• Computers and Concrete
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.123-137
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• 2023

To fully understand shear mechanisms and composite effects of circular concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns, systematic numerical investigations were conducted in this paper by improved finite element models. The triaxial plastic-damage constitutive model of the concrete and the interactions between the concrete and steel tube were considered. Afterwards, the critical and upper bound shear span ratios of the circular CFST column under lateral shear loading were determined. The composite effects between the two materials were analyzed by comparing the shear resistance with plain concrete column and hollow steel tube. In addition, a method that predicts the shear bearing capacity of a circular CFST column was proposed. The confining effects on the concrete core and the restraining effects on the steel tube were considered in this method. The proposed formula can predict more accurate results than the methods in different codes and references.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제38권6호
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• pp.739-749
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• 2021

This paper introduces an improved design equation to evaluate the resisting capacity of circular reinforced concrete (RC) columns partially strengthened with outer steel tube. When RC column members are required to be strengthened according to the change in the loadings considered and/or the deterioration progress in columns, wrapping up RC column with steel circular tube, which takes the form of concrete filled steel tube (CFST), has been popularly considered because of its structural advantage induced from the confinement effect. However, the relatively high construction cost of steel tube is restricting its use to the required region, while deriving the shape of a partial CFST column. To evaluate the resisting capacity of a partial CFST column, numerical analyses need to be performed, and a numerical model proposed in the previous study for the numerical analysis of full CFST columns is used to conduct parametric studies for the introduction of a design equation. The bond-slip effect developed along the interface between the in-filled concrete and the exterior steel tube is taken into consideration and the validity of the numerical model has been established through correlation studies between experimental data and numerical results for partial CFST circular columns. Moreover, parametric studies make it possible to introduce a design equation for determining the optimum length of outer steel tube which produces partial CFST circular columns.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.821-835
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• 2016

The paper presents an experimental study of the structural behavior of circular flyash-concrete-filled steel tubular stub columns under axial compressive loads. In this study, 90% and 100% by weight of the cement in the concrete core was replaced with flyash. Twenty-seven specimens were tested to study the influence of flyash content, wall thickness of the steel tube, and curing age on the ultimate capacity and confinement effect. The experimental results were compared with the design values calculated using AISC-LRFD (1999), ACI (1999), AIJ (1997) and Eurocode 4 (1994). From the experimental study, it was determined that the confinement effect of circular steel tubes filled with high content flyash concrete was better than that of specimens filled with ordinary Portland cement concrete. The 5.88-mm-thick steel tube filled with 100% flyash concrete was equivalent in strength to a steel tube filled with C30 concrete at 28 days.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.59-75
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• 2014

A new concrete confinement model is developed to predict the axial load versus displacement behavior of circular columns under concentric axial load. The new confinement model is proposed for concrete filled steel tube columns as well as circular reinforced concrete columns with steel tube jacketing. Existing confinement models were evaluated and improved using available experimental data from different sets of columns tested under similar loading conditions. The proposed model is based on commonly used confinement models with an emphasis on modifying the effective confining pressure coefficient utilizing the strength of the unconfined concrete and the steel tube, the length of the column, and the thickness of the steel tube. The proposed model predicts the ultimate axial strength and the corresponding strain with an acceptable degree of accuracy while also highlighting the importance of the manner in which the steel tube is used.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.1487-1505
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• 2016

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the behavior of a new type of composite FRP-concrete-steel member subjected to bi-axial eccentric loading. This new type of composite member is in the form of concrete-filled square steel tube slender columns with inner CFRP (carbon fiber-reinforced polymer) circular tube, composed of an inner CFRP tube and an outer steel tube with concrete filled in the two tubes. Tests on twenty-six specimens of high strength concrete-filled square steel tube columns with inner CFRP circular tube columns (HCFST-CFRP) were carried out. The parameters changed in the experiments include the slenderness ratio, eccentric ratio, concrete strength, steel ratio and CFRP ratio. The experimental results showed that the failure mode of HCFST-CFRP was similar to that of HCFST, and the specimens failed by local buckling because of the increase of lateral deflection. The steel tube and the CFRP worked together well before failure under bi-axial eccentric loading. Ductility of HCFST-CFRP was better than that of HCFST. The ultimate bearing capacity of test specimen was calculated with simplified formula, which agreed well with test results, and the simplified formula can be used to calculate the bearing capacity of HCFSTF within the parameters of this test.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.185-192
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• 2018

Fly ash can significantly improve concrete workability and performance, and recycling fly ash in concrete can contribute to a cleaner environment. Since fly ash influences pozzolanic reactions in concrete, mechanical behaviors of concrete containing fly ash differ from traditional concrete. Creep behaviors of fly ash concrete filled steel tube arch were experimentally investigated for 10% and 30% fly ash replacement. The axes of two arches are designed as circular arc with 2.1 m computed span, 0.24 m arch rise, and their cross-sections are all in circular section. Time dependent deflection and strain of loading and mid-span steel tube were measured, and long term deflection of the model arch with 10% fly ash replacement was significantly larger than with 30% replacement. Considering the steel tube strain, compressive zone height, cross section curvature, and internal force borne by the steel tube, the compressive zone height and structural internal forces increased gradually over time due to concrete creep. Increased fly ash content resulted in more significant neutral axis shift. Mechanisms for internal force effects on neutral axis height were analyzed and verified experimentally.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제88권1호
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• pp.95-107
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• 2023

In this study, circular thin-walled reinforced high strength concrete-filled steel tube (RHSCFST) stub columns with various tube thicknesses (i.e., 1.8, 2.5 and 3.0mm) and reinforcement ratios (i.e., 0, 1.6%, 2.4% and 3.2%) were fabricated to explore the influence of these factors on the axial compressive behavior of RHSCFST. The obtained test results show that the failure mode of RHSCFST transforms from outward buckling and tearing failure to drum failure with the increasing tube thickness. With the tube thickness and reinforcement ratio increased, the ultimate load-carrying capacity, compressive stiffness and ductility of columns increased, while the lateral strain in the stirrup decreased. Comparisons were also made between test results and the existing codes such as AIJ (2008), BS5400 (2005), ACI (2019) and EC4 (2010). It has been found that the existing codes provide conservative predictions for the ultimate load-carrying capacity of RHSCFST. Therefore, an accurate model for the prediction of the ultimate load-carrying capacity of circular thin-walled RHSCFST considering the steel reinforcement is developed, based on the obtained experimental results. It has been found that the model proposed in this study provides more accurate predictions of the ultimate load-carrying capacity than that from existing design codes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.1023-1044
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• 2015

Concrete-filled tubes (CFT), formed by an outer steel tube filled with plain or reinforced concrete inside, have been increasingly used these recent decades as columns or beam-columns, especially for tall buildings in seismic areas due to their excellent structural response. This improved behavior is derived from the effect of confinement provided by the tube, since the compressive strength of concrete increases when being subjected to hydrostatic pressure. In circular CFTs under compression, the whole tube is uniformly tensioned due to the radial expansion of concrete. Contrarily, in rectangular and square-shaped CFTs, the lateral flanges become subjected to in-plane bending derived from this volumetric expansion, and this fact implies a reduction of the confinement effect of the core. This study presents a numerical analysis of different configurations of CFT stub columns with inner stiffening plates, limited to the study of the influence of these plates on the compressive behavior without eccentricity. The final purpose is to evaluate the efficiency in terms of strength and ductility of introducing stiffeners into circular and square CFT sections under large deformation axial loading.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.193-200
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• 2018

This paper presents an experimental work for short circular steel tube columns filled with normal concrete (NAC), recycled aggregate concrete (RAC), and RAC with silica fume and steel fiber. Ten specimens were tested under axial compression to research the effect of silica fume and steel fiber volume percentage on the behavior of recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tube columns (RACFST). The failure modes, ultimate loads and axial load- strain relationships are presented. The test results indicate that silica fume and steel fiber would not change the failure mode of the RACFST column, but can increase the mechanical performances of the RACFST column because of the filling effect and pozzolanic action of silica fume and the confinement effect of steel fiber. The ultimate load, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of RACFST columns can exceed that of corresponding natural aggregate concrete-filled steel tube (NACFST) column. Design formulas EC4 for the load capacity NACFST and RACFST columns are proposed, and the predictions agree well with the experimental results from this study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.501-511
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• 2018

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) columns are commonly used in engineering structures and always subjected to torsion in practice. This paper is thus devoted to investigate the mechanical behavior of circular CFT columns under pure torsion.3D finite element models based on reasonable material constitutive relation were established for analyzing the load-strain ($T-{\gamma}$) curves of circular CFT columns under pure torsion. The numerical simulation indicated that local bulking of the steel tube in CFT columns was prevented and the shear strength and ductility of the core concrete were significantly improved due to the confinement effect between the steel tube and the core concrete. Based on the results, formulas to predict the torsional ultimate bearing capacity of circular CFT columns were proposed with satisfactory correspondence with experimental results. Besides, formulas of composite shear stiffness and the overall process of the $T-{\gamma}$ relation of circular CFT columns under pure torsion were proposed.