• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.229-235
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• 2018

This study investigated the behaviour of the simply supported hollow steel tube (HST) beams, either concrete filled or unfilled when strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. Eight specimens with varied tubes thickness (sections classification 1 and 3) were all tested experimentally under static flexural loading, four out of eight were filled with normal concrete (CFST beams). Particularly, the partial CFRP strengthening scheme was used, which wrapped the bottom-half of the beams cross-section (U-shaped wrapping), in order to use the efficiency of high tensile strength of CFRP sheets at the tension stress only of simply supported beams. In general, the results showed that the CFRP sheets significantly improved the ultimate strength and energy absorption capacities of the CFST beams with very limited improvement on the related HST beams. For example, the load and energy absorption capacities for the CFST beams (tube section class 1) were increased about 20% and 32.6%, respectively, when partially strengthened with two CFRP layers, and these improvements had increased more (62% and 38%) for the same CFST beams using tube class 3. However, these capacities recorded no much improvement on the related unfilled HST beams when the same CFRP strengthening scheme was adopted.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.2
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• pp.173-189
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• 2022

This study presents an experimental and numerically study about the effects of fiber reinforcement ratio on the behavior of concrete-filled steel tubes (CFST) under dynamic impact loading. In literature have examined the behavior of GFRP and FRP wrapped strengthened CFST elements impact loads. However, since the direction of potential impact force isn't too exact, there is always the probability of not being matched the impact force of the area where the reinforced. Therefore, instead of the fiber textile wrapping method which strengthens only a particular area of CFST element, we used fiber-added concrete-filled elements which allow strengthening the whole element. Thus, the effect of fiber-addition in concrete on the behavior of CFST elements under impact loads was examined. To do so, six simply supported CFST beams were constructed with none fiber, 2% fiber and 10% fiber reinforcement ratio on the concrete part of the CFST beam. CFST beams were examined under two different impact loads (75 kg and 225 kg). The impactors hit the beam from a 2000 mm free fall during the experimental study. Numerical models of the specimens were created using ABAQUS finite element software and validated with experimental data. The obtained results such as; mid-span displacement, acceleration, failure modes and energies from experimental and numerical studies were compared and discussed. Furthermore, the Von Misses stress distribution of the CFST beams with different ratio of fiber reinforcements were investigated numerically. To sum up, there is an optimum amount limit of the fiber reinforcement on CFST beams. Up to this limit, the fiber reinforcement increases the structural performances of the beam, beyond that limit the fiber reinforcement decreases the performances of the CFST beam under transverse impact loadings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.187-200
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• 2018

This paper handles the repairing of deficient square Concrete-Filled Steel-Tube (CFST) beams subject to bending through an experimental and numerical program. Eight square-CFST beams were tested. A 5-mm artificial notch was induced at mid-span of seven beams, four of them were repaired by using CFRP sheets and two were repaired by using GFRP sheets. The beam deflection, strain and ultimate moments were recorded. It was found that providing different cut-off points for the different layers of FRP sheets prohibited failure at termination points due to stress concentrations. Using different lengths of FRP sheets around the notch retarded crack propagation and prevented FRP rupture at the crack position. Finite element analysis was then conducted and the proposed FE model was verified against the recorded experimental data. The influence of various parameters as FRP sheet length, tensile modulus and the number of layers were studied. The moment capacity of damaged square-CFST beams was improved up to 77.6% when repaired by using four layers of CFRP, however, this caused a dramatic decrease in beam deflection. U-wrapping of notched-CFST beam with 0.75 of its length provided a comparable behaviour as wrapping the full length of the beam.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.583-594
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• 2019

In recent years, composite concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) members have been widely utilized in framed building structures like beams, columns, and beam-columns since they have significant advantages such as reducing construction time, improving the seismic performance, and possessing high ductility, strength, and energy absorbing capacity. This paper presents a new composite joint - the composite CFST beam-column joint in which the CFST member is used as the beam. The main components of the proposed composite joint are steel H-beams, CFST beams welded with the steel H-column, and a reinforced concrete slab. The steel H-beams and CFST beams are connected with the concrete slab using shear connectors to ensure composite action between them. The structural performance of the proposed composite joint was evaluated through an experimental investigation. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate this composite joint using the ABAQUS/Explicit software, and the accuracy of the FE model was verified with the relevant experimental results. In addition, a number of parametric studies were made to examine the effects of the steel box beam thickness, concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength, and reinforcement ratio in the concrete slab on the proposed joint performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.75-90
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• 2020

This paper introduces a new composite joint, which is the composite CFST beam- concrete column joint, and it is more convenient for transportation and erection than conventionally welded joints. The main components of this joint include steel H-beams welded with CFST beams, reinforced concrete columns, and reinforced concrete slabs. The steel H-beams and CFST beams are connected with a concrete slab using shear connectors to ensure composite action between them. An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the proposed composite joint performance. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model was developed and analyzed for this joint using the ABAQUS/explicit. The FE model accuracy was validated by comparing its results with the relevant test results. Additionally, the parameters that consisted of the steel box beam thickness, concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength, and reinforcement ratio in the concrete slab were considered to investigate their influence on the proposed joint performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.623-643
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• 2013

Concrete filled steel tubular members (CFST) become a popular choice for modern building construction due to their numerous structural benefits and at the same time aging of those structures and member deterioration are often reported. Therefore, actions like implement of new materials and strengthening techniques become essential to combat this problem. The application of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) with concrete structures has been widely reported whereas researches related to strengthening of steel structures using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) have been limited. The main objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the suitability of CFRP to strengthening of CFST members under flexure. There were three wrapping schemes such as Full wrapping at the bottom (fibre bonded throughout entire length of beam), U-wrapping (fibre bonded at the bottom throughout entire length and extended upto neutral axis) and Partial wrapping (fibre bonded in between loading points at the bottom) introduced. Beams strengthened by U-wrapping exhibited more enhancements in moment carrying capacity and stiffness compared to the beams strengthened by other wrapping schemes. The beams of partial wrapping exhibited delamination of fibre and were failed even before attaining the ultimate load of control beam. The test results showed that the presence of CFRP in the outer limits was significantly enhanced the moment carrying capacity and stiffness of the beam. Also, a non linear finite element model was developed using the software ANSYS 12.0 to validate the analytical results such as load-deformation and the corresponding failure modes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.719-729
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• 2016

There are great needs of simple but reliable mechanical nonlinear behavior analysis and performance evaluation method for frames constructed by steel and concrete composite beams or columns when the structures subjected extreme loads, such as earthquake loads. This paper describes an approach of simplified macro-modelling for composite frames consisting of steel-concrete composite beams and CFST columns, and presents the performance evaluation procedure based on the pushover nonlinear analysis results. A four-story two-bay composite frame underground is selected as a study case. The establishment of the macro-model of the composite frame is guided by the characterization of nonlinear behaviors of composite structural members. Pushover analysis is conducted to obtain the lateral force versus top displacement curve of the overall structure. The identification method of damage degree of composite frames has been proposed. The damage evolution and development of this composite frame in case study has been analyzed. The failure mode of this composite frame is estimated as that the bottom CFST columns damage substantially resulting in the failure of the bottom story. Finally, the seismic performance of the composite frame with high strength steel is analyzed and compared with the frame with ordinary strength steel, and the result shows that the employment of high strength steel in the steel tube of CFST columns and steel beam of composite beams benefits the lateral resistance and elasticity resuming performance of composite frames.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.123-139
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• 2020

The tube outward local buckling of Concrete-Filled Steel Tube (CFST) beam under high compression stress is still considered a critical problem, especially for steel tubes with a slender section compared to semi-compact and compact sections. In this study, the flexural performance of stiffened slender cold-formed square tube beams filled with normal concrete was investigated. Fourteen (14) simply supported CFST specimens were tested under static bending loads, stiffened with different shapes and numbers of steel stiffeners that were provided at the inner sides of the tubes. Additional finite element (FE) CFST models were developed to further investigate the influence of using internal stiffeners with varied thickness. The results of tests and FE analyses indicated that the onset of local buckling, that occurs at the top half of the stiffened CFST beam's cross-section at mid-span was substantially restricted to a smaller region. Generally, it was also observed that, due to increased steel area provided by the stiffeners, the bending capacity, flexural stiffness and energy absorption index of the stiffened beams were significantly improved. The average bending capacity and the initial flexural stiffness of the stiffened specimens for the various shapes, single stiffener situations have increased of about 25% and 39%, respectively. These improvements went up to 45% and 60%, for the double stiffeners situations. Moreover, the bending capacity and the flexural stiffness values obtained from the experimental tests and FE analyses validated well with the values computed from equations of the existing standards.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.443-456
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• 2017

Many authors have established the usefulness of concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) sections as compression members while few have proved their utility as flexural members. To explore their prospective as part of CFST frame structures, two types of connections using extended end plate and seat angle are proposed for exterior joints of CFST beams and CFST columns. To investigate the performance and failure modes of the proposed bolted connections subjected to static loads, an experimental program has been executed involving ten specimens of exterior beam-to-column joints subjected to monotonically increasing load applied at the tip of beam, the performance is appraised in terms of load deformation behaviour of joints. The test parameters varied are the beam section type, type and diameter of bolts. To validate the experimental behaviour of the proposed connections in CFST beam-column joints, finite element analysis for the applied load has been performed using software ATENA-3D and the results of the proposed models are compared with experimental results. The experimental results obtained agree that the proposed CFST beam-column connections perform in a semi-rigid and partial strength mode as per specification of EC3.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.677-689
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• 2020

A building structural system of moment resisting frame (MRF) with concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) columns and wide flange H beams, is one of the most conveniently constructed structural systems. However, there were few studies on evaluating seismic performance of full-scale CFST columns under high axial compression. In addition, some existing famous design codes propose various limits of width-to-thickness ratio (B/t) for steel tubes of the ductile CFST composite members. This study was intended to investigate the seismic behavior of CFST columns under high axial load compression. Four full-scale square CFST column specimens with a B/t of 42 were carried out that were subjected to horizontal cyclic-reversal loads combined with constantly light, medium and high axial loads and with a linearly varied axial load, respectively. Test results revealed that shear strength and deformation capacity of the columns significantly decreased when the axial compression exceeded 0.35 times the nominal compression strength of a CFST column, P₀. It was obvious that the higher the axial compression, the lower both the shear strength and deformation capacities were, and the earlier and faster the shear strength degradation occurred. It was found as well that higher axial compressions resulted in larger initial lateral stiffness and faster degradation of post-yield lateral stiffness. Meanwhile, the lower axial compressions led to better energy dissipation capacities with larger cumulative energy. Moreover, the study implied that under axial compressions greater than 0.35P₀, the CFST column specimens with B/t limits recommended by AISC 360 (2016), ACI 318 (2014), AIJ (2008) and EC4 (2004) codes do not provide ultimate interstory drift ratio of more than 3% radian, and only the limit in ACI 318 (2014) code satisfies this requirement when axial compression does not exceed 0.35P₀.