• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.111-129
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• 2015

This paper first presents an experimental study of twelve specimens for their creep performance, including nine concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns and three plain concrete columns, subjected to three levels of sustained axial loads for 1710 days. Then, the creep strain curves are predicted from the existing creep models including the ACI 209 model, the MC 78 model, and the MC 90 model, and further a fitted creep model is obtained by experimental data. Finally, the creep effects of a CFST arch bridge are analyzed to compare the accuracy of the existing creep models. The experimental results show that the creep strains in CFST specimens are far less than in the plain concrete specimens and still increase after two years. The ACI 209 model outperforms the MC 78 model and the MC 90 model when predicting the creep behavior of the CFST specimens. Analysis results indicate that the creep effects in the CFST arch bridge are significant. The deflections and stresses calculated by the ACI 209 model are the closest to the fitted model in the three existing models, demonstrating that the ACI 209 model can be used for creep analysis of CFST arch bridges and can meet the engineering accuracy requirement when lack of experimental data.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.643-658
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• 2024

To date, shell-solid and fibre element model analysis are the most commonly used methods to investigate the seismic performance of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) bridge piers. However, most existing research does not consider the loss of bearing capacity caused by the fracture of the outer steel tube. To fill this knowledge gap, a refined finite element (FE) model considering the ductile damage of steel tubes and the behaviour of infilled concrete with cracks is established and verified against experimental results of unidirectional, bidirectional cyclic loading tests and pseudo-dynamic loading tests. In addition, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the seismic performance of CFST bridge piers with different concrete strength, steel strength, axial compression ratio, slenderness ratio and infilled concrete height using the proposed model. The validation shows that the proposed refined FE model can effectively simulate the residual displacement of CFST bridge piers subjected to highintensity earthquakes. The parametric analysis indicates that CFST piers hold sufficient strength reserves and sound deformation capacity and, thus, possess excellent application prospects for bridge construction in high-intensity areas.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.263-279
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• 2022

With the span and arch rib size of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) arch bridges increase, the hydration heat of pumped mass concrete inside large-size steel tube causes a significant temperature variation, leading to a risk of thermal stress-induced cracking during construction. In order to tackle this phenomenon, a hydration heat conduction model based on hydration degree was established through a nonlinear temperature analysis incorporating an exothermic hydration process to obtain the temperature field of large-size CFST. Subsequently, based on the evolution of elastic modulus based on hydration degree and early-age creep rectification, the finite element model (FEM) model and analytical study were respectively adopted to investigate the variation of the thermal stress of CFST during hydration heat release, and reasonable agreement between the results of two methods is found. Finally, a comparative study of the thermal stress with and without considering early-age creep was conducted.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.423-434
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• 2011

Tongwamen Bridge is a critical link between Dongmen Island and the land in Shipu town, Zhejiang province, China. It is a 238 m span, half-through, concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) X-type arch bridge. The width of the deck is only 10 m, yielding a width-to-span ratio of 1/23.8. The plane truss type section rib was adopted, which made of two CFST chords and web member system. The lateral stability is the key issue to this bridge. However, the existing researches on Tongwamen Bridge's lateral stability are all the deterministic structural analysis. In this paper, a new strategy for positioning sampling points of the response surface method (RSM), based on the composite method combining RSM with geometric method for structural reliability analysis, is employed to obtain the reliability index of lateral stability. In addition the correlated parameters were discussed in detail to find the major factors. According to the analysis results, increasing the stiff of lateral braces between the arch ribs and setting the proper inward-incline degree of the arch rib can enhance obviously the reliability of lateral stability. Moreover, the deck action of non-orienting force is less than the two factors above. The calculated results indicate that the arch ribs are safe enough to keep excellent stability, and it provides the foundation that the plane truss rib would be a competitive solution for a long-span, narrow, CFST arch bridge.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.605-616
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• 2017

Concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) composite girder is a new type of structures for bridge constructions. The existing design codes cannot be used to predict the thermal stress in the CFST truss girder structures under solar radiation. This study is to develop the temperature gradient curves for predicting thermal stress of the structure based on field and laboratory monitoring data. An in-field testing had been carried out on Ganhaizi Bridge for over two months. Thermal couples were installed at the cross section of the CFST truss girder and the continuous data was collected every 30 minutes. A typical temperature gradient mode was then extracted by comparing temperature distributions at different times. To further verify the temperature gradient mode and investigate the evolution of temperature fields, an outdoor experiment was conducted on a 1:8 scale bridge model, which was installed with both thermal couples and strain gauges. The main factors including solar radiation and ambient temperature on the different positions were studied. Laboratory results were consistent with that from the in-field data and temperature gradient curves were obtained from the in-field and laboratory data. The relationship between the strain difference at top and bottom surfaces of the concrete deck and its corresponding temperature change was also obtained and a method based on curve fitting was proposed to predict the thermal strain under elevated temperature. The thermal stress model for CFST composite girder was derived. By the proposed model, the thermal stress was obtained from the temperature gradient curves. The results using the proposed model were agreed well with that by finite element modelling.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.389-403
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• 2010

Based on the Model Coupled Method (MCM), a case study has been carried out on a Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) tied arch bridge to investigate the vibration problem. The mathematical model assumed a finite element representation of the bridge together with beam, shell, and link elements, and the vehicle simulation employed a three dimensional linear vehicle model with seven independent degrees-of-freedom. A well-known power spectral density of road pavement profiles defined the road surface roughness for Perfect, Good and Poor roads respectively. In virtue of a home-code program, the dynamic interaction between the bridge and vehicle model was simulated, and the dynamic amplification factors were computed for displacement and internal force. The impact effects of the vehicle on different bridge members and the influencing factors were studied. Meanwhile the acceleration responses of some of the components were analyzed in the frequency domain. From the results some valuable conclusions have been drawn.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.645-655
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• 2017

To determine the seismic applicability of a long-span railway concrete upper-deck arch bridge with concrete-filled steel-tube (CFST) rigid skeleton ribs, some fundamental principles and seismic approaches for long-span bridges are investigated to update the design methods in the current Code for Seismic Design of Railway Engineering of China. Ductile and mixed isolation design are investigated respectively to compare the structural seismic performances. The flexural moment and plastic rotation demands and capacities are quantified to assess the seismic status of the ductile components. A kind of triple friction pendulum (TFP) system and lead-plug rubber bearing are applied simultaneously to regularize the structural seismic demands. The numerical analysis shows that the current ductile layout with continuous rigid frame approaching spans should be strengthened to satisfy the demands of rare earthquakes. However, the mixed isolation design embodies excellent seismic performances for the continuous girder approaching span of this railway arch bridge.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.93-109
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• 2020

Developed from conventional concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) members, concrete-encased CFST has attracted growing attention in building and bridge practices. In actual construction, the inner CFST is erected prior to the casting of the outer reinforced concrete part to support the construction preload, after which the whole composite member is under sustained service load. The complex loading sequence leads to highly nonlinear material interaction and consequently complicated structural performance. This paper studies the full-range behaviour of concrete-encased CFST columns with initial preload on inner CFST followed by sustained service load over the whole composite section. Validated against the reported data obtained from specifically designed tests, a finite element analysis model is developed to investigate the detailed structural behaviour in terms of ultimate strength, load distribution, material interaction and strain development. Parametric analysis is then carried out to evaluate the impact of significant factors on the structural behaviour of the composite columns. Finally, a simplified design method for estimating the sectional capacity of concrete-encased CFST is proposed, with the combined influences of construction preload and sustained service load being taken into account. The feasibility of the developed method is validated against both the test data and the simulation results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.109-122
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• 2016

Concrete creep, while significantly changing the static behaviors of concrete filled steel tube (CFST) structures, do alter the structures' dynamic behaviors as well, which is studied quite limitedly. The attempt to investigate the influence of concrete creep on the dynamic property and response of CFST arch bridges was made in this paper. The mechanism through which creep exerts its influence was analyzed first; then a predicative formula was proposed for the concrete elastic modulus after creep based on available test data; finally a numerical analysis for the effect of creep on the dynamic behaviors of a long-span half-through CFST arch bridge was conducted. It is demonstrated that the presence of concrete creep increases the elastic modulus of concrete, and further magnifies the seismic responses of the displacement and internal force in some sections of the bridge. This influence is related closely to the excitation and the structure, and should be analyzed case-by-case.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.175-180
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• 2017

The load-carrying capacity and structural behavior of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) structures is highly influenced by the grouting compactness in the steel tube. Due to the invisibility of the grout in the steel tube, monitoring of the grouting progress in such a structure is still a challenge. This paper develops an active sensing approach with combined piezoceramic-based smart aggregates (SA) and piezoceramic patches to monitor the grouting compactness of CFST bridge structure. A small-scale steel specimen was designed and fabricated to simulate CFST bridge structure in this research. Before casting, four SAs and two piezoceramic patches were installed in the pre-determined locations of the specimen. In the active sensing approach, selected SAs were utilized as actuators to generate designed stress waves, which were detected by other SAs or piezoceramic patch sensors. Since concrete functions as a wave conduit, the stress wave response can be only detected when the wave path between the actuator and the sensor is filled with concrete. For the sake of monitoring the grouting progress, the steel tube specimen was grouted in four stages, and each stage held three days for cement drying. Experimental results show that the received sensor signals in time domain clearly indicate the change of the signal amplitude before and after the wave path is filled with concrete. Further, a wavelet packet-based energy index matrix (WPEIM) was developed to compute signal energy of the received signals. The computed signal energies of the sensors shown in the WPEIM demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method in the monitoring of the grouting progress.