• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.405-421
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• 2023

An experimental study on six axially-loaded composite short columns with different thicknesses of steel tube and that of the concrete plate was carried out. Compared to the mechanical behavior of component specimens under axially compressed, the failure modes, compression deformation, and strain process were obtained. The two main parameters that have a significant enhancement to cross-sectional strength were also analyzed. The failure of an axially loaded UHPC-CFST short column is due to the crushing of the UHPC plate, while the CFST member does reach its maximum resistance. A reduction coefficient K'c, related to the confinement coefficient, is introduced to account for the contribution of CFST members to the ultimate load-carrying capacity of the UHPC-CFST composite short columns. Based on the regression analysis of the relationship between the confinement index ξ and the value of fcc/fc, a unified formula for estimating the axial compressive strength of CFST short columns was proposed, combined with the experimental results in this research, and an equation for reliably predicting the strength of UHPC-CFST composite short columns under axial compression were also proposed.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.147-177
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• 2023

Elliptical concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) column is widely used in modern structures for both aesthetical appeal and structural performance benefits. The ultimate axial load is a critical factor for designing the elliptical CFST short columns. However, there are complications of geometric and material interactions, which make a difficulty in determining a simple model for predicting the ultimate axial load of elliptical CFST short columns. This study aims to propose an efficient adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model for predicting the ultimate axial load of elliptical CFST short columns. In the proposed method, the ANFIS model is used to establish a relationship between the ultimate axial load and geometric and material properties of elliptical CFST short columns. Accordingly, a total of 188 experimental and simulation datasets of elliptical CFST short columns are used to develop the ANFIS models. The performance of the proposed ANFIS model is compared with that of existing design formulas. The results show that the proposed ANFIS model is more accurate than existing empirical and theoretical formulas. Finally, an explicit formula and a Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool are developed to apply the proposed ANFIS model for practical use.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.497-521
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• 2021

In this study, an effective numerical method is introduced for nonlinear inelastic analyses of rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) frames for the first time. A steel-concrete composite fiber beam-column element model is developed that considers material, and geometric nonlinearities, and residual stresses. This is achieved by using stability functions combined with integration points along the element length to capture the spread of plasticity over the composite cross-section along the element length. Additionally, a multi-spring element with a zero-length is employed to model the nonlinear semi-rigid beam-to-column connections in CFST frame models. To solve the nonlinear equilibrium equations, the generalized displacement control algorithm is adopted. The accuracy of the proposed method is firstly verified by a large number of experiments of CFST members subjected to various loading conditions. Subsequently, the proposed method is applied to investigate the nonlinear inelastic behavior of rectangular CFST frames with fully rigid, semi-rigid, and hinged connections. The accuracy of the predicted results and the efficiency pertaining to the computation time of the proposed method are demonstrated in comparison with the ABAQUS software. The proposed numerical method may be efficiently utilized in practical designs for advanced analysis of the rectangular CFST structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.559-571
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• 2018

In current engineering practice, circular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns have been used as effective structural components due to their significant structural and economic benefits. To apply these structural components into steel-concrete composite moment resisting frames, increasing number of research into the column-base connections of circular CFST columns have been found. However, most of the previous research focused on the strength, rigidity and seismic resisting performance of the circular CFST column-base connections. The present paper attempts to investigate the demountability of bolted circular CFST column-base connections using the finite element method. The developed finite element models take into account the effects of material and geometric nonlinearities; the accuracy of proposed models is validated through comparison against independent experimental results. The mechanical performance of CFST column-base connections with both permanent and demountable design details are compared with the developed finite element models. Parametric studies are further carried out to examine the effects of design parameters on the behaviour of demountable circular CFST column-base connections. Moreover, the initial stiffness and moment capacity of such demountable connections are compared with the existing codes of practice. The comparison results indicate that an improved prediction method of the initial stiffness for these connections should be developed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.409-421
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• 2012

Recently, as the height of building is getting higher, the applications of CFST column for high-rise buildings have been increased. In structural system of high-rise building, The RC core and exterior concrete-filled tubular (CFST) column-beam pinned connection is one of the structural systems that support lateral load. If this structural system is used, due to the minimal CFST column thickness compared to that of the CFST column width, the local moment occurred by the eccentric distance between the column flange surface from shear bolts joints degrades the shear strength of the CFST column-beam pinned connections. This study performed a finite element analysis to investigate the shear strength under eccentric moment of the CFST column-beam pinned connections. The column's width and thickness were used as variables for the analysis. To guarantee the reliability of the finite element analysis, an actual-size specimens were fabricated and tested. The yield line theory was used to formulate an shear strength formula for the CFT column-beam pinned connection. the shear strength formula was suggested through comparison on the results of FEM analysis, test and yield lime theory, the shear strength formula was suggested.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.617-635
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• 2021

This paper numerically investigated the behavior of built-up square concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns under combined preload and axial compression. The finite element (FE) models of target columns were verified in terms of failure mode, axial load-deformation curve and ultimate strength. A full-range analysis on the axial load-deformation response as well as the interaction behavior was conducted to reveal the composite mechanism. The parametric study was performed to investigate the influences of material strengths and geometric sizes. Subsequently, influence of construction preload on the full-range behavior and confinement effect was investigated. Numerical results indicate that the axial load-deformation curve can be divided into four working stages where the contact pressure of curling rib arc gradually disappears as the steel tube buckles; increasing width-to-thickness (B/t) ratio can enhance the strength enhancement index (e.g., an increment of 1.88% from B/t=40 to B/t=100), though ultimate strength and ductility are decreased; stiffener length and lip inclination angle display a slight influence on strength enhancement index and ductility; construction preload can degrade the plastic deformation capacity and postpone the origin appearance of contact pressure, thus making a decrease of 14.81%~27.23% in ductility. Finally, a revised equation for determining strain εscy corresponding to ultimate strength was proposed to evaluate the plastic deformation capacity of built-up square CFST columns.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.455-480
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• 2014

Sixteen concrete filled square CFRP-steel tubular (S-CFRP-CFST) stub columns under axial compression were experimentally investigated. The experimental results showed that the failure mode of the specimens is strength loss of the materials, and the confined concrete has good plasticity due to confinement of the CFRP-steel composite tube. The steel tube and CFRP can work concurrently. The load versus longitudinal strain curves of the specimens can be divided into 3 stages, i.e., elastic stage, elasto-plastic stage and softening stage. Analysis based on finite element method showed that the longitudinal stress of the steel tube keeps almost constant along axial direction, and the transverse stress at the corner of the concrete is the maximum. The confinement effect of the outer tube to the concrete is mainly focused on the corner. The confinements along the side of the cross-section and the height of the specimen are both non-uniform. The adhesive strength has little effect both on the load versus longitudinal strain curves and on the confinement force versus longitudinal strain curves. With the increasing of the initial stress in the steel tube, the load carrying capacity, the stiffness and the peak value of the average confinement force are all reduced. Equation for calculating the load carrying capacity of the composite stub columns is presented, and the estimated results agree well with the experimental results.

• 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.22 no.5
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• pp.1073-1084
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• 2016

Rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular columns with unequal wall thickness were investigated in the paper. The physical centroid, the centroidal principal axes of inertia, and the section core were given. The generalized bending formula and the generalized eccentric compression formula were deduced, and the equation of the neutral axis was also provided. The two rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular stub specimens subjected to the compression load on the physical centroid and the geometric centroid respectively were tested to verify the theoretical formulas.

• 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.