INVESTIGATION OF MINIMUM LONGITUDINAL REINFORCEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR CONCRETE COLUMNS USING PRESENT DAY CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Research was carried out to assess the feasibility of reducing the current ACI Building Code and AASHTO Bridge Specification requirements for minimum longitudinal reinforcing steel in columns. The aim was to determine the effects of modern-day construction materials on minimum reinforcement requirements. The long-term response of concentrically loaded and unloaded reinforced concrete column specimens is presented in this paper, and measured responses are compared with predicted long-term responses based on recommendations from ACI Committee 209.