• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.615-631
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• 2023

Steel corrosion induces structural deterioration of concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs), and any potential extreme action on a corroded CFST would pose a severe threat. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation on the lateral impact behaviour of CFSTs suffering from localised pitting corrosion damage. A refined finite element analysis model is developed for the simulation of locally corroded CFSTs subjected to lateral impact loads, which takes into account the strain rate effects on concrete and steel materials as well as the random nature of corrosion pits, i.e., the distribution patterns and the geometric characteristics. Full-range nonlinear analysis on the lateral impact behaviour in terms of loading and deforming time-history relations, nonlinear material stresses, composite actions, and energy dissipations are presented for CFSTs with no corrosion, uniform corrosion and pitting corrosion, respectively. Localised pitting corrosion is found to pose a more severe deterioration on the lateral impact behaviour of CFSTs due to the plastic deformation concentration, the weakened confinement and the reduction in energy absorption capacity of the steel tube. An extended parametric study is then carried out to identify the influence of the key parameters on the lateral impact behaviour of CFSTs with localised pitting corrosion. Finally, simplified design methods considering the features of pitting corrosion are proposed to predict the dynamic flexural capacity of locally pitted CFSTs subjected to lateral impact loads, and reasonable accuracy is obtained.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.159-170
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• 2021

Concrete filled steel tubes (CFSTs) are extensively used in a variety of structures due to their structural and economic advantages over other types of structures. Considerable research has been conducted with regards to their short-term behaviour, and very limited studies have focused on their long-term behaviour. In this study, a series of tests were carried out on high strength squat (short) CFSTs and concrete cylinders under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity to better understand their time dependent behaviour. A number of parameters were investigated including the influence of steel and concrete bond, confinement, level of sustained load and sizes of specimens. The results revealed that creep strains increased by more than 40% if there was no bonding between steel tube and concrete core. As expected, creep and shrinkage of concrete inside a steel tube were significantly less than those developed in exposed concrete. At the end of a creep period of six months, all the specimens were tested to failure to observe the influence of sustained loads on the ultimate strength. It was found that creep does not have a major effect on the strength of short CFSTs in the specific experimental study conducted here, which was less than 2.5%.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-29
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• 2022

Concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) are increasingly used as composite sections in structures owing to their excellent load bearing capacity. Therefore, predicting the mechanical behavior of CFST sections under axial compression loading is vital for design purposes. This paper presents the first study on the nonlinear analysis of heated CFSTs with high-strength concrete core containing steel fiber and waste tire rubber under axial compression loading. CFSTs had steel fibers with 0, 1, and 1.5% volume fractions and 0, 5, and 10% rubber particles as sand alternative material. They were subjected to 20, 250, 500, and 750℃ temperatures. Using flow rule and analytical analysis, a model is developed to predict the load bearing capacity of steel tube, and hoop strain-axial strain relationship, and axial stress-volumetric strain relationship of CFSTs. An elastic-plastic analysis method is applied to determine the axial and hoop stresses of the steel tube, considering elastic, yield, and strain hardening stages of steel in its stress-strain curve. The axial stress in the concrete core is determined as the difference between the total experimental axial stress and the axial stress of steel tube obtained from modeling. The results show that steel tube in CFSTs under 750℃ exhibits a higher load bearing contribution compared to those under 20, 250, and 500℃. It is also found that the ratio of load bearing capacity of steel tube at peak point to the load bearing capacity of CFST at peak load is noticeable such that this ratio is in the ranges of 0.21-0.33 and 0.31-0.38 for the CFST specimens with a steel tube thickness of 2 and 3.5 mm, respectively. In addition, after the steel tube yielding, the load bearing capacity of the tube decreases due to the reduction of its axial stiffness and the increase of hoop strain rate, which is in the range of about 20 to 40%.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.201-216
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• 2019

This scientific paper provides a theoretical, numerical and experimental analysis of local stability of axially compressed columns made of thin-walled rectangular concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs), with the consideration of initial geometric imperfections. The work presented introduces the theory of elastic critical stresses in local buckling of rectangular wall members under uniform compression. Moreover, a numerical calculation method for the determination of the critical stress coefficient is presented, using a differential equation for a slender wall with a variety of boundary conditions. For comparison of the results of the numerical analysis with those collected by experiments, a new model is created to study the behaviour of the composite members in question by means of the ABAQUS computational-graphical software whose principles are based on the finite element method (FEM). In modelling the analysed members, the actual boundary and loading conditions and real material properties are taken into account, obtained from the experiments and material tests on these members. Finally, the results of experiments on such members are analysed and then compared with the numerical values. In conclusion, several recommendations for the design of axially compressed composite columns made of rectangular concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubes are suggested as a result of this comparison.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.823-836
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• 2019

Spiral welded tubes (SWTs) are fabricated by helically bending a steel plate and welding the resulting abutting edges. The cost-effectiveness of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns can be enhanced by utilising such SWTs rather than the more conventional longitudinal seam welded tubes. Even though the steel-concrete interface bond strength of such concrete-filled spiral-welded steel tubes (CF-SWSTs) is an important consideration in relation to ensuring composite behaviour of such elements, especially at connections, it has not been investigated in detail to date. CF-SWSTs warrant separate consideration of their bond behaviour to CFSTs of other tube types due to the distinct weld seam geometry and fabrication induced surface imperfection patterns of SWTs. To address this research gap, axial push-out tests on forty CF-SWSTs were carried out where the effects of tube material, outside diameter (D), outside diameter to wall thickness (D/t), length of the steel-concrete interface (L) and concrete strength grade (f'_c) were investigated. D, D/t and L/D values in the range 102-305 mm, 51-152.5 and 1.8-5.9 were considered while two nominal concrete grades, 20 MPa and 50 MPa, were used for the tests. The test results showed that the push-out bond strengths of CF-SWSTs of both mild-steel and stainless-steel were either similar to or greater than those of comparable CFSTs of other tube types. The bond strengths obtained experimentally for the tested CF-SWSTs, irrespective of the tube material type, were found to be well predicted by the guidelines contained in AISC-360.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.773-784
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• 2022

This paper aims to investigate the axial compressive behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns strengthened with self-compacting and micro-expanding (SM) concrete-filled steel tubes (SM-CFSTs). Nine specimens were tested in total under the local axial compression. The test parameters included steel tube thickness, filling concrete strength, filling concrete type and initial axial preloading. The test results demonstrated that the initial stiffness, ultimate bearing capacity and ductility of original RC columns were improved after being strengthened by SM-CFSTs. The ultimate bearing capacity of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns was significantly enhanced with the increase of steel tube thickness. The initial stiffness and ultimate bearing capacity of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns were slightly enhanced with the increase of filling concrete strength. However, the effect of filling concrete type and initial axial preloading of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns were negligible. Three equations for predicting the ultimate bearing capacity of the SM-CFST strengthened RC columns were compared, and the modified equation based on Chinese code (GB 50936-2014) was more precise.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.217-235
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• 2024

Concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) nowadays are widely used as the main parts of momentous structures, and its connection has gained increasing attention as the complexity in configuration and load transfer mechanism. This paper proposes a novel CFST pier-to-footing incorporating tube-confined RC encasement. Such an innovative approach offers several benefits, including expedited on-site assembly, effective confinement, and collision resistance and corrosion resistance. The seismic behavior of such CFST pier-to-footing connection was studied by testing eight specimens under quasi-static cyclic lateral load. In the experimental research, the influences on the seismic behavior and the order of plastic hinge formation were discussed in detail by changing the footing height, axial compression ratio, number and length of anchored bars, and type of confining tube. All the specimens showed sufficient ductility and energy dissipation, without significant strength degradation. There is no obvious failure in the confined footing, while local buckling can be found in the critical section of the pier. It suggests that the footing provides satisfactory strength protection for the connection.

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

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