Ultimate Limit Design of Strengthened Steel Columns by Mortar-Filled FRP Tubes

The present study investigated the various failure modes of strengthened steel columns by mortar-filled fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tubes to analytically formulate the ultimate capacities of these steel columns. A simple and effective method, wherein a mortar-filled FRP tube was sleeved outside the steel member, was also formulated to enhance the buckling resistance capacity of compressed steel members. In addition, to facilitate the connection of the column to other structural members, the length of the sleeved mortar-filled FRP tubes is less than that of the original steel columns. Theoretical analyses were also performed on the critical sections of such composite columns at their ultimate states to identify their potential failure modes, such as FRP-tube splitting at the ends or on the insides of wrapped areas, local buckling at the steel ends of transition zones, and global buckling of the composite columns. The corresponding ultimate capacity of each failure mode was then analytically formulated to characterize the critical failure mode and ultimate load capacity of the columns. The current theoretical results were compared with those from literature to validate the applicability of the developed ultimate limit design approaches for FRP-mortar-steel composite columns.