Seismic Performance of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) Structures
Seismic Performance of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) Structures
Seismic Performance of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) Structures
ABSTRACT:
Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) consists of outer steel tube and concrete in-filled,
which combines the merits of steel and concrete. This kind of composite member
has various advantages, i.e., high strength and high ductility, favorable cyclic
behaviour, high fire resistance and excellent constructability, have been recognized
all over the world. Nowadays CFST has been widely used in construction,
including many industrial facilities. This paper gives a brief review on the
investigations of seismic behaviour of CFST members, joints, planar frames,
hybrid walls and high-rise buildings, especially in China. The development of
concrete-filled steel tubular members' family is introduced. Some industrial
projects utilizing CFST members are also presented.
1 Introduction
In concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) members, steel and concrete are used such
that their natural and most prominent characteristics are taken advantage of. The
behaviour of the composite member will be better than the simple combination of
two materials. In addition, there is no need for the use of shuttering during concrete
construction, and the construction cost and time are therefore reduced. These
advantages have been widely recognized and have led to the extensive use of CFST
structures [1].
Fig. 1(a) shows a typical CFST cross-section, where the concrete is filled in a
circular hollow section (CHS). The square hollow section (SHS) and the
rectangular hollow section (RHS) are also widely used in construction. Other cross-
sectional shapes have also been used for esthetical purposes, such as polygon,
round-ended rectangular and elliptical shapes. Besides the common concrete-filled
steel tubes, there are other types of "general" member designation in the CFST
family. Some of them are shown in Fig. 1 as follows: concrete-filled double skin
steel tube (CFDST) (Fig. 1 (b)) [2], concrete-encased concrete-filled steel tube
(Fig. 1 (c)) [3], reinforced concrete-filled steel tube (Fig. 1 (d)). Besides being used
as single elements in construction, various combinations of concrete-filled steel
tubular members are also used. For instance, the hollow steel tubes can be used to
form a latticed member, as shown in Fig. 1 (e) [4]. Moreover, due to architectural
or structural requirements, inclined, tapered or non-prismatic members have been
used [5]. Research results for these columns have shown that the steel tube and the
concrete can work together well, despite the inclined angle, the tapered angle or the
curvature of the member.
axial load level, steel ratio, slenderness ratio and material strength were studied.
The results from theoretical models showed a good agreement with the test ones
(with a difference less than 12%) [6][7].
As the general CFST members are used in structures in seismic regions, studies on
the cyclic behaviour of concrete-encased CFST members, FRP-concrete-steel
members, and CFDST members were also conducted [3][8][9]. In general these
columns exhibited a good ductility and favorable energy dissipation capacity.
2.2 Joints
A proper connection details plays an important role in the structural system. The
"weak beam-strong column" concept is adopted in various seismic design codes in
different countries. In the past, some research has been conducted on steel beam to
CFST column joints, which involved experimental studies to assess the elasto-
plastic behaviour of the composite joints, and were reviewed by Han and Li [10].
RC slab
Concrete crush
Rigid
=slab
RC slab
Link
element
Steel beam
Panel zone element
Buckling spring Pinned
Rigid connection Column
element
For composite joints consisted of circular CFST columns and steel beams, Han and
Li [10] conducted experimental investigation on the joint seismic behaviour where
the reinforced concrete slab was attached, as shown in Fig. 3. Experiments were
carried out on the composite joints with constant axial load on the top of column
and reverse cyclic loading at the ends of beams. The results showed that the load
versus deflection curves were plump, and stable strength and stiffness degradations
were observed under cyclic loading. Nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) was
also conducted [11]. The accuracy of the FEA model was verified by extensive
experimental results. The failure modes, force transfer mechanism, force versus
deformation relations of the composite joints were analyzed by the FEA model.
364 L.-H. Han, W. Li
For the macro joint model used in the structural system analysis, Li and Han [12]
proposed a joint macro model for the CFST column to beam joint with RC slab, as
shown in Fig. 3. A shear versus shear deformation hysteretic relation for the panel
zone was established based on the parametric analysis, and then it was implanted in
this macro model. It is concluded that the proposed hysteretic relation and the joint
macro element had a favorable accuracy when compared with the FEA and
experimental results.
Figure 4: Failure modes of CFST frame (Adopted from Han et al. 2011[13])
frames using circular and square CFST columns both exhibited the excellence of
high stiffness and outstanding ductility, and cooperated well with the core wall in
the high-rise hybrid structural system.
CFST columns
CFST columns
(a) (b)
CFST columns
CFST columns
(c) (d)
Figure 7: CFST members used in industrial facilities [1]
The concrete-filled steel tube has been used in industrial facilities in the north of
China since 1970s. The column usually resists axial load and bending in workshop
or industrial buildings. If the single column is applied, the column is an
eccentrically-loaded one. Therefore built-up CFST members are popular in
Seismic Performance of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) Structures 367
4 Concluding remark
The scope of "concrete-filled steel tube" has been extended greatly by researchers
and engineers. In general, the concrete-filled steel tubular structures have favorable
ductility and energy dissipation capacities, and are suitable for the structures in
seismic regions. Simplified hysteretic models for load-deformation relationships
were developed for CFST members, joints and frames. When compared to
reinforced concrete and steel structures, the CFST structures have their own
advantages, and could be used in industrial facilities in earthquake-prone areas.
5 Acknowledgements
The research reported in the paper is part of Projects 51178245 and 51208281
supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), as well as the
Tsinghua Initiative Scientific Research Program (No. 2010THZ02-1).
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