Behavior of concrete and concrete-filled circular steel tubular stub columns at constant high temperatures

Based on reanalyzing test results of uniaxial compressive behavior of concrete at constant high temperatures in China, with the compressive cube strength of concrete from 20 to 80 MPa, unified formulas for uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, strain at peak uniaxial compression and mathematical expression for unaxial compressive stress-strain relations for the concrete at constant high temperatures were studied. Furthermore, the axial stress-axial strain relations between laterally confined concrete under axial compression and multiaxial stress-strain relations for steel at constant high temperatures were studied. Finally, based on continuum mechanics, the mechanics model for concentric cylinders of circular steel tube with concrete core of entire section loaded at constant high temperatures was established. Applying elasto-plastic analysis method, a FORTRAN program was developed, and the concrete-filled circular steel tubular (CFST) stub columns at constant high temperatures were analyzed. The analysis results are in agreement with the experiment ones from references.

Seismic Behavior of Diaphragm-Through Connections of Concrete-Filled Square Steel Tubular Columns and H-Shaped Steel Beams

Based on the introductions of a type of diaphragm-through connection between concrete-filled square steel tubular columns (CFSSTCs) and H-shaped steel beams,a finite element model of the connection is developed and used to investigate the seismic behavior of the connection.The results of the finite element model are validated by a set of cyclic loading tests.The cyclic loading tests and the finite element analyses indicate that the failure mode of the suggested connections is plastic hinge at the beam with inelastic rotation angle exceeding 0.04 rad.The suggested connections have sufficient strength,plastic deformation and energy dissipation capacity to be used in composite moment frames as beam-to-column rigid connections.

Axial Bearing Capacity of Short FRP Confined Concrete-filled Steel Tubular Columns

The bearing capacity of FRP confined concrete-filled steel tubular （FRP-CFST） columns under axial compression was investigated. This new type of composite column is a concrete-filled steel tube （CFST） confined with fiber-reinforced polymer （FRP） wraps. Totally 11 short column specimens were tested to failure under axial compression. The influences of the type and quantity of FRP, the thickness of steel tube and the concrete strength were studied. It was found that the bearing capacity of short FRP-CFST column was much higher than that of comparable CFST column. Furthermore, the formulas for calculating the bearing capacity of the FRP-CFST columns are proposed. The analytical calculated results agree well with the experimental results.

Influence of Axial Load Ratio on Shear Behavior of Through-Diaphragm Connections of Concrete-Filled Square Steel Tubular Columns

Nonlinear finite element analysis and parametric studies were carried out to study the influence of axial load ratio on the shear behavior of the through-diaphragm connections of concrete-filled square steel tubular columns. The analysis reveals that smaller axial load ratio can improve the shear bearing capacity and ductility while larger axial load ratio will decrease the shear behavior of the through-diaphragm connections. The parametric studies indicate that the axial load ratio should be limited to less than 0.4 and its influence should be considered in the analysis and design of such connections.

Damage assessment for seismic response of recycled concrete filled steel tube columns

A model for evaluating structural damage of recycled aggregate concrete filled steel tube （RCFST） columns under seismic effects is proposed in this paper. The proposed model takes the lateral deformation and the effect of repeated cyclic loading into account. Available test results were collected and utilized to calibrate the parameters of the proposed model. A seismic test for six RCFST columns was also performed to validate the proposed damage assessment model. The main test parameters were the recycled coarse aggregate （RCA） replacement percentage and the bond-slip property. The test results indicated that the seismic performance of the RCFST member depends on the RCA contents and their damage index increases as the RCA replacement percentage increases. It is also indicated that the damage degree of RCFST changes with the variation of the RCA replacement percentage. Finally, comparisons between the RCA contents, lateral deformation ratio and damage degree were implemented. It is suggested that an improvement procedure should be implemented in order to compensate for the performance difference between the RCFST and normal concrete filled steel tubes （CFST）.

Numerical analysis of ultimate strength of concrete filled steel tubular arch bridges

The calculation of ultimate bearing capacity is a significant issue in the design of Concrete Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) arch bridges. Based on the space beam theory, this paper provides a calculation method for determining the ultimate strength of CFST structures. The accuracy of this method and the applicability of the stress-strain relationships were validated by comparing different existing confined concrete uniaxial constitutive relationships and experimental results. Comparison of these results indicated that this method using the confined concrete uniaxial stress-strain relationships can be used to calculate the ultimate strength and CFST behavior with satisfactory accuracy. The calculation results are stable and seldom affected by concrete con-stitutive relationships. The method is therefore valuable in the practice of engineering design. Finally, the ultimate strength of an arch bridge with span of 330 m was investigated by the proposed method and the nonlinear behavior was discussed.

Seismic performance of recycled concrete-filled square steel tube columns

An experimental study on the seismic performance of recycled concrete-filled square steel tube （RCFST） columns is carried out. Six specimens were designed and tested under constant axial compression and cyclic lateral loading. Two parameters, replacement percentage of recycled coarse aggregate （RCA） and axial compression level, were considered in the test. Based on the experimental data, the hysteretic loops, skeleton curves, ductility, energy dissipation capacity and stiffness degradation of RCFST columns were analyzed. The test results indicate that the failure modes of RCFST columns are the local buckling of the steel tube at the bottom of the columns, and the hysteretic loops are full and their shapes are similar to normal CFST columns. Furthermore, the ductility coefficient of all specimens are close to 3.0, and the equivalent viscous damping coefficient corresponding to the ultimate lateral load ranges from 0.323 to 0.360, which demonstrates that RCFST columns exhibit remarkable seismic performance.

Bearing capacity of composite columns reinforced by concrete filled steel tube

In this study, nine simplified short composite columns consisting of core CFST (concrete filled steel tube) of different diameters and outer reinforced concrete were constructed to study their compressive performance under axial or eccentric compression. The failure mode is characterized by the crush of the outer concrete. The bearing capacity increases at first and then decreases with further increase of the position coefficient. It can be concluded that position coefficient is an important structural parameter that has considerable influences on the ultimate bearing capacity of the composite columns. The outer concrete, steel tubes and longitudinal reinforcement are found to work in a cooperative manner under axial or eccentric compression when the position coefficient is about 0.5. An improved bearing capacity algorithm that takes the position coefficient into account has been proposed based on the experimental and simulation results and current technical specification in China. It has been proven to be precise and safe.

Approach for analyzing the ultimate strength of concrete filled steel tubular arch bridges with stiffening girder

A convenient approach is proposed for analyzing the ultimate load carrying capacity of concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) arch bridge with stiffening girders. A fiber model beam element is specially used to simulate the stiffening girder and CFST arch rib. The geometric nonlinearity, material nonlinearity, influence of the construction process and the contribution of prestressing reinforcement are all taken into consideration. The accuracy of this method is validated by comparing its results with experimental results. Finally, the ultimate strength of an abnormal CFST arch bridge with stiffening girders is investigated and the effect of construction method is discussed. It is concluded that the construction process has little effect on the ultimate strength of the bridge.

Low cyclic fatigue performance of concrete-filled steel tube columns

Eight concrete-filled steel tubular(CFT) columns were tested subjected to cyclic loading under constant axial load. Experimental parameters included axial compression ratio, loading sequences, and strength of concrete and steel. The seismic performance of CFT columns and failure modes were analyzed. The test results show that different axial load ratios and loading sequences have effects on the load carrying capacity, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of CFT columns, as well as the failure modes of the CFT columns. The failure pattern can be categorized into two types: local buckling failure of steel tube in compression zone, and low cycle fatigue tearing rupture failure of steel tube. The seismic behavior was evaluated through the energy index obtained from each cycle.

Axial Compression Behavior and Analytical Method of L-Shaped Column Composed of Concrete-Filled Square Steel Tubes

Based on the characteristics of an L-shaped column composed of concrete-filled square steel tubes, the axial compression experiment and nonlinear finite element analysis were carried out to study the mechanical property of the L-shaped column. The load-displacement curve for the L-shaped column, the deflection and load-strain curves for the mono columns were obtained by the axial compression experiment. The results show that the L-shaped column exhibits a flexural-torsional buckling failure mode. The numerical simulation by the finite element analysis shows that the bearing capacity and failure mode are in accordance with those of the axial compression experiment and the feasi- bility of the finite element analysis is proved. For the calculation of the bearing capacity of the L-shaped column com- posed of concrete-filled square steel tubes, an analytical method is proposed based on the theory of the elastic stability and spatial truss model. The results of the analytical method are in good agreement with those of the axial compression experiment and the finite element analysis.

Three-dimensional nonlinear analysis of creep in concrete filled steel tube columns

This paper proposes a based on 3D-VLE (three-dimensional nonlinear viscoelastic theory) three-parameters viscoe-lastic model for studying the time-dependent behaviour of concrete filled steel tube (CFT) columns. The method of 3D-VLE was developed to analyze the effects of concrete creep behavior on CFT structures. After the evaluation of the parameters in the proposed creep model, experimental measurements of two prestressed reinforced concrete beams were used to investigate the creep phenomenon of three CFT columns under long-term axial and eccentric load was investigated. The experimentally obtained time-dependent creep behaviour accorded well with the curves obtained from the proposed method. Many factors (such as ratio of long-term load to strength, slenderness ratio, steel ratio, and eccentricity ratio) were considered to obtain the regularity of influence of concrete creep on CFT structures. The analytical results can be consulted in the engineering practice and design.

Performance Investigation of Square Concrete-filled Steel Tube Columns

The behaviour of square concrete-filled steel tube columns under concentrical loading was studied. More than one hundred specimens were tested to investigate the effects of thickness of steel tube on the load carrying capacity of the concrete-filled tubular columns （CFTs）. The effect of the grade of concrete and content of expansive agent were also investigated. The effect of these parameters on the confinement of the concrete core was studied as well. From the experimental study it was found that for both CFTs with different strength grade concrete core, the ultimate load carrying capacity increases with the increase in percentage of expansive agent up to 20% but it again decreases at 25% of expansive agent content. It was also shown that the failure mode of CFTs depends on the strength grade of concrete core.

Experimental investigation of seismic performance of concrete-filled glass fiber reinforced polymer tubular columns

A reinforced concrete (RC) column and four concrete filled GFRP tubular columns,which are subjected to combined axial compression and lateral cycle loading,were tested in order to investigate the seismic performance of composite construction concrete filled glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) tubular (CFFT) columns.The results indicated that concrete-filled GFRP tubular columns exhibit considerable influence over the seismic performance of columns by providing hoop confinement to the core concrete.The concrete filled GFRP tubular columns exhibit significant improvement over traditional RC columns in both ultimate strength and ductility.Different column-footing connection modes do not affect the strength and ductility of concrete filled GFRP tubular columns.The strength of concrete filled GFRP tubular columns under high axial compression load conditions are slightly increased,however,ductility declined.

In-Plane Creep Buckling of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular Arches

The creep-induced deformation of the arch rib of concrete-filled steel tubular(CFST) arches under a sustained load can increase the bending moment, which may lead to earlier stability failure called creep buckling. To investigate the influences of concrete creep on the buckling strength of arches, a theoretical analysis for the creep buckling of CFST circular arches under distributed radial load is performed. The simplified Arutyunyan-Maslov(AM)creep law is used to model the creep behavior of concrete core, and the creep integral operator is introduced. The analytical solutions of the time-dependent buckling strength under the sustained load are achieved and compared with the existing formula based on the age-adjusted effective modulus method(AEMM). Then the solutions are used to determine the influences of the steel ratio and the first loading age on the creep buckling of CFST arches. The results show that the analytical solutions are of good accuracy and applicability. For CFST arches, the steel ratio and the first loading age have significant influences on creep buckling. An approximate log-linear relationship between the decreased degrees of the creep buckling strength and the first loading age is found. For the commonly used parameters, the maximum loss of the buckling strength induced by concrete creep is close to 40%.

Progressive Collapse Analysis of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular Frames with Semi-rigid Connections

A 9-story concrete-filled steel tubular frame model is used to analyze the response of joints due to sudden column loss. Three different models are developed and compared to study the efficiency and feasibility of simulation, which include substructure model, beam element model and solid element model. The comparison results show that the substructure model has a satisfying capability, calculation efficiency and accuracy to predict the concerned joints as well as the overall framework. Based on the substructure model and a kind of semi-rigid connection for concretefilled square hollow section steel column proposed in this paper, the nonlinear dynamic analyses are conducted by the alternate path method. It is found that the removal of the ground inner column brings high-level joint moments and comparatively low-level axial tension forces. The initial stiffness and transmitted ultimate moment of the semi-rigid connection are the main factors that influence the frame behavior, and their lower limit should be guaranteed to resist collapse. Reduced ultimate moment results in drastic displacement and axial force development, which may bring progressive collapse. The higher initial stiffness ensures that the structure has a stronger capacity to resist progressive collapse.

Dynamic Response of RPC-Filled Steel Tubular Columns with High Load Carrying Capacity Under Axial Impact Loading

Experimental investigation into impact-resistant behavior of reactive powder concrete (RPC)-filled steel tubular columns was conducted,and dynamic response of the columns under axial impact loading was studied by means of numerical simulation method.Increase coefficient of load carrying capacity and ratio of load carrying capacity between steel tube and RPC core of col-umns were obtained.

Prediction of Axial Capacity of Concrete-Filled Square Steel Tubes Using Neural Networks

The application of artificial neural network to predict the ultimate bearing capacity of CFST （ concrete-filled square steel tubes） short columns under axial loading is explored. Input parameters consiste of concrete compressive strength, yield strength of steel tube, confinement index, sectional dimension and width-to-thickness ratio. The ultimate bearing capacity is the only output parameter. A multilayer feedforward neural network is used to describe the nonlinear relationships between the input and output variables. Fifty-five experimental data of CFST short columns under axial loading are used to train and test the neural network. A comparison between the neural network model and three parameter models shows that the neural network model possesses good accuracy and could be a practical method for predicting the ultimate strength of axially loaded CFST short columns.

Cyclic behavior of stiffened joints between concrete-filled steel tubular column and steel beam with narrow outer diaphragm and partial joint penetration welds

This paper presented an investigation on a stiffened joint in practical engineering which was between concrete-filled steel tubular column and steel beam with narrow outer diaphragm and partial joint penetration welds. Through the low-frequency cyclic loading test, the cyclic behavior and failure mode of the specimen were investigated. The results of the test indicated the failure mode and bearing capacity of the specimen which were influenced by the axial compression ratio of the concrete-filled tubular column. On the contrary, the inner diaphragm and inner stiffeners had limited impacts on the hysteretic behavior of the joint. There was no hysteresis damage fracture on the narrow outer diaphragm connected to the concrete-filled steel tubular column with partial joint penetration welds. Due to the excellent ductility and energy dissipating capacity, the proposed joint could be applied to the seismic design of high-rise buildings in highly intensive seismic region, but axial compression ratio should be controlled to avoid unfavorable failure modes.

Behaviors of recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tubular columns under eccentric loadings

The paper investigates the behaviors of recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tubular(RACFST)columns under eccentric loadings with the incorporation of expansive agents.A total of 16 RACFST columns were tested in this study.The main parameters varied in this study are recycled coarse aggregate replacement percentages(0%,30%,50%,70%,and 100%),expansive agent dosages(0%,8%,and 15%)and an eccentric distance of compressive load from the center of the column(0 and 40 mm).Experimental results showed that the ultimate stresses of RACFST columns decreased with increasing recycled coarse aggregate replacement percentages but appropriate expansive agent dosages can reduce the decrement;the incorporation of expansive agent decreased the ultimate stresses of RACFST columns but an appropriate dosage can increase the deformation ability.The recycled coarse aggregate replacement percentages have limited influence on the ultimate stresses of the RACFST columns and has more effect than that of the normal aggregate concretesteel tubular columns.