• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 2019

Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is a type of ultra-high strength concrete that has a relatively high brittleness. However, its ductility can be improved by confinement, and the use of RPC in composite RPC filled steel tube columns has become an important subject of research in recent years. This paper aims to present an experimental study of axial capacity calculation of RPC filled circular steel tube columns. Twenty short columns under axial compression were tested and information on their failure patterns, deformation performance, confinement mechanism and load capacity were presented. The effects of load conditions, diameter-thickness ratio and compressive strength of RPC on the axial behavior were further discussed. The experimental results show that: (1) specimens display drum-shaped failure or shear failure respectively with different confinement coefficients, and the load capacity of most specimens increases after the peak load; (2) the steel tube only provides lateral confinement in the elastic-plastic stage for fully loaded specimens, while the confinement effect from steel tube initials at the set of loading for partially loaded specimens; (3) confinement increases the load capacity of specimens by 3% to 38%, and this increase is more pronounced as the confinement coefficient becomes larger; (4) the residual capacity-to-ultimate capacity ratio is larger than 0.75 for test specimens, thus identifying the composite columns have good ductility. The working mechanism and force model of the composite columns were analyzed, and based on the twin-shear unified strength theory, calculation methods of axial capacity for columns with two load conditions were established.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.63-77
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• 2016

Top-down construction is a construction technique in which pit excavation and structure construction are conducted simultaneously. Reducing construction time and minimizing noise and vibration which affect neighboring structures, the technique is widely employed in constructing downtown structures. While H-steel columns have been commonly used as core columns, concrete filled steel tube (CFT) columns are at the center of attention because the latter have less axial directionality and greater cross-sectional efficiency than the former. When compared with circular CFT columns, square CFT columns are more easily connected to the floor structure and the area of percussion rotary drilling (PRD) is smaller. For this reason, square CFT columns are used as core columns of concrete encased and filled square (CET) columns in underground floors. However, studies on the structural behavior and concrete stress transfer of CET columns have not been conducted. Since concrete is cast according to construction sequence, checking the stress of concrete inside the core columns and the stress of covering concrete is essential. This paper presents the results of structural tests and analyses conducted to evaluate the usability and safety of CET columns in top-down construction where CFT columns are used as core columns. Parameters in the tests are loading condition, concrete strength and covering depth. The compressive load capacity and failure behavior of specimens are evaluated. In addition, 2 cases of field application of CET columns in underground floors are analyzed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.463-478
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• 2006

The design of structural frameworks for buildings is constantly evolving and is dependent on regional issues such as loading and constructability. One of the most promising recent developments for low to medium rise construction in terms of efficiency of construction, robustness and aesthetic appearance utilises concrete-filled steel tubular sections as the columns in a moment-resisting frame. These are coupled to rigid or semi-rigid connections to composite steel-concrete beams. This paper includes the results of a pilot experimental programme leading towards the development of economical, reliable connections that are easily constructed for this type of frame. The connections must provide the requisite strength, stiffness and ductility to suit gravity loading conditions as well as gravity combined with the governing lateral wind or earthquake loading. The aim is to develop connections that are stiffer, less expensive and easier to construct than those in current use. A proposed fabricated T-stub connection is to be used to connect the beam flanges and the column. These T-stubs are connected to the column using "blind bolts" with extensions, allowing installation from the outside of the tube. In general, the use of the extensions results in a dramatic increase in the strength and stiffness of the T-stub to column connection in tension, since the load is shared between membrane action in the tube wall and the anchorage of the bolts through the extensions into the concrete.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.377-391
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• 2020

A concrete filled steel tube (CFT) column with stiffeners has preferable behavior subjected to axial loading condition due to delay local buckling of the steel wall than traditional CFT columns without stiffeners. Welding lines in welded built-up steel box columns is expected to behave as longitudinal stiffeners. This study has presented a numerical investigation into the behavior of built-up concrete filled steel tube columns under axial pressure. At first stage, a finite element model (FE) has been built to simulate the behavior of built-up CFT columns. Comparing the results of FE and test has shown that numerical model passes the desired conditions and could accurately predict the axial performance of CFT column. Also, by the raise of steel tube thickness, the load bearing capacity of columns has been increased due to higher confinement effect. Also, the raise of concrete strength with greater cross section is led to a higher load bearing capacity compared to the steel tube thickness increment. In CFT columns with greater cross section, concrete strength has a higher influence on load bearing capacity which is noticeable in columns with more welding lines.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2020

This study presents applications of the multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) method for predicting the ultimate loading carrying capacity (N_u) of rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns subjected to eccentric loading. A database containing 141 experimental data was collected from available literature to develop the MARS model with a total of seven variables that covered various geometrical and material properties including the width of rectangular steel tube (B), the depth of rectangular steel tube (H), the wall thickness of steel tube (t), the length of column (L), cylinder compressive strength of concrete (f'_c), yield strength of steel (f_y), and the load eccentricity (e). The proposed model is a combination of the MARS algorithm and the grid search cross-validation technique (abbreviated here as GS-MARS) in order to determine MARS' parameters. A new explicit formulation was derived from MARS for the mentioned input variables. The GS-MARS estimation accuracy was compared with four available mathematical methods presented in the current design codes, including AISC, ACI-318, AS, and Eurocode 4. The results in terms of criteria indices indicated that the MARS model was much better than the available formulae.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.451-458
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• 2012

The concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) that has an excellent performance can be more economically used when the steel tube has a large width-to-thickness ratio. However, the international provisions such as American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) limit the use of a slender plate in CFT members, resulting in a less optimal use of CFT. This study verifies the post buckling strength of CFT columns through the experimental program for Hollow Steel Sections (HSS) and CFTs with a with-to-thickness ratio ranged 60 to 100. The study also proposes a relaxed limitations of with-to-thickness ratio compared to the one specified in the current standards.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.689-706
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• 2022

Thin-walled square concrete-filled double steel tubular (CFDST) columns composed of the inner circular tube filled with concrete can be used to carry the large axial loads or strengthen existing CFST columns in composite constructions. This paper reports an experimental program carried out on short square CFDST columns loaded concentrically. The influences of important column parameters on the post-buckling performance of such columns are investigated. Test results exhibit that the inner circular tube significantly improves the ultimate loads and the ductility of such columns compared to conventional concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) and double-skin CFST (DCFST) columns with an inner void. A mathematical model developed is used to simulate the ultimate strengths and load-strain curves of such columns loaded axially. Furthermore, the ultimate strengths of such columns are predicted using existing codified design models for conventional CFST columns as well as the formulas proposed by previous researchers and compared against a large database comprising 500 CFDST columns. Lastly, an accurate artificial neural network model is developed for the practical applications of such columns under axial loading.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.2 no.4 s.6
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• pp.53-60
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• 2002

An analytic study on the bond stress between steel tube and concrete in concrete filled steel(CFT) rectangular column is presented in this paper. Recently buildings need members which are enhanced durability and ductility. Concrete filled rectangular column system is proposed as alternative plan. In this paper, ABAQUS/Standard Version 5.8 which is identified as usefulness for finite element analysis and has various element library is used. The variables in this study are the location and type of shear-connector. The modeling on contact problem practiced by Contact Pair and Contact Pressure method. In the step of physical bond, it is practiced by Change friction option After yielding of models, analytic results is less than that of experimental results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.415-437
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• 2020

Circular concrete filled steel tube (CFST) columns have an advantage over all other sections when they are used in compression members. This paper proposes a new approach for deriving a new empirical equation to predict the axial compressive capacity of circular CFST columns using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The developed ANN model uses 5 input parameters that include the diameter of circular steel tube, the length of the column, the thickness of steel tube, the steel yield strength and the compressive strength of concrete. The only output parameter is the axial compressive capacity. Training and testing the developed ANN model was carried out using 219 available sets of data collected from the experimental results in the literature. An empirical equation is then proposed as an important result of this study, which is practically used to predict the axial compressive capacity of a circular CFST column. To evaluate the performance of the developed ANN model and the proposed equation, the predicted results are compared with those of the empirical equations stated in the current design codes and other models. It is shown that the proposed equation can predict the axial compressive capacity of circular CFST columns more accurately than other methods. This is confirmed by the high accuracy of a large number of existing test results. Finally, the parametric study result is analyzed for the proposed ANN equation to consider the effect of the input parameters on axial compressive strength.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.169-188
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• 2004

A mechanics model is developed in this paper for concrete-filled steel CHS (circular hollow section) beam-columns. A unified theory is described where a confinement factor (${\xi}$) is introduced to describe the composite action between the steel tube and the filled concrete. The predicted load versus deformation relationship is in good agreement with test results. The theoretical model was used to investigate the influence of important parameters that determine the ultimate strength of concrete-filled steel CHS beam-columns. The parametric and experimental studies provide information for the development of formulas for the calculation of the ultimate strength of the composite beam-columns. Comparisons are made with predicted beam-columns strengths using the existing codes, such as LRFD-AISC-1999, AIJ-1997, BS5400-1979 and EC4-1994.