Abstract：To address the insufficient cracking resistance and load-bearing capacity of traditional centrifugally cast concrete tubular structures (e.g., poles or piles), five full-scale tapered ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) tubular poles are designed and fabricated. Using a cantilever test method, the failure modes, cracking resistance, ultimate bearing capacity, load-deflection curves, and strain behavior of the poles are analyzed and compared, with wall thickness and coarse aggregate content as key parameters. The experimental results indicate that for centrifugally cast UHPC poles, the failure process undergoes three distinct stages: elastic, cracking, and ultimate failure. Cracks are predominantly circumferential, while longitudinal cracks develop when the wall thickness is insufficient. Increasing the wall thickness significantly enhances both the cracking resistance and ultimate bearing capacity. Incorporating coarse aggregate into the concrete mix leads to a substantial improvement in crack resistance and ultimate load-bearing capacity. Furthermore, for poles with a smaller tip diameter and lower reinforcement ratio, the inclusion of coarse aggregate alters the failure mode. The skeleton effect provided by the coarse aggregate increases the elastic modulus and flexural stiffness of the concrete pole, delays stiffness degradation, and comprehensively enhances its cracking resistance, ultimate bearing capacity, and deformation resistance.
2026, Vol. 27 
