Behavior of high-performance fiber-reinforced cement composite columns subjected to horizontal biaxial and axial loads

•The strength and ductility of HPFRCC specimens were remarkable improved.•The capacity of the FC and SF columns adding PVA showed very little difference.•The ductility and energy dissipation are inversely proportional to axial load. Current design in the ACI building code for reinforced concrete columns under seismic load combinations requires reinforced detailing which causes reinforcement congestion and construction difficulties. As an alternative solution, the use of high-performance fiber-reinforced cement composites (HPFRCC) with an economical type of Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) fibers in column elements was investigated in this paper. Six column specimens with 2/3 scale including three standard reinforced columns and three columns using PVA fibers were tested. In the research work herein presented, biaxial cyclic lateral loads were applied to specimens subjected to either 10% or 30% constant axial loads. The experimental results are presented and the global behaviors of the tested columns are discussed, particularly focusing on stiffness and strength degradations due to increasing cyclic demand. Test results indicated superior damage tolerance and stable inelastic load–displacement responses up to 5% or 9% drift for the HPFRCC columns, even though they suffered severe shear cracks. Specimens without PVA all showed very limited ductility and low strengths.