Compressive behavior of stainless-clad bimetallic steel plate-UHPC composite walls

This paper investigates the axial compressive behavior of an innovative composite wall consisting of stainless-clad bimetallic steel faceplates and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) infill. The innovative wall can address three major challenges of traditional steel-concrete composite walls, i.e., rapid degradation of the lateral stiffness , insufficient ductility of the concrete infill, and limited corrosion resistance of steel faceplates. A total of 12 tests were first conducted, considering the effects of normalized faceplate slenderness ratio ( λ ), concrete type, and steel type. Finite element models were then developed and benchmarked for parametric studies . Results from tests and parametric analysis showed that: (1) failure modes of the composite wall were local buckling of steel faceplate and concrete crushing; (2) increasing λ significantly reduced the axial compressive strength of the composite wall and critical buckling stress of the steel faceplate, but had a negligible effect on the axial stiffness ; (3) UHPC greatly improved the compressive strength and axial stiffness of the composite wall, but also resulted in a more brittle behavior. Finally, the applicability of current design provisions (i.e., CECS:546–2018, Eurocode 4, and AISC 360–22) for estimating the axial compressive strength was evaluated, and a new design equation was proposed. • Introduces an innovative composite wall consisting of stainless-clad bimetallic steel faceplates and UHPC infill. • Investigates the axial compressive behavior of stainless-clad bimetallic steel plate-UHPC composite walls. • Proposes a simplified design equation to estimate compressive strength.