Experimental investigation of axially loaded steel fiber reinforced high strength concrete-filled steel tube columns

An experimental study on the compressive behavior of steel fiber reinforced concrete-filled steel tube columns is presented. Specimens were tested to investigate the effects of the concrete strength, the thickness of steel tube and the steel fiber volume fraction on the ultimate strength and the ductility. The experimental results indicate that the addition of steel fibers in concrete can significantly improve the ductility and the energy dissipation capacity of the concrete-filled steel tube columns and delay the local buckling of the steel tube, but has no obvious effect on the failure mode. It has also been found that the addition of steel fibers is a more effective method than using thicker steel tube in enhancing the ductility, and more advantageous in the case of higher strength concrete. An analytical model to estimate the load capacity is proposed for steel tube columns filled with both plain concrete and steel fiber reinforced concrete. The predicted results are in good agreement with the experimental ones obtained in this work and literatures.

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）.

Research on seismic performance of shear walls with concrete filled steel tube columns and concealed steel trusses

In order to further improve the seismic performance of RC shear walls, a new composite shear wall with concrete filled steel tube （CFT） columns and concealed steel trusses is proposed. This new shear wall is a double composite shear wall; the first composite being the use of three different force systems, CFT, steel truss and shear wall, and the second the use of two different materials, steel and concrete. Three 1/5 scaled experimental specimens： a traditional RC shear wall, a shear wall with CFT columns, and a shear wall with CFT columns and concealed steel trusses, were tested under cyclic loading and the seismic performance indices of the shear walls were comparatively analyzed. Based on the data from these experiments, a thorough elastic-plastic finite element analysis and parametric analysis of the new shear walls were carried out using ABAQUS software. The finite element results of deformation, stress distribution, and the evolution of cracks in each phase were compared with the experimental results and showed good agreement. A mechanical model was also established for calculating the load-carrying capacity of the new composite shear walls. The results show that this new type of shear wall has improved seismic performance over the other two types of shear wails tested.

Concrete-Filled Steel Tube Arch Bridges in China

In the past 20 years, great progress has been achieved in China in the construction of concrete-filled steel tube （CFST） arch bridges and concrete arch bridges with a CFST skeleton. The span of these bridges has been increasing rapidly, which is rare in the history of bridge development. The large-scale construction of expressways and high-speed railways demands the development of long-span arch bridges, and advances in design and construction techniques have made it possible to construct such bridges. In the present study, the current status, development, and major innovative technologies of CFST arch bridges and concrete arch bridges with a CFST skeleton in China are elaborated. This paper covers the key con- struction technologies of CFST arch bridges, such as the design, manufacture, and installation of steel tube arch trusses, the preparation and pouring of in-tube concrete, and the construction of the world＇s longest CFST arch bridge-the First Hejiang Yangtze River Bridge. The main construction technologies of rein- forced concrete arch bridges are also presented, which include cable-stayed fastening-hanging cantilever assembly, adjusting the load by means of stay cables, surrounding the concrete for arch rib pouring, and so forth. In addition, the construction of two CFST skeleton concrete arch bridges-the Guangxi Yongning Yong River Bridge and the Yunnan-Guangxi Railway Nanpan River Bridge--is discussed. CFST arch bridges in China have already gained a world-leading position; with the continuous innovation of key technologies, China will become the new leader in promoting the development of arch bridges.

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.

Effect of contact thermal resistance on temperature distributions of concrete-filled steel tubes in fire

To predicate the temperature distribution of concrete-filled steel tubes(CFSTs) being exposure to fire,a finite element analysis model was developed using a finite element package,ANSYS.A suggested value of contact thermal resistance was therefore proposed with the supporting of massive numbers of collected test data.Parametric analysis was conducted subsequently towards the cross-sectional temperature distribution of CFST columns in four-side fire,in which the exposure time,width of the cross section,steel ratio were taken into account with considering contact thermal resistance.It was found that contact thermal resistance has little effect on the overall temperature regulation with the exposure time,the width of cross-section or the change of steel ratio.However,great temperature dropping at the concrete adjacent to the contact interface,and gentle temperature increase at steel tube,exist if considering contact thermal resistance.The results of the study are expected to provide theoretical basis for the fire resistance behavior and design of the CFST columns being exposure to fire.

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 viscoelastic 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 cu~＇es 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.

Quantifying Creep of Concrete Filled Steel Tubes

Using age adjusted effective modulus(AAEM)method,creep of concrete filled steel tube(CFST)member was formulated considering of creep coefficient and aging coefficient.Ten CFST specimens were tested including eight for creep and two for shrinkage.The experimental result was compared with the computed result using AAEM in which the creep coefficient was taken from calibration of ACI model based on experimental result on sealed concrete,and aging coefficient was supplied from relaxation test on sealed concrete specimen.Furthermore,the creep of CFST member was analyzed using author's own subroutine to input concrete properties through user programmable feature(UPF)in ANSYS software.Comparison was made on authors' own experimental database,some existing experimental results,and results from AAEM and numerical analysis.Finally,the conditions of applicability of AAEM method are put forward,and numerical approach to compute creep of CFST specimen is delineated.

Application of Large-diameter and Long-span Micro-expansive Pumping Concrete Filled Steel Tube Arch Bridge

In this article the high strength micro-expansive concrete that has been applied on big-diameter and long-span steel arch bridge is researched. The applications show that the concrete has some merits, such as good fluidity, low bleeding ratio and no segregation, low slump loss, high early strength and high later strength, micro-expansion etc.

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.

Reliability analysis of circular concrete-filled steel tube with material and geometrical nonlinearity

Most of the previous research on concrete-filled steel tube is restricted to a deterministic approach. To gain clear insight into the random properties of circular concrete-filled steel tube, reliability analysis is carried out in the present study. To obtain the Structural nonlinear response and ultimate resistance capacity, material and geometrical nonlinear analysis of circular concrete-filled steel tube is performed with a three-dimensional degenerated beam ele- ment. Then we investigate the reliability of concrete-filled steel tube using the first-order reliability method combined with nonlinear finite element analysis. The influences of such parameters as material strength, slenderness, initial geo- metrical imperfection, etc. on the reliability of circular concrete-filled steel tube column are studied. It can be con- cluded that inevitable random fluctuation of those parameters has significant influence on structural reliability, and that stochastic or reliability methods can provide a more rational and subjective evaluation on the safety of CFT structures than a deterministic approach.

THE SHRINKAGE OF EXPANSIVE CONCRETE FILLED STEEL TUBE AND ITS IMPROVEMENT METHOD

The shrinkage characteristics tics of expansive concrete filled steel tube (CFST) are analyzed, Cold shrinkage, creep and autogenous shrinkage are considered as the main reasons of causing CFST contraction. In accordance with the shrinkage characteristics of expansive CFST, a kind of energy-stored delayed expansive agent is exploited, which can not only compensate the shrinkage of the core concrete in every stages, but also make CFST expand according to the delayed expansion mechanism. As the result, the prestress loss weill be reduced and expansive energy will be utilized effectively.

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.

Seismic behavior of concrete filled steel tubular arch structures

Shaking table tests of a 1:10 scale arch model performed to investigate the seismic behavior and resistance of concrete filled steel tubular (CFT) arch structures are described in this paper. The El-Centro record and Shanghai artificial wave were adopted as the input excitation. The entire test process can be divided into three stages depending on the lateral brace configurations, i.e., fully (five) braced, two braces removed, and all braces removed. A total of 46 tests, starting from the elastic state to failure condition, have been conducted. The natural vibration frequencies, responses of acceleration, displacement and strain were measured. From the test results, it is demonstrated that the CFT arch structures are capable of resisting severe ground motions and that CFT arches offer a credible alternative to reinforced concrete arches, especially in regions of high seismic intensity.

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.

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.

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.

Research on stress concentration at tubular joints in concrete filled steel tubular truss arch bridge

In this paper stresses at joints forming by hollow steel tube and concrete filled steel tube （CFST） are calculated, analyzed and compared. It is founded that the stress concentration at joints of CFST is a quite different from that of hollow steel tube. A conclusion can be made that analysis of fatigue at the joints of CFST truss arch bridge can not apply the results developed from analyzing at joints of hollow steel tube in marine structure.

Behaviour of concrete filled steel tubular columns under fire

A three dimensional nonlinear FE program is used to calculate the fire resistances of concrete filled steel tubular columns under fire. The temperature distributions in the circular section fire are decided by solving the Fourier Transfer Equation ,and the mechanical behaviour and failure of concrete filled steel tubular columns under fire are thus investigated, and the effects of several parameters on the fire resistance are analysed. The results obtained are in good agreement with the Eurocode.