Behaviour of short polymer-high strength concrete columns under eccentric compression

Engineers have been looking for ways to combine two or more materials in order to take advantage of their strong features. This is how the hybrid materials were born. A very common type of such a construction material is the reinforced concrete. The present paper presents the results of the experimental and numerical investigations of the behaviour of short hybrid concrete columns subjected to short-time eccentric compression. The columns are made of high strength concrete, in the compression part, and polymer concrete located in the tensioned part. At the age of 28 days the columns were subjected to eccentric compression, with constant eccentricity. The influence of the second order effects, such as creep, was neglected. From the experimental results it can be concluded that the type of reinforcement can have a significant effect on the ultimate carrying capacity of the hybrid columns. The numerical simulations by means of non-linear finite element analysis are in good agreement with the experimental results.