Experimental investigation of fire effects under axial compression on ductility and stiffness of (SIFCON) columns

This article is an experimental study of the efficiency after fire exposure of slurry infiltrated fiber concrete (SIFCON) columns. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive study of the fire effect on the stiffness, ductility, and energy absorption capacity of axially loaded SIFCON columns and to inspect the effect of hollow ratio and cross section shape on the energy dissipation ability, ductility, and stiffness features of the post-fire behavior of these columns. Hybrid fibers were used to cast SIFCON columns with 6% fiber ratio (3% hooked end fiber + 3% straight micro fiber). The results showed that the cube compressive strength decreased by 25.1% and 53% when exposed to fire at a temperatures of 600 and 900 degrees C, respectively. The results obtained revealed that after exposure to fire, the indices values of displacement ductility are not strongly impaired and it has been shown that the assessment of the energy dissipation ability is more relevant in this situation. Whereafter fire exposure at 600 degrees C, the SIFCON columns lost about 11%-31% of the energy absorption capacity and about 39%-57% after fire exposure at 900 degrees C. In comparison, after fire exposure, the secant and initial stiffness greatly degraded and the reduction percentages became higher with a rise in fire temperature from 600 to 900 degrees C.

Automated summary

This article presents an experimental study on the efficiency of slurry infiltrated fiber concrete (SIFCON) columns after fire exposure. The results show that the compressive strength of SIFCON columns decreases after fire exposure, while the displacement ductility and energy dissipation ability are not significantly affected. Additionally, higher fire temperatures lead to a greater reduction in stiffness.