• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.1
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• pp.25-42
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• 2023

This paper presents a finite element (FE) simulation of eccentrically loaded lightweight aggregate concrete-encased steel (LACES) columns with H-shaped steel sections, analytical equations are also established to estimate the columns' axial and bending moment interaction capacities. The validity of the proposed models is checked by comparing the results with experimental data. Good agreements between the test and proposed models' results are found with acceptable agreements. Moreover, design parameters, including the lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) strength, eccentricity, column slenderness ratio, and confinement, are studied using the FE analysis, and their efficiency factors are discussed. The results show that the ultimate axial capacity of the LACES composite columns subjected to eccentric loading is negatively affected by the increase in the columns' height, but it is positively affected by the increase of the confinement. Increasing the eccentricity and columns' height reduced the columns'stiffness. In addition, the ultimate capacity of the LACES column is significantly influenced by the LWAC strength and eccentricity, where the ultimate capacity of the LACES column is significantly increased by increasing LWAC strength, and it is remarkably decreased by increasing the eccentricity. When the eccentricity changed from zero to 70 mm, the ultimate axial capacity and stiffness decreased by 67.97% and 63.56%, respectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.423-436
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• 2023

In this research, we tested 10 simply supported concrete-encased composite columns under monotonic eccentric loads and investigated their shear behaviour. The specimens tested were two reinforced concrete specimens, three steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) specimens with an H-shaped steel section (also called a beam section), and five SRC specimens with a cruciform-shaped steel section (also called a column section). The experimental variables included the transverse steel shape's depth and the longitudinal steel flange's width. Experimental observations indicated the following. (1) The ultimate load-carrying capacity was controlled by web compression failure, defined as a situation where the concrete within the diagonal strut's upper end was crushed. (2) The composite effect was strong before the crushing of the concrete outside the steel shape. (3) We adjusted the softened strut-and-tie SRC (SST-SRC) model to yield more accurate strength predictions than those obtained using the strength superposition method. (4) The MSST-SRC model can more reasonably predict shear strength at an initial concrete softening load point. The rationality of the MSST-SRC model was inferred by experimentally observing shear behaviour, including concrete crushing and the point of sharp variation in the shear strain.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2019

The frame structures investigated in this paper is composed of Concrete encased columns with L-shaped steel section and steel beams. The seismic behavior of this structural system is studied through experimental and numerical studies. A 2-bay, 3-story and 1/3 scaled frame specimen is tested under constant axial loading and cyclic lateral loading applied on the column top. The load-displacement hysteretic loops, ductility, energy dissipation, stiffness and strength degradation are investigated. A typical failure mode is observed in the test, and the experimental results show that this type of framed structure exhibit a high strength with good ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Furthermore, finite element analysis software Perform-3D was conducted to simulate the behavior of the frame. The calculating results agreed with the test ones well. Further analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of parameters including concrete strength, column axial compressive force and steel ratio on the seismic performance indexes, such as the elastic stiffness, the maximum strength, the ductility coefficient, the strength and stiffness degradation, and the equivalent viscous damping ratio. It can be concluded that with the axial compression ratio increasing, the load carrying capacity and ductility decreased. The load carrying capacity and ductility increased when increasing the steel ratio. Increasing the concrete grade can improve the ultimate bearing capacity of the structure, but the ductility of structure decreases slightly.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.533-551
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• 2020

A finite element analysis (FEA) model is established to investigate the concrete-encased concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) column to reinforced concrete (RC) beam joints under cyclic loading. The feasibility of the FEA model is verified by a set of test results, consisting of the failure modes, the exposed view of connections, the crack distributions and development, and the hysteretic relationships. The full-range analysis is conducted to investigate the stress and strain development process in the composite joint by using this FEA model. The internal force distributions of different components, as well as the deformation distributions, are analyzed under different failure modes. The proposed connections are investigated under dimensional and material parameters, and the proper constructional details of the connections are recommended. Parameters of the beam-column joints, including material strength, confinement factor, reinforcement ratio, diameter of steel tube to sectional width ratio, beam to column linear bending stiffness ratio and beam shear span ratio are evaluated. Furthermore, the key parameters affecting the failure modes and the corresponding parameters ranges are proposed in this paper.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.849-864
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• 2019

One way to achieve sustainable construction is to reduce concrete consumption by use of more sustainable and higher strength concrete. Modern building codes do not cover the use of ultra-high strength concrete (UHSC) in the design of composite structures. Against such background, this paper investigates experimentally the mechanical properties of steel fibre-reinforced UHSC and then the structural behaviors of UHSC encased steel (CES) members under both concentric and eccentric compressions as well as pure bending. The effects of steel-fibre dosage and spacing of stirrups were studied, and the applicability of Eurocode 4 design approach was checked. The test results revealed that the strength of steel stirrups could not be fully utilized to provide confinement to the UHSC. The bond strength between UHSC and steel section was improved by adding the steel fibres into the UHSC. Reducing the spacing of stirrups or increasing the dosage of steel fibres was beneficial to prevent premature spalling of the concrete cover thus mobilize the steel section strength to achieve higher compressive capacity. Closer spacing of stirrups and adding 0.5% steel fibres in UHSC enhanced the post-peak ductility of CES columns. It is concluded that the code-specified reduction factors applied to the concrete strength and moment resistance can account for the loss of load capacity due to the premature spalling of concrete cover and partial yielding of the encased steel section.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.497-509
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• 2010

Five concrete-encased steel columns using high-strength steel($f_{ys}$=801MPa) and high-strength concrete($f_{ck}$=97.7MPa) were tested to investigate the eccentric axial load-displacement relationship. Test parameters included the type, yield strength, and spacing of lateral reinforcement, and also the eccentricity of axial load. To analyze the behavior of the column specimens, the nonlinear sectional analysis using strain-compatibility and confinement effect was performed. To examine the applicability of existing design codes for the composite sections using high-strength materials, the test results were also compared with the predictions by the nonlinear analysis and the design codes. The confinement effect of lateral reinforcement increased the ductility of concrete, and the moment capacity of the column specimens increased with the ductility of concrete. The prediction by the nonlinear analysis gave good agreement with the test results. On the other hand, the ACI 318 neglecting lateral confinement effect underestimated the strength of the column specimens, and the Eurocode 4 using complete plastic capacity of steel section overestimated.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.67-79
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• 2019

Composite columns made of high strength materials have been used in high-rise construction owing to its excellent structural performance resulting in smaller cross-sectional sizes. However, due to the limited understanding of its structural response, current design codes do not allow the use of high strength materials beyond a certain strength limit. This paper reports additional test data, analytical and numerical studies leading to a new design method to predict the ultimate resistance of composite columns made of high strength steel and high strength concrete. Based on previous study on high strength concrete filled steel tubular members and ongoing work on high strength concrete encased steel columns, this paper provides new findings and presents the feasibility of using high strength steel and high strength concrete for general double symmetric composite columns. A nonlinear finite element model has been developed to capture the composite beam-column behavior. The Eurocode 4 approach of designing composite columns is examined by comparing the test data with results obtained from code's predictions and finite element analysis, from which the validities of the concrete confinement effect and plastic design method are discussed. Eurocode 4 method is found to overestimate the resistance of concrete encased composite columns when ultra-high strength steel is used. Finally, a strain compatibility method is proposed as a modification of existing Eurocode 4 method to give reasonable prediction of the ultimate strength of concrete encased beam-columns with steel strength up to 900 MPa and concrete strength up to 100 MPa.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.483-491
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• 2017

This paper presents an experimental study on the behavior of concrete-encased composite columns with multiseparate steel sections subjected to axial and eccentric loads. Six 1/4-scaled concrete-encased composite columns were tested under static loads. The specimens were identical in geometric dimensions and configurations, and the parameter of this experiment was the eccentricity ratio of the applied load. Each two of the specimens were loaded with 0, 10%, and 15% eccentricity ratios. The capacity, deformation pattern, and failure mode of the specimens were carefully examined. Test results indicate that full composite action between the concrete and the steel sections can be realized even though the steel sections do not connect with one another. The concrete-encased composite columns can develop stable behavior and sufficient deformation capacity by providing enough transverse reinforcing bars. Capacities of the specimens were evaluated based on both the Plain Section Assumption (PSA) method and the superimposition method. Results show that U.S. and Chinese codes can be accurate and safe in terms of bending capacities. Test results also indicate that the ACI 318 and Mirza methods give the best predictions on the flexural stiffness of this kind of composite columns.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1237-1258
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• 2015

This paper proposes a simple inelastic analysis approach to efficiently map out the complete nonlinear post-collapse (strain-softening) response and the maximum load capacity of axially loaded concrete encased steel composite columns (stub and slender). The scheme simultaneously incorporates the influences of difficult instabilizing phenomena such as concrete confinement, initial geometric imperfection, geometric nonlinearity, buckling of reinforcement bars and local buckling of structural steel, on the overall behavior of the composite columns. The proposed numerical method adopts fiber element discretization and an iterative M${\ddot{u}}$ller's algorithm with an additional adaptive technique that robustly yields solution convergence. The accuracy of the proposed analysis scheme is validated through comparisons with various available experimental benchmarks. Finally, a parametric study of various key parameters on the overall behaviors of the composite columns is conducted.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.305-323
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• 2014

This paper presents numerical simulations of partially encased composite columns (PEC) with equivalent steel sections. The composite section of PEC column consists of thin walled welded H- shaped steel section with transverse links provided at regular intervals between the flanges. Concrete is poured in the space between the flanges and the web plate. Most of the structural analysis and design software do not handle such composite members due to highly nonlinear material behavior of concrete as well as due to the complex interfacial behaviour of steel and concrete. In this paper an attempt has been made to replace the steel concrete composite section by an equivalent steel section which can be easily incorporated in the design and analysis software. The methodology used for the formulation of the equivalent steel section is described briefly in the paper. Finite element analysis is conducted using the equivalent steel section of partially encased composite columns tested under concentric gravity loading. The reference test columns are obtained from the literature, encompassing a variety of geometric and material properties. The finite element simulations of the composite columns with equivalent steel sections are found to predict the experimental behaviour of partially encased composite columns with very good accuracy.