• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.213-233
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• 2015

A nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) model is presented for simulating the behaviour of recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tube (RACFST) beam-columns subjected to constant axial compressive load and cyclically increasing flexural loading. The FEA model was developed based on ABAQUS software package and a displacement-based approach was used. The proposed engineering stress versus engineering strain relationship of core concrete with the effect of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement ratio was adopted in the FEA model. The predicted results of the FEA model were compared with the experimental results of several RACFST as well as the corresponding concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) beam-columns under cyclic loading reported in the literature. The comparison results indicated that the proposed FEA model was capable of predicting the load versus deformation relationship, lateral bearing capacity and failure pattern of RACFST beam-columns with an acceptable accuracy. A parametric study was further carried out to investigate the effect of typical parameters on the mechanism of RACFST beam-columns subjected to cyclic loading.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.19-38
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• 2009

The present paper provides test data to evaluate the seismic performance of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) filled steel square hollow section (SHS) beam-columns. Fifteen specimens, including 12 RAC filled steel tubular (RACFST) columns and 3 reference conventional concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) columns, were tested under reversed cyclic flexural loading while subjected to constant axially compressive load. The test parameters include: (1) axial load level (n), from 0.05 to 0.47; and (2) recycled coarse aggregate replacement ratio (r), from 0 to 50%. It was found that, generally, the seismic performance of RACFST columns was similar to that of the reference conventional CFST columns, and RACFST columns exhibited high levels of bearing capacity and ductility. Comparisons are made with predicted RACFST beam-column bearing capacities and flexural stiffness using current design codes. A theoretical model for conventional CFST beam-columns is employed in this paper for square RACFST beam-columns. The predicted load versus deformation hysteretic curves are found to exhibit satisfactory agreement with test results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.2
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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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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.309-324
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• 2022

The post-fire elastic stiffness and performance of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns containing recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) has rarely been addressed, particularly in terms of material properties. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing the modulus of elasticity of recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tube (RACFST) stub columns following thermal loading. The test data were employed to model and assess the elastic modulus of circular RACFST stub columns subjected to axial loading after exposure to elevated temperatures. The length/diameter ratio of the specimens was less than three to prevent the sensitivity of overall buckling for the stub columns. The gene expression programming (GEP) method was employed for the model development. The GEP model was derived based on a comprehensive experimental database of heated and non-heated RACFST stub columns that have been properly gathered from the open literature. In this study, by using specifications of 149 specimens, the variables were the steel section ratio, applied temperature, yielding strength of steel, compressive strength of plain concrete, and elastic modulus of steel tube and concrete core (RAC). Moreover, parametric and sensitivity analyses were also performed to determine the contribution of different effective parameters to the post-fire elastic modulus. Additionally, comparisons and verification of the effectiveness of the proposed model were made between the values obtained from the GEP model and the formulas proposed by different researchers. Through the analyses and comparisons of the developed model against formulas available in the literature, the acceptable accuracy of the model for predicting the post-fire modulus of elasticity of circular RACFST stub columns was seen.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.929-949
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• 2014

Thirty one push-out tests were carried out in order to investigate the bond behavior between shape steel, steel tube (named steels) and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC), including 11 steel reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (SRRAC) columns, 10 recycled aggregate concrete-filled circular steel tube (RACFCST) columns and 10 recycled aggregate concrete-filled square steel tube (RACFSST) columns. Eleven recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement ratios (i.e., 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100%) were considered for SRRAC specimens, while five RCA replacement ratios (i.e., 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%), concrete type and length-diameter ratio for recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tube (RACFST) specimens were designed in this paper. Based on the test results, the influences of all variable parameters on the bond strength between steels and RAC were investigated. It was found that the load-slip curves at the loading end appeared the initial slip earlier than the curves at the free end. In addition, eight practical bond strength models were applied to make checking computations for all the specimens. The theoretical analytical model for interfacial bond shear transmission length in each type of steel-RAC composite columns was established through the mechanical derivation, which can be used to design and evaluate the performance of anchorage zones in steel-RAC composite structures.