Minimum cost design of fibre-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular columns

This paper studies the minimum cost design of fibre-reinforced concrete-filled steel tube columns. It takes into account the effects of confinement of concrete and its steel fibre reinforcement. The constraints of the optimum design, prescribed by the strength and stability requirements, are adopted from the provisions of modern structural codes. A computer program for the analysis has been developed, which emphasizes the dimensioning of the composite column and identification of the optimum quantity of fibres in matrix material. The paper concludes with two representative numerical examples, which show that in-filled composite columns can be designed both economically and effectively using the proposed methodology.