Eccentric compression behaviour of rectangular concrete-filled steel tube columns with self-compacting lower expansion concrete

The use of a self-compacting lower expansion concrete in a concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) structure not only promotes the quality of concrete pouring but also improves the bond behaviour between the steel and the concrete. In combination with the actual stress state of the columns in the engineering structure, it is necessary to study the eccentric compression behaviour of the column. In this study, experimental studies involving both uniaxial and biaxial bending tests of rectangular self-compacting lower expansion CFST columns were carried out. The variation laws of the load–displacement curves, the lateral deflection curves and the stress–strain curves during the loading phase were analysed. Furthermore, the failure modes and the mechanical properties of the specimens under eccentric compression loads were investigated. Subsequently, the numerical models of CFST columns with self-compacting lower expansion concrete were considered and established. In order to verify the rationality of the finite element modelling, the numerical calculation results were compared with test results. Then, a parametric analysis of the compression and the bending bearing capacities of each column was carried out by changing the eccentricity of the load, and the N–M curves or N-Mx-My surfaces describing the ultimate bearing capacity of the column were obtained. Finally, by the parametric finite element analysis of the rectangular CFST columns regarding to the bearing capacity under the same eccentricity, a conclusion was obtained: when the expansion agent content γ of a specimen increased from 0% to 10%, the bearing capacity of the columns increases significantly, but when continue increasing the expansive agent content, the expansion agent content has little effect on the compression–bending bearing capacity.

An Investigation of Bearing Capacity of High-Strength SRC Columns under Eccentric Axial Load

This paper investigates the eccentric compression performance of high-strength steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns. In addition, the feasibility of the calculation codes used for the load-carrying capacity of these columns is verified by eccentric compression tests on 10 high-strength SRC columns with Q460 and Q690 steels and two normal SRC columns with Q235 steel. Moreover, the influence of the steel strength, relative eccentricity, steel ratio, and stirrup spacing on the bearing capacity and ductility of the specimens is analyzed. It was found that the bearing capacity and ductility of the specimens significantly increases when the steel strength increases from 276.5 MPa to 774.2 MPa; the bearing capacity of the Q690 SRC column is slightly higher than that of the Q460 SRC column. In addition, the ductility coefficient of the Q690 SRC columns is significantly higher than that of the Q460 SRC columns. It was also found that increasing the eccentricity and steel ratio can improve the ductility of the specimens and the smaller stirrup spacing can enlarge the contribution of Q690 steel under the ultimate bearing capacity. It is demonstrated that Eurocode 4-2004 and AISC360-16 codes significantly underestimate the test results. In contrast, JGJ138-2016 slightly underestimates the test results when the relative eccentricity is 0.2 but overestimates the test results when the relative eccentricity is 0.6. Furthermore, in order to maximize the contribution of Q690 steel under ultimate bearing capacity, the expanded parameter analysis is carried out using a finite element model. Following the analysis results, the suggestions for designing high-strength SRC columns under eccentric load are provided.