Evaluation of Hollow-Core UHPC-Steel Columns with UHPC Socketed Connection

Limited techniques are available to accelerate construction of bridge substructures. Previous research was conducted by the research team on innovative hollow-core FRP-concrete-steel (HC-FCS) bridge columns consisting of an ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) or self-consolidating concrete (SCC) core sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner steel tube. The results of these previous projects indicated the proposed column design had significant potential, but lingering questions remained about the possibility of eliminating the FRP outer shell and relying on UHPC to provide required confinement of the steel tube and durability of the overall column. The proposed project will build on the results of the previously funded projects on HC-FCS columns sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and ABC-UTC to extend to UHPC-steel (HC-US) columns and to examine unanswered questions relative to column composition, UHPC thickness, and column-footing connection. The project will consist of experimental testing of four approximately half-scale column and footing specimens with variation in steel wall thickness and column to footing connection type. Results from the proposed research will provide an improved basis for comparison with completed finite element modeling and for subsequent design guidelines, thereby increasing the likelihood of implementation. The final report will include a section with guidance for design and construction of the proposed HC-US columns. These guidelines will include equations to determine steel thickness, UHPC thickness, footing and girder embedment depths, and nominal flexural and shear strengths of HC-US columns.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $65,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348322

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Innovative Bridge Technologies/Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (IBT/ABC-UTC)

  Florida International University
  Miami, FL  United States 

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Oklahoma, Norman

  School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science
  202 West Boyd Street, Room 334
  Norman, OK  United States  73019
• Principal Investigators:

  Floyd, Royce

• Start Date: 20260101
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge construction; Bridge substructures; Columns; Steel; Ultra high performance concrete
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01987962
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Innovative Bridge Technologies/Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (IBT/ABC-UTC)
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348322
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Apr 27 2026 7:42PM