Corrosion of carbon steel reinforcement is the major cause of premature deterioration
of reinforced concrete buildings and infrastructure. There are increasing interests in the use of
maintenance-free materials such as stainless steel reinforcement in concrete, with inherent
durability and resistance to various forms of corrosion and favourable mechanical properties, in
particular excellent ductility and cyclic resistance. This paper presents the main results of an
experimental programme designed to investigate the potential benefits of the relatively high
ductility and substantial strain hardening of stainless steel on the cyclic performance of reinforced
concrete columns with stainless steel reinforcing bars. Three experimental tests were performed
on full-scale columns, two with duplex EN 1.4462 stainless steel reinforcement, one tested under
cyclic lateral loading and one tested monotonically, and one control specimen with A500 carbon
steel reinforcement tested under cyclic lateral loading. In addition, conventional pull-out tests and
tensile tests were conducted for a comparative assessment of the bond and mechanical
properties of the reinforcement bars. The force-displacement global response and the dissipated
energy evolution of the tested columns are presented and discussed
