply with
Standard ASTM A820.
Construction of test specimens
The 36 test specimens were constructed in two series.
In the first series concerned with the regular non-fiber
concrete, after the reinforcement cage was prepared, it
was held in place in 150 2 = 500 mm metallic mold. The
regular concrete material mixing was performed in a
standard laboratory concrete mixer. The specimens
F4-spirals Volumetric ratio
Core diameter Pitch of spiral reinforcement
Žmm. Žmm. Ž%.
} } 0
100 150 0.13
100 100 0.18
100 50 0.36
60 150 0.09
60 100 0.12
 Spirally reinforced rectangular concrete columns: A. S. Essawy and M. El-Hawary 33

structed similarly but with the steel fibers added gradu-

ally to the concrete during mixing to ensure their
uniform distribution within the batch. This was con-
firmed later by inspecting failed specimens. It should
also be noted that a 15% more super-plasticizing water
reducing admixture was added to the mix to obtain
consistency similar to that of the non-fiber concrete
mix. Three standard compression cylinder specimens
were also cast from each batch of concrete. All speci-
mens were moist-cured for 24 h and then placed in
humidity chamber for 28 days prior to testing.

Figure 2 A 150-mm pitch-specimen during testing
were then cast and compacted on a low frequency
vibrating table. The other series specimens were con-
Testing procedure
Prior to testing, specimens were capped with plaster on
both ends to eliminate any possibility of non-uniform
loading due to uneven top or bottom surfaces. The
specimens were then tested under monotonically in-
creasing axial compression. The load was applied at

Figure 3 Failure patterns of tested specimens. Ža. A 50-mm pitch-specimen. Žb. A fiber concrete specimen

Table 2 Test results of regular concrete specimens

Specimen Column capacity Mean displacement Žmm. Mean
No. Designation Mean ŽkN. C.O.V. Ž%. a At max. load At failure ductility index b

1 S0 486.8 7.0 3.44 3.44 1.00

2 S 100r150 519.3 10.0 3.93 5.36 1.36
3 S 100r100 569.8 9.4 5.20 5.90 1.16
4 S 100r50 582.1 1.2 5.15 9.00 1.49
5 S 60r150 521.1 6.0 3.85 6.43 1.65
6 S 60r100 564.4 11.9 4.27 6.89 1.63
a
C.O.V. is the coefficient of variation.
b
Mean ductility index is the mean of ratios of displacement at failure to that at maximum load.
34 Spirally reinforced rectangular concrete columns: A. S. Essawy and M. El-Hawary

Table 3 Test results of fiber concrete specimens

Specimen Column capacity Mean displacement Mean
No. Designation Mean ŽkN. C.O.V. Ž%.a At max. load At failure ductility index b

1 FS 0 434.9 6.0 4.91 6.12 1.25

2 FS 100r150 434.6 0.5 4.94 4.94 1.00
3 FS 100r100 487.6 7.3 5.24 6.85 1.27
4 FS 100r50 484.7 4.0 6.07 13.23 2.19
5 FS 60r150 533.5 5.5 4.91 10.74 2.31
6 FS 60r100 514.6 3.7 4.75 7.62 1.59
a
C.O.V. is the coefficient of variation.
b
Mean ductility index is the mean of ratios of displacement at failure to that at maximum load.

constant rate from zero to failure which was de-
termined primarily by excessive crushing of concrete
enclosed within the spirals together with buckling of
the longitudinal bars. A photograph for one of the
150-mm pitch-specimens during testing is shown in
Figure 2. The patterns of failure observed in the speci-
mens at the end of tests were also recorded and sam-
ples of these patterns are shown in Figures 2 and 3.
Test results and discussion
Load carrying capacities of short column specimens
The test results are summarized in Tables 2 and 3 for
the regular concrete and fiber concrete specimens,
respectively. In these tables, the mean value of the
maximum loads recorded for the three specimens of
each condition is given as the mean column capacity

Figure 4 Effect of pitch of spirals on column capacity

Figure 5 Effect of pitch of spirals on column capacity Žwith steel fibers.

 Spirally reinforced rectangular concrete columns: A. S. Essawy and M. El-Hawary
Figure 6 Load]displacement diagrams for 100-mm core diameter
specimens Žregular concrete.
together with its coefficient of variation. The tables
also include the mean displacements for the three
specimens of each condition both at maximum load
Figure 7 Load]displacement diagrams for 60-mm core diameter
specimens Žregular concrete.
35
Figure 8 Load]displacement diagrams for 100-mm pitch specimens
Žregular concrete.
and at failure as defined earlier. The individual dis-
placements were used to estimate the ductility index
and the mean index of the three specimens is also
given in the tables for the different conditions.
The test results of the regular concrete specimens in
Table 2 and Figure 4 clearly indicate that the load
carrying capacity increases with the inclusion of the
spirals especially for the cases of 100 and 50 mm
pitches. The results of the 60-mm core diameter showed
load capacities similar to those of the 100-mm diameter
with insignificant difference.
The test results of the fiber concrete specimens in
Table 3 and Figure 5 yielded load capacities less than
those obtained from the regular concrete ones which
was not expected. This may be attributed to the low
workability level encountered with the inclusion of the
steel fibers in the mix. These results also indicate an
increase in the load carrying capacities of the speci-
mens with the inclusion of the spirals especially for the
cases of 100 and 50 mm pitches. The results of the
60-mm core diameter were significantly higher than
those of the 100-mm ones. This may be attributed to
the larger bar spacing which resulted in better com-
paction of the low workability mix.
Deformability and ductility of short column specimens
The load]displacement diagrams were recorded auto-
matically for all tested specimens from zero load to
failure through the computer controlled INSTRON
test machine. Some of these diagrams are assembled
36 Spirally reinforced rectangular concrete columns: A. S. Essawy and M. El-Hawary
Figure 9 Load]displacement diagrams for 100-mm core diameter
specimens Žfiber concrete.
together as shown in Figures 6]11 for comparison
purposes. The ductility indices given in Tables 2 and 3
are so small that they cannot be used for defining the
Figure 10 Load]displacement diagrams for 100-mm core diameter
specimens Žfiber concrete.
Figure 11 Load]displacement diagrams for specimens with and
without fibers
deformability and ductility of the specimens. Therefore
the load]displacement diagrams were utilized to judge
the relative deformability and ductility of the tested
specimens.
The load]displacement diagrams of the regular con-
crete specimens in Figures 6 and 7 showed reasonable
increase in the ductility with the inclusion of the spirals
and its increase with the decrease in the spiral pitch for
both cases of 100 and 60 mm core diameters. However,
no significant difference was observed between the
ductility behavior of both core diameters as shown in
Figure 8.
Load]displacement diagrams for fiber concrete
specimens are shown in Figures 9 and 10. These dia-
grams indicate a more ductile behavior with the inclu-
sion of spirals of pitch of 100 mm or less. This was true
for both cases of 100 and 60 mm core diameters.
Relati¨e effect of steel fibers
The relative effect of steel fibers can be clearly seen in
Figure 11. Steel fibers significantly increase the ductility
of the column specimens. However, as mentioned ear-
lier the noted decrease in the load carrying capacity of
the specimens with steel fibers was not expected. This
may be attributed to the low level of workability experi-
enced in concrete mixes with this type of fiber. There-
fore it is recommended to use these fibers only if the
level of workability of the mix is so improved to ensure
its proper compaction.
 Spirally reinforced rectangular concrete columns: A. S. Essawy and M. El-Hawary
Conclusions and recommendations
On the basis of results of this experimental investiga-
tion, the following conclusions are made:
1. The inclusion of spiral reinforcement in rectangu-
lar column sections may lead to an increase in its
load carrying capacity and ductility especially in
cases of spiral pitches within the ACI code limita-
tions.
2. The effect of the spirals on the load carrying capac-
ity of the columns was found to be independent of
the core diameter for the sizes investigated in this
study.
3. The inclusion of steel fibers in rectangular column
sections with spiral reinforcement may lead to a
significant improvement in its ductility. However, to
avoid any possible reduction in the load carrying
capacity, a reasonable level of workability for
proper compaction should be ensured.
37
References
1 Sheik, S. and Toklucu, M., Reinforced concrete columns confined
by circular spirals and hoops. ACI Struct. J., 1993, 90, No. 5,
542]553
2 Saatcioglu, M. and Razvi, S., Strength and ductility of confined
concrete. J. Struct. Eng., ASCE, 1992, 118, No. 25, 1590]1607
3 Chen, B. and Mau, S., Numerical simulation of behavior of
spirally reinforced columns. J. Struct. Eng., ASCE, 1990, 116, No.
10, 2842]2861
4 Buckingham, G., McLean, D. and Nelson, C., Tests of concrete
bridge columns with interlocking spiral reinforcement.
Transportation Research Record No. 1393, 1993, 133]145
5 ACI Committee 105, Reinforced concrete column investigation
} Tentative Final Report. ACI J., 1933, 29, No. 5, 275]282
6 ACI Committee 318, Building code requirements for reinforced
concrete and commentary ŽACI 318M-95rACI 318RM-95.,
American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1995