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.     

Nonlinear analysis of short concrete-filled steel tubular beam-columns under axial load and biaxial bending

This paper presents a nonlinear fiber element analysis method for determining the axial load-moment strength interaction diagrams for short concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) beam-columns under axial load and biaxial bending. Nonlinear constitutive models for confined concrete and structural steel are considered in the fiber element analysis. Efficient secant algorithms are developed to iterate the depth and orientation of the neutral axis in a composite section to satisfy equilibrium conditions. The accuracy of the fiber element analysis program is verified by comparisons of fiber analysis results with experimental data and existing solutions. The fiber element analysis program developed is employed to study the effects of steel ratios, concrete compressive strengths and steel yield strengths on axial load-moment interaction diagrams and the C-ratio of CFST beam-columns. The proposed fiber element analysis technique is shown to be efficient and accurate and can be used directly in the design of CFST beam-columns and implemented in advanced analysis programs for the nonlinear analysis of composite columns and frames.     

Behavior of biaxially-loaded rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular slender beam-columns with preload effects

In composite construction, rectangular hollow steel tubular slender beam-columns are subjected to preloads arising from construction loads and permanent loads of the upper floors before infilling of the wet concrete. The behavior of biaxially loaded thin-walled rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) slender beam-columns with preloads on the steel tubes has not been studied experimentally and numerically. In this paper, a fiber element model developed for CFST slender beam-columns with preload effects is briefly described and verified by existing experimental results of uniaxially loaded CFST columns with preload effects. The fiber element model is used to investigate the behavior of biaxially loaded rectangular CFST slender beam-columns accounting for the effects of preloads and local buckling. Parameters examined include local buckling, preload ratio, loading angle, depth-to-thickness ratio, column slenderness, loading eccentricity and steel yield strength. The results obtained indicate that the preloads on the steel tubes significantly reduce the stiffness and strength of CFST slender beam-columns with a maximum strength reduction of more than 15.8%. Based on the parametric studies, a design model is proposed for axially loaded rectangular CFST columns with preload effects. The fiber element and design models proposed allow for the structural designer to efficiently analyze and design CFST slender beam-columns subjected to preloads from the upper floors of a high-rise composite building during construction.     

Local buckling of steel plates in concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular beam-columns

The availability of high strength steels and concrete leads to the use of thin steel plates in concrete-filled steel tubular beam-columns. However, the use of thin steel plates in composite beam-columns gives a rise to local buckling that would appreciably reduce the strength and ductility performance of the members. This paper studies the critical local and post-local buckling behavior of steel plates in concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular beam-columns by using the finite element analysis method. Geometric and material nonlinear analyses are performed to investigate the critical local and post-local buckling strengths of steel plates under compression and in-plane bending. Initial geometric imperfections and residual stresses presented in steel plates, material yielding and strain hardening are taken into account in the nonlinear analysis. Based on the results obtained from the nonlinear finite element analyses, a set of design formulas are proposed for determining the critical local buckling and ultimate strengths of steel plates in concrete-filled steel tubular beam-columns. In addition, effective width formulas are developed for the ultimate strength design of clamped steel plates under non-uniform compression. The accuracy of the proposed design formulas is established by comparisons with available solutions. The proposed design formulas can be used directly in the design of composite beam-columns and adopted in the advanced analysis of concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular beam-columns to account for local buckling effects.     

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.     

Strength of slender concrete filled high strength steel box columns

The use of thin walled steel sections coupled with concrete infill has been used on various building projects with great advantage. The currently available international standards for composite structures are limited to the design of concrete filled steel columns with compact sections. However, there is limited research work in the literature available which is concerned with slender concrete filled thin-walled steel columns. This paper presents a comprehensive experimental study of thin walled steel sections utilising high strength steel of a thin walled nature and filled with normal strength concrete. A numerical model is developed herein in order to study the behaviour of slender concrete filled high strength steel columns incorporating material and geometric non-linearities. For this analysis, the equilibrium of the member is investigated in the deformed state, using the idealised stress–strain relationships for both the steel and concrete materials, considering the elastic and plastic ranges. This paper presents both an experimental and theoretical treatment of coupled local and global buckling of concrete filled high strength steel columns sometimes termed interaction buckling. The experimental results of columns with high strength steel casings conducted herein by the authors are used for comparison. The effect of the confined concrete core is also addressed and the method shows good agreement with the experimental results of concrete filled steel columns with compact sections. The behaviour of concrete filled steel slender columns affected by elastic or inelastic local buckling is also investigated and compared with relevant experimental results. The paper then concludes with a design recommendation for the strength evaluation of slender composite columns using high strength steel plates with thin-walled steel sections, paying particular attention to existing codes of practice so as not to deviate from current design methodologies.     

High strength circular concrete-filled steel tubular slender beam-columns, Part I: Numerical analysis

High strength circular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) slender beam-columns are frequently used in high-rise composite buildings because they possess higher strength and stiffness than normal strength ones. Most nonlinear inelastic methods of analysis for circular CFST slender beam-columns have not considered the effects of high strength materials and concrete confinement that significantly increases the strength and ductility of the concrete core. As a result, these methods produce computational solutions that deviate considerably from experimental results. This paper presents a new numerical model for predicting the nonlinear inelastic behavior of high strength circular CFST slender beam-columns under axial load and bending. The numerical model developed not only accounts for confinement effects on the concrete core and circular steel tubes but also incorporates initial geometric imperfections of beam-columns. Axial load-moment-curvature relationships obtained from the fiber element analysis of column cross-sections are utilized to determine the equilibrium states in the inelastic stability analysis of slender beam-columns. Computational algorithms are developed for determining the axial load-deflection and axial load-moment interaction curves for slender beam-columns. The numerical model is implemented in a computer program, which is shown to be an efficient and accurate simulation tool that can be used to investigate the fundamental behavior of high strength circular CFST slender beam-columns. The verification and applications of the numerical model are given in a companion paper.     

Strength and ductility evaluation of steel bridge piers with linearly tapered plates

Important issues on the application of linearly tapered steel plates to highway bridge piers are discussed in this paper based on extensive experimental work. The factors that affect the seismic resisting performance of tapered plate steel columns were examined. The main factors considered are: (1) types of tapering mold line (outer, central, and inside tapering); (2) tapering ratio (or the slope of thickness change); (3) stiffeners’ rigidity; and (4) tapered stiffeners. To this end, four groups of specimens were tested under cyclic lateral loads and constant axial load. The columns with the outside taper plates were found to have the best strength and ductility characteristics among the three types of mold lines. In the case of different tapering ratios, the largest ductility was observed in the specimens with the tapering ratio slightly less than or equal to unity. The stiffeners’ rigidity ratio of around 3.0 was found to give the best ductility performance in columns with both constant thickness and varying thickness stiffeners. The test results were compared with a recently proposed design equation for limit strain of box columns with tapered plates. Finally, finite element analyses were performed and comparisons between the test and the analyses’ results of several test specimens are presented.     

High strength circular concrete-filled steel tubular slender beam-columns, Part II: Fundamental behavior

There is relatively little experimental and numerical research on the fundamental behavior of high strength circular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) slender beam-columns. In a companion paper, a new numerical model for predicting the nonlinear inelastic behavior of high strength circular CFST slender beam-columns under axial load and bending was presented. The numerical model developed accounts for confinement effects on the strength and ductility of the concrete core and on circular steel tubes as well as initial geometric imperfections of beam-columns. This paper presents the verification of the numerical model and extensive parametric studies on the fundamental behavior of high strength circular CFST slender beam-columns. The ultimate strengths and axial load-deflection responses of circular CFST slender beam-columns under eccentric loading predicted by the numerical model are verified by corresponding experimental results. The computer program implementing the numerical model is used to investigate the fundamental behavior of high strength circular CFST slender beam-columns in terms of load-deflection responses, ultimate strengths, axial load-moment interaction diagrams, and strength increase due to concrete confinement. Parameters examined include column slenderness ratio, eccentricity ratio, concrete compressive strengths, steel yield strengths, steel ratio and concrete confinement. It is demonstrated that the numerical model developed is an efficient computer simulation and design tool for high strength circular CFST slender beam-columns. Benchmark numerical results presented in this paper are valuable in the development of composite design codes for high strength circular CFST slender beam-columns.     

Rational design analysis of stub columns fabricated using very high strength circular steel tubes

The mechanics of the compressional behaviour of stub columns fabricated from Grade 350 steel plates welded to very high strength (VHS) circular tubes are investigated in this paper. In the investigations comparisons of experimental load-axial shortening curves are made with the results of a postulated design analysis set up to examine the complete load-shortening behaviour of such members. Ramberg-Osgood type stress–strain equations are set up for the plate and tube materials. A procedure is described to evaluate the loads in individual plate and tube elements as the axial shortening is increased until the 0.2% proof strain for the VHS tube material is attained. Upon reaching this strain it is assumed that failure ensues as the result of a simple plastic mechanism occurring in the tubes. Comparisons of the load-axial shortening curves given by this analysis and experimental results indicate good agreement.     

Experimental behaviour of high performance concrete-filled steel tubular columns

In recent years, the utilization of high performance concrete has been the interests of the structural engineers and researchers. As a high performance concrete, self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a highly flowable concrete that can fill formwork without any mechanical vibration. SCC's unique property gives it significant economic, constructability and engineering advantages. The aim of this paper is thus an attempt to study the possibility of using thin-walled hollow structural steel (HSS) columns filled with very high strength SCC. Tests on 28 HSS columns filled with very high strength SCC were conducted, where the main parameters varied are: (1) section types, circular and square; (2) slenderness ratio, from 12 to 120; and (3) load eccentricity ratio, from 0 to 0.6. Comparisons are made with predicted column strengths using the existing codes such as AISC, EC4 and DBJ13-51-2003.     

Nonlinear analysis of circular concrete-filled steel tubular short columns under axial loading

The confinement effect provided by the steel tube in a circular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) short column remarkably increases the strength and ductility of the concrete core. The reliable prediction using nonlinear analysis methods for circular CFST columns relies on the use of accurate models for confined concrete. In this paper, accurate constitutive models for normal and high strength concrete confined by either normal or high strength circular steel tubes are proposed. A generic fiber element model that incorporates the proposed constitutive models of confined concrete is created for simulating the nonlinear inelastic behavior of circular CFST short columns under axial loading. The generic fiber element model developed is verified by comparisons of computational results with existing experimental data. Extensive parametric studies are conducted to examine the accuracy of various confining pressure models and the effects of the tube diameter-to-thickness ratio, concrete compressive strengths and steel yield strengths on the fundamental behavior of circular CFST columns. A new design formula accounting for concrete confinement effects is also proposed for circular CFST columns. It is demonstrated that the generic fiber element model and design formula adequately predict the ultimate strength and behavior of axially loaded circular CFST columns and can be used in the design of normal and high strength circular CFST columns.     

Ultimate capacity of rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular columns under unequal load eccentricities

The paper describes 36 experimental tests conducted on rectangular and square tubular columns filled with normal and high strength concrete and subjected to a non-constant bending moment distribution with respect to the weak axis. The test parameters were the nominal strength of concrete (30 and 90 MPa), the cross-section aspect ratio (square or rectangular), the thickness (4 or 5 mm) and the ratio of the top and bottom first order eccentricities e_top/e_bottom (1, 0.5, 0 and − 0.5). The ultimate load of each test was compared with the design loads from Eurocode 4, presenting unsafe results inside a 10% safety margin. The tests show that the use of high strength concrete is more useful for the cases of non-constant bending moment, whereas if the aim is to obtain a more ductile behavior the use of concrete-filled columns is more appealing in the cases of normal strength concrete with non-constant bending moments because, although they resist less axial force than the members with HSC, they obtain a softened post-peak behavior.     

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.     

Stability and ductility of thin high strength G550 steel members and connections

High strength cold-reduced steel is typically of stress grade G550 (550 MPa nominal yield and tensile strength) and less than 1 mm thick. The steel has been used for many years for sheeting and decking but is now being used for structural members such as roof trusses and stud walls of steel framed houses. The paper summarises a major research program on the stability and ductility of this steel which has been proceeding for several years at the University of Sydney. The paper relates the Sydney research to the work of others being undertaken around the world.     

Fire behavior of axially loaded slender high strength concrete-filled tubular columns

This paper describes sixteen fire tests conducted on slender circular hollow section columns filled with normal and high strength concrete, subjected to concentric axial loads. The test parameters were the nominal strength of concrete (30 and 80 MPa), the infilling type (plain concrete, reinforced concrete and steel fiber reinforced concrete) and the axial load level (20% and 40%). The columns were tested under fixed-pinned boundary conditions and the relative slenderness at room temperature was higher than 0.5 in all of the cases. A numerical model was validated against the tests, in order to extend the results and understand the failure mode of such columns. It is the aim of this paper to study the influence in a fire situation of the use of high strength concrete, as opposed to normal strength concrete. The results have shown that for slender columns subjected to high temperatures, the behavior of high strength concrete was different than for stub columns, spalling not being observed in the experiments. Furthermore, the addition of steel fibers was not found very advantageous in slender columns, since no increment in terms of fire resistance was obtained for the columns which used this type of reinforcement. However, the addition of reinforcing bars seems to be the solution in some cases, where the use of external fire protection wants to be avoided in the design of HSS structures, since the reinforcing bars allow the tube to resist a higher axial load.     

Seismic performance improvement of circular steel columns using precompressed concrete-filled steel tube

This paper presents a new method aimed at improving seismic resisting characteristics of circular-shaped steel columns representing highway bridge piers and an experimental investigation carried out to validate it. In this method, a special compression member is placed in the middle of the pier in order to take the axial load from the superstructure. As a result, the influence of axial load on the inelastic buckling deformation of plates can be greatly controlled. The special compression member consists of a precompressed concrete-filled steel tube (PC-CFT). Six specimens were tested to check the seismic performances of the proposed column system. It was clear from the test results that the specimens with PC-CFT could deform even up to ten times of their yield displacements without significant load deterioration. They also showed improved ultimate strength, ductility and energy absorption capacities than the corresponding benchmark specimens.     

Material ductility of very high strength (VHS) circular steel tubes in tension

This paper investigates the material ductility of very high strength (VHS) circular steel tubes under tension in terms of the ultimate strength to the yield stress ratio, the percentage elongation, the fracture to ultimate load ratio and the ultimate to yield strain ratio. 15 tensile coupon tests and 12 full section tests on VHS tubes were carried out. The tested VHS tubes have a diameter ranging from 31.8 mm to 75 mm with wall thickness ranging from 1.6 mm to 2.0 mm. The non-heat-treated tubes, which were used to make VHS tubes, were also tested for comparison purposes. Different failure modes were observed for VHS tubes and non-heat-treated tubes. The ultimate strength to yield stress ratio of VHS tubes was compared with that of various cold-formed hollow sections, sheet steels and quenched and tempered steels. The test results were compared with ductility requirements in various codes. It has shown that the VHS tubes satisfied the material ductility requirement specified in the Australian/New Zealand Standard for Cold-Formed Steel Structures AS/NZS4600.     

Cyclic performance of repaired concrete-filled steel tubular columns after exposure to fire

This paper provides new test data of cyclic behavior of repaired concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns after exposure to fire, the fire-damaged CFST columns being strengthened by wrapping the original columns by concrete and a thin-walled steel tube. The test parameters included the cross-section type (circular, square and rectangular), and the axial load level (0, 0.3, 0.6). It was found that all the test specimens behaved in a ductile manner and testing proceeded in a smooth and controlled way. Based on the experiment measurements, the ultimate lateral strength, flexural stiffness, dissipated energy and ductility of the columns are analyzed and compared. The test results indicate that the ultimate lateral strength and flexural stiffness of concrete-filled hollow structural columns decrease after exposure to fire, however, the ductility of the columns was not adversely affected due to the fire exposure. The test results also indicate that the strength and stiffness of the fire-damaged columns can be restored over the original level of the specimens.     

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.