• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.1487-1505
• /
• 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
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.423-436
• /
• 2022

This paper proposes an innovative thin-walled square concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) column with an octagonal/circular lining steel tube, in which the outer steel tube and the inner liner are fabricated independently of each other and connected by slot-weld or self-tapping screw connections. Twelve thin-walled square CFST columns were tested under quasi-static loading, considering the parameters of liner type, connection type between the square tube and liner, yield strength of steel tube, and the axial load ratio. The seismic performance of the thin-walled square CFST columns is effectively improved by the octagonal and circular liners, and all the liner-stiffened specimens showed an excellent ductile behavior with the ultimate draft ratios being much larger than 1/50 and the ductility coefficients being generally higher than 4.0. The energy dissipation abilities of the specimens with circular liners and self-tapping screw connections were superior to those with octagonal liner and slot-weld connections. Based on the test results, both the finite element (FE) and simplified theoretical models were established, considering the post-buckling strength of the thin-walled square steel tube and the confinement effect of the liners, and the proposed models well predicted the hysteretic behavior of the liner-stiffened specimens.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.181-194
• /
• 2017

In order to investigate the interface debonding defects detection mechanism between steel tube and concrete core of concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs), multi-physical fields coupling finite element models constituted of a surface mounted Piezoceramic Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) actuator, an embedded PZT sensor and a circular cross section of CFST column are established. The stress wave initiation and propagation induced by the PZT actuator under sinusoidal and sweep frequency excitations are simulated with a two dimensional (2D) plain strain analysis and the difference of stress wave fields close to the interface debonding defect and within the cross section of the CFST members without and with debonding defects are compared in time domain. The linearity and stability of the embedded PZT response under sinusoidal signals with different frequencies and amplitudes are validated. The relationship between the amplitudes of stress wave and the measurement distances in a healthy CFST cross section is also studied. Meanwhile, the responses of PZT sensor under both sinusoidal and sweep frequency excitations are compared and the influence of debonding defect depth and length on the output voltage is also illustrated. The results show the output voltage signal amplitude and head wave arriving time are affected significantly by debonding defects. Moreover, the measurement of PZT sensor is sensitive to the initiation of interface debonding defects. Furthermore, wavelet packet analysis on the voltage signal under sweep frequency excitations is carried out and a normalized wavelet packet energy index (NWPEI) is defined to identify the interfacial debonding. The value of NWPEI attenuates with the increase in the dimension of debonding defects. The results help understand the debonding defects detection mechanism for circular CFST members with PZT technique.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.21-41
• /
• 2015

Push-out tests have been conducted on 18 rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns with the aim of studying the bond behaviour between the steel tube and the concrete infill. The obtained load-slip response and the distribution of the interface bond stress along the member length and around the cross-section for various load levels, as derived from measured axial strain gradients in the steel tube, are reported. Concrete compressive strength, interface length, cross-sectional dimensions and different interface conditions were varied to assess their effect on the ultimate bond stress. The test results indicate that lubricating the steel-concrete interface always had a significant adverse effect on the interface bond strength. Among the other variables considered, concrete compressive strength and cross-section size were found to have a pronounced effect on the bond strength of non-lubricated specimens for the range of cross-section geometries considered, which is not reflected in the European structural design code for composite structures, EN 1994-1-1 (2004). Finally, based on nonlinear regression of the test data generated in the present study, supplemented by additional data obtained from the literature, an empirical equation has been proposed for predicting the average ultimate bond strength for SHS and RHS filled with normal strength concrete.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.141-166
• /
• 2015

In the present study, a Finite Element Model has been developed and used to study the effect of diameter to wall thickness ratio (D/t) of steel tube filled with concrete under axial loading on its behavior and load carrying capacity. The model is verified by comparing its findings with available experimental results. Influence of thickness and area of steel tube on strength, ductility, confinement and failure mode shapes has been studied. Strength enhancement factors, load factor, confinement contribution, percentage of steel and ductility index are defined and introduced for the assessment. A parametric study by varying length and thickness of tube has been carried out. Diameter of tube kept constant and equals to 140 mm while thickness has been varied between 1 mm and 6 mm. Equations were developed to find out the ultimate load and confined concrete strength of concrete. Variation of lateral confining pressure along the length of concrete cylinder was obtained and found that it varies along the length. The increase in length of tubes has a minimal effect on strength of tube but it affects the failure mode shapes. The findings indicate that optimum use of materials can be achieved by deciding the thickness of steel tube. A better ductility index can be obtained with the use of higher thickness of tube.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.793-808
• /
• 2018

In this study, the seismic performance of the connections between L-shaped columns composed of concrete-filled steel tubes (L-CFST columns) and H-beams used in high-rise steel frame structures was investigated. Seven full-scale specimens were tested under quasi-static cyclic loading. The variables studied in the tests included the joint type, the axial compression ratio, the presence of concrete, the width-to-thickness ratio and the internal extension length of the side plates. The hysteretic response, strength degradation, stiffness degradation, ductility, plastic rotation capacity, energy dissipation capacity and the strain distribution were evaluated at different load cycles. The test results indicated that both the corner and exterior joint specimens failed due to local buckling and crack within the beam flange adjacent to the end of the side plates. However, the failure modes of the interior joint specimens primarily included local buckling and crack at the end plates and curved corners of the beam flange. A design method was proposed for the flexural capacity of the end plate connection in the interior joint. Good agreement was observed between the theoretical and test results of both the yield and ultimate flexural capacity of the end plate connection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.719-731
• /
• 2018

Concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) laced columns have been widely used in high rise buildings in China. Compared to solid-web columns, this type of columns has a larger cross-section with less weight. In this paper, four concrete filled steel tubular laced columns consisting of 4 main steel-concrete tubes were tested under cyclic loading. Hysteresis and failure mechanisms were studied based on the results from the lateral cyclic loading tests. The influence of each design parameter on restoring forces was investigated, including axial compression ratio, slenderness ratio, and the size of lacing tubes. The test results show that all specimens fail in compression-bending-shear and/or compression-bending mode. Overall, the hysteresis curves appear in a full bow shape, indicating that the laced columns have a good seismic performance. The bearing capacity of the columns decreases with the increasing slenderness ratio, while increases with an increasing axial compression ratio. For the columns with a smaller axial compression ratio (< 0.3), their ductility is increased. Furthermore, with the increasing slenderness ratio, the yield displacement increases, the bending failure characteristic is more obvious, and the hysteretic loops become stouter. The results obtained from the numerical analyses were compared with the experimental results. It was found that the numerical analysis results agree well with the experimental results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.52 no.6
• /
• pp.673-693
• /
• 2024

An advanced numerical method is proposed in this paper for the second-order inelastic dynamic analysis of cable-stayed bridges using rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns under earthquake loadings for the first time. The proposed method can exactly predict the nonlinear response of the bridges by using only one element per member in simulating the structural model. This comes from considering both the geometric and material nonlinearities in a fiber beam-column element and a catenary cable element. In the fiber beam-column element, the geometric nonlinearities are captured by applying the stability functions, whereas the material nonlinearities are evaluated by tracing the uniaxial cyclic stress-strain curves of each fiber on the cross-sections, which are located at the integration points along the member length. A computer program was developed based on Newmark's average acceleration algorithm to solve the nonlinear equations of motion. The accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed program were verified by comparing the predicted results with the experimental results, and the results obtained from the commercial software SAP2000 and ABAQUS. The proposed program is promising as a useful tool for practical designs for the nonlinear inelastic dynamic analysis of cable-stayed bridges.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.315-329
• /
• 2020

Through bolt connections in Concrete Filled Steel Tubes (CFSTs) has been proved to be good in terms of seismic performance and constructability. Stiffened extended end plate connection with full through type bolt helps to avoid field weld altogether, and hence to improve the quality of joints. An experimental study was conducted on the hysteretic performance of square interior beam-column connections using flat extended end plates with through bolt. The study focuses on the effect of the bond between the tie rod and the core concrete on the cyclic performance of the joint. The study also quantifies how much the interior joint is getting strengthened due to the confinement effect induced by bi-directional bolting, which is widely used in 3D moment resisting frames. For a better understanding of the mechanism and for the prediction of shear capacity of the panel zone, a mathematical model was generated. The various parameters included in the model are the influence of axial load, amount of prestress induced by bolt tightening, anchorage, and the concrete strut action. The study investigates the strength, stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation characteristics. The results indicate that the seismic resistance is at par with American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) seismic recommendations. The bidirectional bolting and bond effect have got remarkable influence on the performance of joints.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.759-772
• /
• 2022

Concrete-filled double skinned steel tubular (CFDST) columns have been used to construct modern structures such as tall buildings and bridges as well as infrastructures as they provide better, lesser weight, and greater stiffness in structural performance than conventional reinforced concrete or steel members. Different shapes of CFDST columns may be needed to satisfy the architectural and aesthetic criteria. In the study, three-dimensional FE simulations of circular and elliptical CFDST columns under axial compression were developed and verified through the experimental test data from the perspectives of full load-displacement histories, ultimate axial strengths, and failure modes. The verified FE models were used to investigate and compare the structural performance of CFDST columns with circular and elliptical cross-section shapes by evaluating the overall load-deformation curves, interaction stress-deformation responses, and composite actions of the column. At last, the accuracy of available design models in predicting the ultimate axial strengths of CFST columns were investigated. Research results showed that circular and elliptical CFDST column behaviors were generally similar. The overall structural performance of circular CFDST columns was relatively improved compared to the elliptical CFDST column.