• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.93-109
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• 2020

Developed from conventional concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) members, concrete-encased CFST has attracted growing attention in building and bridge practices. In actual construction, the inner CFST is erected prior to the casting of the outer reinforced concrete part to support the construction preload, after which the whole composite member is under sustained service load. The complex loading sequence leads to highly nonlinear material interaction and consequently complicated structural performance. This paper studies the full-range behaviour of concrete-encased CFST columns with initial preload on inner CFST followed by sustained service load over the whole composite section. Validated against the reported data obtained from specifically designed tests, a finite element analysis model is developed to investigate the detailed structural behaviour in terms of ultimate strength, load distribution, material interaction and strain development. Parametric analysis is then carried out to evaluate the impact of significant factors on the structural behaviour of the composite columns. Finally, a simplified design method for estimating the sectional capacity of concrete-encased CFST is proposed, with the combined influences of construction preload and sustained service load being taken into account. The feasibility of the developed method is validated against both the test data and the simulation results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.619-645
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• 2024

In the construction industry, composite structures have revolutionized traditional design principles, opening innovative possibilities. The Concrete Encased - Concrete Filled Steel Tubular (CE-CFST) column stands out as a distinctive composite structure, offering structural stability and resilience for various engineering applications. Comprising Reinforced Concrete (RC) and Concrete Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) components, CE-CFST columns are valued for their inherent properties, including ductility and rigidity, CE-CFST is commonly used in the construction of bridges, high-rise buildings, and more. This article aims to provide a concise overview of the evolutionary development of CE-CFST columns and their performance in structural applications. Through a comprehensive review, the study delves into the behaviour of CE-CFST columns under different scenarios. It examines the influences of key parameters such as size, infills, cross section, failure causes, and design codes on the performance of CE-CFST columns, highlighting their enhanced functionality and future potential. Moreover, the review meticulously examines previous applications of CE-CFST columns, offering insights into their practical implementation.

• 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.47 no.1
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• pp.121-134
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• 2023

This paper tested 11 concrete-encased concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) composite columns and one reinforced concrete column under combined axial compression and lateral loads. The primary parameters, including the loading system, axial compression ratio, volume stirrup ratio, diameter-to-thickness ratio of the steel tube, and stirrup form, were varied. The influence of the parameters on the failure mode, strength, ductility, energy dissipation, strength degradation, and damage evolution of the composite columns were revealed. Moreover, a two-parameter nonlinear seismic damage model for composite columns was established, which can reflect the degree and development process of the seismic damage. In addition, the relationships among the inter-story drift ratio, damage index and seismic performance level of composite columns were established to provide a theoretical basis for seismic performance design and damage assessments.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.781-794
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• 2023

In order to directly apply seawater and sea sand in construction without desalination, a type of square concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) encased with prefabricated seawater sea-sand concrete filled Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)/Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) tube column was proposed. Twenty short columns were tested under uniaxial loads, and the test parameters included inner tube types, seawater sea-sand concrete replacement ratios, concrete strength, the wrapping area of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips and the thickness of GFRP tube. The effects of the parameters on failure modes, loading capacity, ductility and strain responses were discussed. All the tested specimens failed with serious buckling of the steel tubes and fracture of the inner tubes. The specimens had good residual bearing capacity corresponding to 64% to 88.9% of the peak capacity. The inner GFRP tubes and PVC tubes wrapped by CFRP strips provided stronger confinement to the core concrete, and were good choices for the proposed columns. Moreover, an analytical model for the composite column with different inner tube types was proposed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.431-445
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• 2021

This paper presents experiments and theoretical analysis on shear behavior of eight concrete-encased square concrete-filled steel tube (CECFST) specimens and three traditional reinforced concrete (RC) specimens. A total of 11 specimens with the test parameters including the shear span-to-depth ratio, steel tube size and studs arrangement were tested to explore the shear performance of CECFST specimens. The failure mode, shear capacity and displacement ductility were thoroughly evaluated. The test results indicated that all the test specimens failed in shear, and the CECFST specimens enhanced by the interior CFST core exhibited higher shear capacity and better ductility performance than that of the RC specimens. When the other parameters were the same, the larger steel tube size, the smaller shear span-to-depth ratio and the existence of studs could lead to the more satisfactory shear behavior. Then, based on the compatible truss-arch model, a set of formulas were developed to analytically predict the shear strength of the CECFST members by considering the compatibility of deformation between the truss part, arch part and the steel tube. Compared with the calculated results based on several current design specifications, the proposed formulas could get more accurate prediction.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.399-409
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• 2021

The existing method to improve the coordination performance of the inner and outer parts of concrete-encased concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) composite columns by increasing the volume-stirrup ratio causes difficulties in construction due to over-dense stirrups. Thus, this paper proposes an open polygonal composite stirrup with high strength and high ductility CRB600H reinforced rebar, and seventeen specimens were constructed, and their axial compressive performance was tested. The main parameters considered were the volume-stirrup ratio, the steel tube size, the stirrup type and the stirrup strength. The test results indicated: For the specimens restrained by open octagonal composite stirrups, compared with the specimen of 0.5% volume-stirrup ratio, the compressive bearing capacity increased by 14.6%, 15.7% and 21.5% for volume-stirrup ratio of 0.73%, 1.07% and 1.61%, respectively. For the specimens restrained by open composite rectangle stirrups, compared with the specimen of 0.79% volume-stirrup ratio, the compressive bearing capacity increased by 7.5%, 6.1%, and -1.4% for volume-stirrup ratio of 1.12%, 1.58% and 2.24%, respectively. The restraint ability and the bearing capacity of the octagonal composite stirrup are better than other stirrup types. The specimens equipped with open polygonal composite stirrup not only had a higher ductility than those with the traditional closed-loop stirrup, but they also had a higher axial bearing capacity than those with an HPB300 strength grades stirrup. Therefore, the open composite stirrup can be used in practical engineering. A new calculation method was proposed based on the stress-strain models for confined concrete under different restrain conditions, and the predicted value was close to the experimental value.