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Abstract This research aims to study the structural performance of lightweight steel box columns filled with different types of lightweight materials. The experimental study included eleven square columns with a side length of 200 × 200 mm and a column height of 1000 mm, and the dimensions of the inner box were 100 × 100 mm along the column height. Seven Ferrocement concrete (FC) columns and four Normal Weight Concrete (NWC) columns were cast and tested under axial load and eccentric load, where the load is transmitted by 20% of the column width. FC columns are reinforced with welded wire mesh as an alternative to traditional stirrups. The main factors include the type of lightweight concrete used for the core, the type of concrete column, the existing steel grating, the hollow core, and the axial eccentric load. Experimental results showed that Ferrocement FC concrete, various packing materials, and the use of Welded Wire Mesh (WWM) instead of the traditional stirrup increased the final load by an average of 35% and reduced the vertical and horizontal displacement by an average of 21.4% and 39.2%, respectively with compared to the NWC control sample. The use of lightweight mixtures BLWC, FLWC, and brick to fill holes in WWM-reinforced FC columns leads to a decrease in the weight of the columns by 13.2, 21.5, and 25%, accompanied by an increase in the final loads of 35.2, 15.4, and 6.3%, respectively, compared to the NWC control column. The proposed equations can be used with confidence to predict the final load of hollow-core concrete columns reinforced with steel grating. The results of these equations closely match the experimental results of previous studies. The samples were re-studied by finite element (FE) modeling using the ANSYS 19 program. It can be seen that both the finite element and the value of the theoretical model are in good agreement with the experimental values. |