The significance of transverse steel configurations to the behaviour of RC columns

Appropriate design of transverse reinforcements provides significant confinement to the concrete within the core of the reintorced concrete (RC) columns and subsequently improves its strength and ductility. This paper presents the results of an analytical investigation on the significance of the transverse steel configuration to the behaviour of RC colunms. The effectiveness of five commonly used transverse steel configurations for square RC columns subjected to a pre-defined level of axial compression and latcral loading was examined in the research. From the stress-strain curves of the confined core concrete and the lateral load-displacement curves of the columns, the effectiveness of the configurations was evaluated and discussed.