Stability and ductility of high performance steel sections with concrete infill

This paper aims to investigate the stability and ductility characteristics of concrete filled columns using high performance steels (HPS). HPS includes both high strength steel and stainless steel which exhibit improved strength, as well as corrosion resistance, hardness etc. When such steel sections are filled with concrete the stability characteristics for both short and slender columns’ behaviour need to be modified to take account of the potential advantages for both local and overall bucklings. In addition, the concrete infill will also play a role in improving the post-peak behaviour of both short and slender columns and this needs to be considered. This paper will provide both an experimental and a theoretical treatment of these issues and will provide comparisons with existing design procedures, to illustrate the significant advantages which the juxtaposition of concrete provides to high performance steel sections.     

Experimental investigation of concrete-filled cold-formed high strength stainless steel tube columns

This paper presents an experimental investigation of concrete-filled cold-formed high strength stainless steel tube columns. The high strength stainless steel tubes had a yield stress and tensile strength up to 536 and 961 MPa, respectively. The behaviour of the columns was investigated using different concrete cylinder strengths varied from 40 to 80 MPa. A series of tests was performed to investigate the effects of the shape of the stainless steel tube, plate thickness and concrete strength on the behaviour and strength of concrete-filled high strength stainless steel tube columns. The high strength stainless steel tubes were cold-rolled into square and rectangular hollow sections. The depth-to-plate thickness ratio of the tube sections varied from 25.7 for compact sections to 55.8 for relatively slender sections. The columns had different lengths so the length-to-depth ratio generally remained at a constant value of 3. The concrete-filled high strength stainless steel tube specimens were subjected to uniform axial compression. The column strengths, load-axial strain relationships and failure modes of the columns were presented. The test strengths were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American specifications and Australian/New Zealand standards that consider the effect of local buckling using an effective width concept in the calculation of the stainless steel tube column strengths. Based on the test results, design recommendations were proposed for concrete-filled high strength stainless steel tube columns.     

Experimental behaviour of eccentrically loaded slender circular hollow steel columns in-filled with fibre reinforced concrete

This paper is based on the experimental study of twelve slender steel tubular columns of circular sections filled with both plain and fibre reinforced concrete. The specimens were tested under eccentric compression to investigate the effects of fibre reinforced concrete on the strength and behaviour of slender composite columns. The slenderness ratio was considered to be the main test parameter. Hollow steel sections of similar specimens were also tested as reference columns. The test results were illustrated by load-deflection and load-strain curves. Various characteristics such as strength, stiffness, ductility, energy absorption capacity and failure mode are discussed. Interpretation of the experimental results indicates that the use of fibre reinforced concrete as infill material has a considerable effect on the strength and behaviour of slender composite columns.     

薄壁钢管混凝土梁-柱的钢板局部屈曲分析

高强钢和混凝土的应用,使得薄钢板开始应用在填充混凝土的钢管梁柱中。然而,在组合梁柱中薄钢板的应用可能会增加局部屈曲,这将减弱这些构件的强度和延性性能。通过有限元分析方法,分析了在填充混凝土的薄壁钢管梁-柱中钢板的临界局部屈曲和局部屈曲后性能。运用几何和材料非线性分析来研究在压力和平面内弯曲作用下钢板中的临界局部和后张局部屈曲强度。非线性分析中考虑了钢板的初始几何缺陷和残余应力,材料屈服和应变硬化。基于非线性有限元分析结果,本文提出一组设计公式,以确定这种组合梁柱的临界局部屈曲和钢板的极限强度。此外,还提出在不均匀压力作用下,钢板极限强度设计中有效宽度的计算公式。这一组设计公式可以直接用于组合梁-柱的设计和考虑局部屈曲作用后的薄壁钢管混凝土梁-柱分析。     

High strength thin-walled rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular slender beam-columns,Part II: Behavior

Experimental and numerical research on full-scale high strength thin-walled rectangular steel slender tubes filled with high strength concrete has not been reported in the literature. In a companion paper, a new numerical model was presented that simulates the nonlinear inelastic behavior of uniaxially loaded high strength thin-walled rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) slender beam-columns with local buckling effects. The progressive local and post-local buckling of thin steel tube walls under stress gradients was incorporated in the numerical model. This paper presents the verification of the numerical model developed and its applications to the investigation into the fundamental behavior of high strength thin-walled CFST slender beam-columns. Experimental ultimate strengths and load-deflection responses of CFST slender beam-columns tested by independent researchers are used to verify the accuracy of the numerical model. The verified numerical model is then utilized to investigate the effects of local buckling, column slenderness ratio, depth-to-thickness ratio, loading eccentricity ratio, concrete compressive strengths and steel yield strengths on the behavior of high strength thin-walled CFST slender beam-columns. It is demonstrated that the numerical model is accurate and efficient for determining the behavior of high strength thin-walled CFST slender beam-columns with local buckling effects. Numerical results presented in this study are useful for the development of composite design codes for high strength thin-walled rectangular CFST slender beam-columns.     

Bracing of thin walled steel box columns during pumping of wet concrete in tall buildings

This paper considers the bracing of thin walled steel box columns during the wet concrete pumping procedure for the construction of concrete filled columns in a tall building. The wet concrete exerts a hydrostatic pressure in addition to the axial loads from floor construction on the column cross-section and this causes excessive lateral deflections. For economical construction the steel component plates of the column are required to be minimized in thickness and thus an effective bracing strategy is required to be developed to restrain these deformations. The bracing system presented is similar to that employed for formwork of rectangular reinforced concrete columns and has been used on various tall buildings throughout the world being particularly germane to steel columns which are composed of flat faceted plates such as rectangular and triangular sections. The analysis presented herein uses a linear folded plate finite element method developed elsewhere to study the effects of wet concrete being pumped into steel columns. The main parameters which are found to influence the results are the boundary conditions, column width and plate thickness and the number of braces provided between floor levels. A design example is given and further research, including experimental calibration, is then outlined.     

Performance-based analysis of concrete-filled steel tubular beam-columns, Part I: Theory and algorithms

This paper presents a performance-based analysis (PBA) technique based on fiber element formulations for the nonlinear analysis and performance-based design of thin-walled concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) beam-columns with local buckling effects. Geometric imperfections, residual stresses and strain hardening of steel tubes and confined concrete models are considered in the PBA technique. Initial local buckling and effective strength/width formulas are incorporated in the PBA program to account for local buckling effects. The progressive local buckling of a thin-walled steel tube filled with concrete is simulated by gradually redistributing normal stresses within the steel tube walls. Performance indices are proposed to quantify the section, axial ductility and curvature ductility performance of thin-walled CFST beam-columns under axial load and biaxial bending. Efficient secant algorithms are developed to iterate the depth and orientation of the neutral axis in a thin-walled CFST beam-column section to satisfy equilibrium conditions. The analysis algorithms for thin-walled CFST beam-columns under axial load and uni- and biaxial bending are presented. The PBA program can efficiently generate axial load-strain curves, moment-curvature curves and axial load-moment strength interaction diagrams for thin-walled CFST beam-columns under biaxial loads. The proposed PBA technique allows the designer to analyze and design thin-walled CFST beam-columns made of compact or non-compact steel tubes with any strength grades and normal and high-strength concrete. The verification and applications of the PBA program are given in a companion paper.     

Numerical simulation of concrete encased steel composite columns

This paper investigates the behaviour of pin-ended axially loaded concrete encased steel composite columns. A nonlinear 3-D finite element model was developed to analyse the inelastic behaviour of steel, concrete, longitudinal and transverse reinforcement bars as well as the effect of concrete confinement of the concrete encased steel composite columns. The interface between the steel section and concrete, the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement bars, and the reinforcement bars and concrete were also considered that allowed the bond behaviour to be modeled and the different components to retain their profile during the deformation of the column. Furthermore, the initial overall (out-of-straightness) geometric imperfection was carefully incorporated in the model. The finite element model has been validated against published experimental results. The main objective of the study was to understand the structural response and modes of failure of the columns and to assess the composite column strengths against current design codes. The study covered slender, non-slender, stub and long concrete encased steel composite columns. The concrete strengths varied from normal to high strength (20-110 MPa). The steel section yield stresses also varied from normal to high strength (275-690 MPa). Furthermore, the variables that influence the composite column behaviour and strength comprising different slenderness ratios, concrete strength and steel yield stress were investigated in a parametric study. It is shown that the increase in structural steel strength has a small effect on the composite column strength for the columns having higher relative slenderness ratios due to the flexural buckling failure mode. The composite column strengths obtained from the finite element analysis were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American Institute for Steel Construction AISC and Eurocode 4 for composite columns. Generally, it is shown that the EC 4 accurately predicted the design strength for the concrete encased steel composite columns having a concrete cylinder strength of 30 MPa and structural steel yield stresses of 275 and 460 MPa, which are in the limits of the code, which otherwise, was generally conservative. The AISC predictions were quite conservative for all the concrete encased steel composite columns.     

Behaviour of normal and high strength concrete-filled compact steel tube circular stub columns

This paper presents the behaviour and design of axially loaded concrete-filled steel tube circular stub columns. The study was conducted over a wide range of concrete cube strengths ranging from 30 to 110 MPa. The external diameter of the steel tube-to-plate thickness (D/t) ratio ranged from 15 to 80 covering compact steel tube sections. An accurate finite element model was developed to carry out the analysis. Accurate nonlinear material models for confined concrete and steel tubes were used. The column strengths and load-axial shortening curves were evaluated. The results obtained from the finite element analysis were verified against experimental results. An extensive parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of different concrete strengths and cross-section geometries on the strength and behaviour of concrete-filled compact steel tube circular stub columns. The column strengths predicted from the finite element analysis were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American, Australian and European specifications. Based on the results of the parametric study, it is found that the design strengths given by the American Specifications and Australian Standards are conservative, while those of the European Code are generally unconservative. Reliability analysis was performed to evaluate the current composite column design rules.     

Simulation and design recommendations of eccentrically loaded slender concrete-filled tubular columns

This paper proposes an efficient numerical model for the simulation of the behavior of slender circular concrete-filled tubular columns subjected to eccentric axial load with single curvature, for the cases of both normal and high strength concrete. The paper focuses on the study of the influence that the variables affecting beam-column behavior (length and relative slenderness) and the variables affecting section behavior (diameter/thickness ratio, mechanical capacity of steel) have on the overall buckling of this type of column. An extended parametric study is carried out to propose design recommendations, primarily to establish the importance of the use of high strength concrete compared with that of normal strength concrete. The results show that for slender elements the optimum design is reached when the mechanical capacity of the steel is slightly lower than that of the concrete contribution.     

Nonlinear analysis of concrete-filled steel SHS and RHS columns

This paper presents an accurate nonlinear finite element model for the behaviour and design of axially loaded concrete-filled square hollow section (SHS) and rectangular hollow section (RHS) steel tube columns. The nonlinear material models for confined concrete and steel tubes were carefully modeled in the finite element analysis. The column strengths and load-axial shortening curves were evaluated. The results obtained from the finite element analysis were verified against experimental results. An extensive parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of different concrete strengths and cross-section geometries on the strength and behaviour of concrete-filled SHS and RHS steel tube columns. The study was conducted over a wide range of concrete cube strengths ranged from 30 to 110 MPa. The overall depth of the steel tube-to-plate thickness ratio ranged from 10 to 40 covering compact SHS and RHS steel tube sections. The column strengths predicted from the finite element analysis were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American, Australian and European specifications. Based on the results obtained from the parametric study, it is found that the design strengths calculated using the American Specifications and Australian Standards are conservative, while the design strengths calculated using the European Code are accurate, except for the concrete-filled RHS compact steel tube columns having the overall depth of the steel tube-to-plate thickness ratio of 40.     

薄壁方钢管再生混合柱抗震性能试验研究

通过15根薄壁方钢管再生混合柱在定常轴力和水平往复荷载作用下的拟静力试验,研究了废弃混凝土取代率、钢管壁厚、轴压比等参数对试件抗震性能的影响。基于新、旧混凝土的组合强度,根据国内外钢管混凝土结构的设计标准以及基于ABAQUS的纤维梁单元模型,对试件的水平承载力进行了计算分析。研究表明：废弃混凝土取代率在0~40%之间变化对试件的初始抗侧刚度、钢管局部屈曲、破坏位移、负刚度段行为、等效黏滞阻尼系数、滞回曲线形状影响有限,但再生混合柱的水平承载力总体上比全现浇柱有所降低;当钢管壁厚在1.78~5.50mm之间变化时,随钢管壁厚增加试件并未表现出更好的变形能力;在钢管壁厚仅1.78 mm（宽厚比168.5）的情况下,轴压比0.4的再生混合柱的破坏位移角可达1/35,满足我国现行抗震规范的层间位移角限值要求;采用5部现行标准计算薄壁方钢管再生混合柱的水平承载力可获得与同条件全现浇柱相当的安全性;横截面积和用钢量相同时,薄壁方钢管再生混合柱的抗震性能优于钢筋混凝土柱。研究发现,薄壁方钢管再生混合柱应用于中、低轴压比（实际轴压比小于0.4）的情况是可行的。     

Experimental study of high strength concrete-filled circular tubular columns under eccentric loading

The paper describes 37 tests conducted on slender circular tubular columns filled with normal and high strength concrete subjected to eccentric axial load. The test parameters were the nominal strength of concrete (30, 70 and 90 MPa), the diameter to thickness ratio D/t, the eccentricity ratio e/D and the column slenderness (L/D). The experimental ultimate load of each test was compared with the design loads from Eurocode 4, which limits the strength of concrete up to 50 MPa. The aim of the paper is to establish the advisability of the use of high strength concretes as opposed to that of normal strength concretes by comparing three performance indices: concrete contribution ratio, strength index and ductility index. The results show for the limited cases analyzed that the use of high strength concrete for slender composite columns is interesting since this achieves ductile behavior despite the increase in load-carrying capacity is not greatly enhanced.     

Suggested empirical models for the axial capacity of circular CFT stub columns

In this paper, a total of 250 experimental tests of axially loaded circular concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) stub columns, published in the literature was summarized. The applicability of the current design codes such as ACI, Australian Standards, AISC, AIJ, Eurocode 4, DL/T and some available empirical models proposed by various researchers for calculating the axial capacity of circular CFT stub columns was examined using these experimental data. Based on the investigations, four new empirical models for predicting the axial capacity of circular CFT stub columns are proposed. The comparisons between the experimental results and the predictions of these models show that the proposed empirical models provide a direct, compact, and efficient representation of the ultimate strength of circular CFT stub columns made with not only normal strength but also high strength steel tubes and concrete. Finally, the limiting values of the maximum effective length, the compressive strength of concrete, the yield strength of steel tubes and the diameter-to-thickness for circular CFT stub columns with respect to the present empirical models are suggested. It is expected that engineers can easily use the present empirical models to estimate the axial capacities of circular CFT stub columns for engineering designs.     

Numerical analysis of slender elliptical concrete filled columns under axial compression

This paper presents a non-linear finite element model (FEM) used to predict the behaviour of slender concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) columns with elliptical hollow sections subjected to axial compression. The accuracy of the FEM was validated by comparing the numerical prediction against experimental observation of eighteen elliptical CFST columns which carefully chosen to represent typical sectional sizes and member slenderness. The adaptability to apply the current design rules provided in Eurocode 4 for circular and rectangular CFST columns to elliptical CFST columns were discussed. A parametric study is carried out with various section sizes, lengths and concrete strength in order to cover a wider range of member cross-sections and slenderness which is currently used in practices to examine the important structural behaviour and design parameters, such as column imperfection, non-dimension slenderness and buckling reduction factor, etc. It is concluded that the design rules given in Eurocode 4 for circular and rectangular CFST columns may be adopted to calculate the axial buckling load of elliptical CFST columns although using the imperfection of length/300 specified in the Eurocode 4 might be over-conservative for elliptical CFST columns with lower non-dimensional slenderness.     

Plastic mechanism analysis of concrete-filled double-skin (SHS inner and SHS outer) stub columns

A plastic mechanism to predict the collapse behaviour of concrete-filled double-skin stub columns is developed and analysed in this paper. Both outer and inner tubes are square hollow sections (SHS). In the analysis, the inner tube is treated the same way as that used in previous research on empty SHS stub columns. New mechanism models are developed for the outer tubes. The effect of local buckling in the outer tube is also studied. The concrete model adopted in this paper considers the effect of confinement of the concrete induced by the double skin tubes. It also considers the strength degradation of concrete for large deformation analysis. It has been found that the effect of local buckling on the collapse curve of the outer tube can be ignored. The concrete model including confinement and strength degradation should be used in order to simulate the collapse behaviour, especially for thin outer tubes. Good agreement was achieved between the plastic mechanism analysis and experimental results.     

Nonlinear behavior of concrete-filled stainless steel stiffened slender tube columns

This paper investigates the nonlinear behavior of concrete-filled high strength stainless steel stiffened slender square and rectangular hollow section columns. The stiffened slender tubes had overall depth-to-plate thickness (D/t) ratios ranging 60–160. The concrete strengths covered normal and high-strength concrete. The investigation focused on short axially loaded columns. A nonlinear finite element (FE) model has been developed to study the behavior of the concrete-filled stiffened tube columns. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of cross-section geometry and concrete strength on the behavior and strength of the columns. The results of the concrete-filled stiffened tube columns were compared with the results of the companion concrete-filled unstiffened tube columns. It is shown that the concrete-filled stiffened slender tube columns offer a considerable increase in the column strength and ductility than the concrete-filled unstiffened slender tube columns. The column strengths obtained from the FE analysis were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American specifications and Australian/New Zealand standards. A design equation was proposed for concrete-filled stainless steel stiffened slender tube columns. It is shown that the proposed modified equation provides more accurate design strengths compared to the American and Australian/New Zealand predictions.     

High strength thin-walled rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular slender beam-columns,Part I: Modeling

High strength thin-walled rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) slender beam-columns under eccentric loading may undergo local and overall buckling. The modeling of the interaction between local and overall buckling is highly complicated. There is relatively little numerical study on the interaction buckling of high strength thin-walled rectangular CFST slender beam-columns. This paper presents a new numerical model for simulating the nonlinear inelastic behavior of uniaxially loaded high strength thin-walled rectangular CFST slender beam-columns with local buckling effects. The cross-section strengths of CFST beam-columns are modeled using the fiber element method. The progressive local and post-local buckling of thin steel tube walls under stress gradients is simulated by gradually redistributing normal stresses within the steel tube walls. New efficient Müller's method algorithms are developed to iterate the neutral axis depth in the cross-sectional analysis and to adjust the curvature at the columns ends in the axial load–moment interaction strength analysis of a slender beam-column to satisfy equilibrium conditions. Analysis procedures for determining the load–deflection and axial load–moment interaction curves for high strength thin-walled rectangular CFST slender beam-columns incorporating progressive local bucking and initial geometric imperfections are presented. The new numerical model developed is shown to be efficient for predicting axial load–deflection and axial load–moment interaction curves for high strength thin-walled rectangular CFST slender beam-columns. The verification of the numerical model and parametric studies is given in a companion paper.     

Buckling analysis of high strength stainless steel stiffened and unstiffened slender hollow section columns

This paper investigates the buckling behaviour of cold-formed high strength stainless steel stiffened and unstiffened slender square and rectangular hollow section columns. The high strength duplex material is austenitic-ferritic stainless steel approximately equivalent to EN 1.4462 and UNS S31803. The columns were compressed between fixed ends at different column lengths. A nonlinear finite element model has been developed to investigate the behaviour of stiffened slender square and rectangular hollow section columns. The column strengths, load-shortening curves as well as failure modes were predicted for the stiffened and unstiffened slender hollow section columns. An extensive parametric study was conducted to study the effects of cross-section geometries on the strength and behaviour of the stiffened and unstiffened columns. The investigation has shown that the high strength stainless steel stiffened slender hollow section columns offer a considerable increase in the column strength over that of the unstiffened slender hollow section columns. The column strengths predicted from the parametric study were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American Specification, Australian/New Zealand Standard and European Code for cold-formed stainless steel structures. It is shown that the design strengths obtained using the three specifications are generally conservative for the cold-formed stainless steel unstiffened slender square and rectangular hollow section columns, but slightly unconservative for the stiffened slender square and rectangular hollow section columns.     

偏心荷载作用下高强钢管混凝土柱的试验研究

偏心荷载作用下,对普通和高强钢管混凝土细长柱进行了37组试验。试验参数包括:混凝土名义强度(30,70及90MPa)、径厚比D/t、偏心率e/D及长细比L/D。将每组试验的极限荷载与欧洲规范4中设计承载力对比,规范规定的混凝土强度为50MPa。通过对比3个性能指标:混凝土贡献率、强度指标及延性指标,确定采用高强混凝土替代普通混凝土的可行性。结果表明:高强混凝土尽管不能提高承载力但能提高延性性能,高强混凝土在此方面是有效的。