Design Guide - SHS Concrete Filled Columns

Corus Tubes
Structural & Conveyance Business

Design guide for SHS concrete filled columns

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Design Guide for Concrete Filled
Columns
Original text by :-
S J Hicks BEng, PhD (Cantab.)
G M Newman BSc(Eng), CEng, MIStructE, MIFireE
Additional text by :-
M Edwards BSc (Lond)
A Orton BA (Cantab), CEng, MICE, MIStructE
A

ii
Publication 2002 Corus Tubes

Care has been taken to ensure that the contents of this publication are accurate, but Corus UK Limited and its subsidiary
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and its subsidiaries accept no liability in respect thereof. Before using products supplied or manufactured by Corus UK Limited
customers should satisfy themselves of their suitability.
Main text 2002 The Steel Construction Institute
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iii
FOREWORD
This publication was collated and edited at Corus Tubes, Corby from original contributions by
Dr Stephen Hicks and Mr Gerald Newman of SCI and supplementary text from Mr Mike
Edwards and Mr Andrew Orton of Corus. It brings together the latest available information on
the design and construction of buildings using concrete filled structural hollow sections and
supersedes other publications by Corus and SCI.
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Contents
Page No.
FOREWORD iii
SUMMARY vi
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.2 Applications of concrete filled columns 4
2 NORMAL DESIGN 9
2.1 General 9
2.2 Material properties 9
2.3 Partial safety factors 11
2.4 Basis of design method 11
2.5 Restrictions on the simplified design method 13
2.6 Properties of cross-section 13
2.7 Column buckling resistance 17
2.8 Analysis of bending moments due to second-order effects 20
2.9 Combined compression and bending 21
2.10 Longitudinal and transverse shear 31
2.11 Load introduction 32
3 FIRE DESIGN 36
3.1 General 36
3.2 Protected columns 38
3.3 Unprotected columns 39
3.4 Partial safety factors 40
3.5 Properties of the cross-section 41
3.6 Column buckling resistance 42
3.7 Combined compression and bending 43
3.8 Material properties 45
4 FABRICATION AND CONNECTIONS 47
4.1 General 47
4.2 Column Splices and Flange plate connections 47
4.3 Beam-to-column connections 49
4.4 Shearhead connections to slabs 52
4.5 Base plate connections 53
5 PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 54
5.1 Concrete Filling 54
6 SOFTWARE 58
7 REFERENCES 60
vi
SUMMARY
A concrete filled structural hollow section provides architects and engineers with a robust and
inherently fire resistance column. This publication contains design information for these
columns for both the normal and fire conditions. The information is based on Eurocode 4. Also
included are case studies illustrating the use of concrete filled columns and practical guidance
on concrete filling and connection design.
Design software, ConcFill 2, is described which will analyse sections for the normal and fire
conditions.

1
1 INTRODUCTION
Structural Hollow Sections (SHS) are the most efficient of all structural steel sections in
resisting compression. Their availability in the high yield material Celsius 355 gives them a
high strength to weight ratio and produces slender attractive lines that make them a natural
choice for building structures. In addition, SHS can achieve a constant external dimension for
all weights of a given size, which enables them to achieve standardisation of architectural and
structural details throughout the full height of the building.
Celsius is the brand name for Corus Tubes hot-finished structural hollow sections, Celsius 355
being produced to the European Standard, EN 10210 S355J2H. Celsius sections are produced
by the electric weld process and the J2 denotation signifies that they have a Charpy impact
minimum average energy value of 27J at 20
o
C, making them suitable both for internal and
external applications. Celsius sections are produced to the technical delivery requirements of
EN 10210-1:1994
[1]
with dimensions and tolerances to EN 10210-2:1997
[2]
. However, for
Celsius sections, there is an improved corner profile of 2T maximum.
By filling hollow sections with concrete a composite section is produced (see Figure 1.1), which
will increase the sections room temperature load carrying capacity, whilst retaining all the
advantageous features of the basic unfilled section. Alternatively, for the same original load
capacity, it permits smaller composite sections to be used. The reduction in section size also
gives advantages in subsequent construction processes, including a reduced surface area for
painting or fire protection. In the fire condition the presence of the concrete filling acts as a heat
sink.

Concrete or grout filled hollow sections can be divided into those that are externally protected
against fire by fire-rated boards, lightweight sprayed protection or intumescent coatings, and
those that have no such protection. A further division can be made, by differentiating between
those that are filled with plain concrete mixes and those that contain steel reinforcement within
the mix.

Figure 1.1 Concrete filled square hollow section
2
Externally protected composite sections are designed compositely at room temperature and
external fire protection is applied to achieve the required fire rating of the column. The
composite action is maintained in the fire limit state, the external protection serving to limit the
rise in steel temperature such that the column capacity is always in excess of the fire limit state
design load over the required fire resistance period. In general, externally protected sections will
not need to contain reinforcement in the mix in order to achieve the desired fire rating -
reinforcement is usually added to such columns so to enhance axial capacity while minimising or
maintaining column SHS size. Reductions in the thickness of the external protection are
possible because of the heat sink effect, which effectively reduces the section factor of the
column; these reductions have been shown to be substantial in the case of filled hollow sections
with intumescent coatings. In cases where smaller columns are used, particularly if speed of
construction is an issue, consideration should be given to sizing the SHS such as to use a plain
fill with external protection, so that reinforcement can be dispensed with. Note that because of
the tensile capacity of the steel in the composite column, in almost all cases, grout may be used
interchangeably with concrete as the filling material.
Filled hollow sections that are not externally protected against fire are designed using the
concrete core alone to meet the fire limit state load requirements but the capacity of the
composite section is checked for the room temperature design case. In general, such sections
will need to contain reinforcement in the mix in order to minimise column dimensions and to
sustain the required fire limit state design loads for such practical fire resistance periods of 60
minutes or more.
Cost comparisons
Cost comparisons have shown that to establish the cost competitiveness of a column it is
necessary to take into account both the cost of the supplied and erected steel section together
with the cost of its fire protection. Such comparisons have shown that hollow sections can offer
a competitive first choice solution to structural columns in multi-storey construction.
Construction
Concrete or grout filling of structural hollow sections requires no special equipment and the
filling operation may be integrated into other concreting operations. The enhancement in the
overall efficiency obtained by filling a steel structural hollow section with concrete allows the
designer a wider choice of sections. Filled hollow section columns combine the advantages of
economy in the use of materials with the construction advantages of the use of steelwork.
Columns, whether externally fire-protected or not, will usually arrive to site as fully finished
elements with make-ups only at column splice joints, if any. Concrete filling of the hollow
section columns can take place on or off site. If filling takes place on site, then the steel column
and its connections are designed to carry all construction loads so that the operation of filling the
columns can be taken off the critical path. In larger buildings, the best economy is obtained by
planning for the simultaneous working of different trades at different levels or plan positions.
The hollow section columns may be filled from the top with a self-compacting or other type of
mix; alternatively, they can be filled from the bottom, through a gate-valve, with a pumpable
concrete or grout mix. Grout is often used as an alternative to concrete and this has substantial
advantages at the construction stage, such as easier filling and pumping and the avoidance of
unfilled voids.
3

Advantages of composite hollow sections
In the initial construction period
The steel section dispenses with the need for formwork. Concrete placement and compaction in
many cases are unhindered by internal reinforcement.
Erection schedule is not dependent on concrete curing time.
During finishing
The concrete filling is protected against mechanical damage. Additional external fire protection
is not always necessary Slender columns reduce the application time and cost of applied
finishes.
Completed building
Greater useable floor area.
Higher visibility.
Reduced maintenance.
Aesthetically pleasing.

Figure 1.2 Detail at the facade line of a plain filled concrete tubular column structure
that uses an intumescent coating as external fire protection
(Wellcome Trust Headquarters, London; structural engineer WSP Group)
4

Many of these advantages were recognised early in the history of the use of iron and steel
hollow sections in construction, indeed the first known Patent relating to the concrete filling of
circular hollow sections dates from 1898. The wider use of the composite concrete hollow
section did not really begin until the mid 20th Century following the results of structural
investigation and the availability of a comprehensive range of structural hollow sections.
A number of institutes in Britain and overseas have now undertaken considerable research into
the structural and fire resistance performance of concrete hollow sections aimed at developing
suitable design procedures for this form of construction. The results of this recent research are
now incorporated into prEN 1994-1-1: 2002 (EC4-1-1), the European code for composite
construction
[18]
.
The material included in this manual makes the design of structural hollow section columns
filled with concrete simple and rapid when standard sections are used in conjunction with
concrete of common grades.
1.2 Applications of concrete filled columns
1.2.1 FLEET PLACE HOUSE, LONDON
The site of Fleet Place, off Holborn Viaduct in the City of London was comprehensively
redeveloped at the same time as the adjacent Thameslink station. This eight-storey high office
block on the site was built using concrete filled external CHS columns on each longitudinal face
of the building and has clear spans on the inside. So that they could be supported off existing
pilecaps, the CHS columns were kinked at first floor level, except at the entrance leading to the
Thameslink station behind the building, where the columns were kinked at second and third
floor levels.

Figure 1.3 Tubular column with reinforced concrete infill without external fire protection

(Cheung Kong Center, Hong Kong; structural engineer Ove Arup & Partners)
5

Technical details
Construction details
The columns have a constant external diameter of 323.9 mm but, within this serial size, vary
from 323.9 30 CHS at the first floor, 323.9 16 CHS between second and fifth floors and
323.9 12.5 CHS between sixth and seven floors. The CHS column material was Celsius hot-
finished hollow section to EN10210 grade S355J2H.
The fire rating for internal elements was generally two hours but the requirement for the
external columns was only 35 minutes in view of their position outside the cladding line. No
fire protection was given to the columns, a 45 minute rating being achieved by concrete filling
alone. The concrete infill used was to Grade 40 or Grade 60 depending on the vertical load.
Project data
Client: Heron Property Corporation
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Structural Engineer: Waterman Partnership
1.2.2 MONTEVETRO APARTMENT BLOCK, LONDON
Steel composite tubular columns have been used on the facade of this high specification
apartment block, which looks out across the River Thames. The composite columns were
chosen because of their small plan area and their slender shape which minimised the obstruction
to the views out from the apartments.

Figure 1.4 Fleet Place House, London
6

Technical details
CHS columns are used and, in the typical case, are only 244.5 mm in diameter. Within this serial
size the columns vary from 244.5 16 CHS to 244.5 20 CHS; for the most heavily loaded
areas, the columns were increased to a maximum size of 355.6 16 CHS.
The steel CHS columns are used to support concrete flat slab floors. At the highest point the
apartment block has twenty storeys and there are heavy axial loads in the columns in these
areas. The CHS column material was Celsius hot-finished hollow section to EN10210 grade
S355J2H.
The fire rating required for the columns varied between one and two hours and was achieved by
the combined effect of the concrete infill and an intumescent coating. No reinforcement was
used inside the CHS columns.
Project data
Client: Taylor Woodrow Capital Developments
Architect: Richard Rogers Partnership
Structural Engineer: Waterman Partnership

Figure 1.5 Montevetro Apartment Block, London
7
1.2.3 PECKHAM LIBRARY, LONDON
This library building is of striking appearance. It is supported at the front by concrete-filled
CHS columns, angled to form an irregular facade and enclosing a covered space, which is an
extension of a new public square. There are 7 supporting columns, 18 metres long, which are
angled out of the vertical, the columns supporting steel tubular trusses at the fourth floor and a
steel roof above. At ground floor level, the columns have a height of 18 metres, giving a height
to width ratio of 37. The angling of the columns helps to provide additional stiffness against
lateral loads and limits the development of bending moment in the columns.

Technical details
At ground floor level, the column line consists of a 323.9 20 CHS column at each end with
323.9 16 CHS columns in-between. At first floor level, these section sizes reduce to 323.9
6.3 CHS members. All columns were designed without external protection, utilising an infilled
concrete core within the tubes to satisfy the requirement for a one-hour fire rating. The concrete
infill is reinforced with 8 T12 longitudinal bars with T6 links at 175 centres. The columns were
fabricated as full-height elements and were supplied in Celsius hot-finished hollow section to
EN10210 grade S355J2H.
Project data
Client: London Borough of Southwark
Architect: Alsop Architects
Structural Engineer: Adams, Kara, Taylor
1.2.4 QUEENSBERRY HOUSE, LONDON
The steel columns used to support the floors of this six-storey office and commercial buildings
are CHS tubular columns. The columns use a tube-in-tube system in which one CHS section is
placed inside a larger one with all the voids grouted after erection of the floor structure.

Figure 1.6 Peckham Library, London
8

Technical details
There is an atrium in the middle of the building, which is 6 metres wide, with 12 metre clear
spans each side of the atrium in the transverse direction. In a typical case the column consists of
a 457 10 CHS outer tube and a 323.9 6.3 CHS inner tube and supports two floor beams on
each side. All columns were delivered to site in two three-storey lengths and were joined by
means of an in situ concrete joint in the inner tube and by bolting and welding on the outer tube.
After erection, the columns only needed to be made good at the joint and given a final finish
coat of paint.
No external fire protection was necessary, the internal column and grout infill having sufficient
load capacity by itself in the fire limit state. At room temperatures, the full section capacity of
the tube-in-tube column is utilised. The CHS column material was Celsius hot-finished hollow
section to EN10210 grade S355J2H.
Project data
Client: General Accident and Capital & City
Architect: RHWL
Structural Engineer: Buro Happold

Figure 1.7 Queensberry House, London
9
2 NORMAL DESIGN
2.1 General
In general, a composite column must be designed for the ultimate limit state. For structural
adequacy, the internal forces and moments resulting from the most unfavourable load
combination should not exceed the design resistances of the composite cross-sections. While
local buckling of the steel sections may be eliminated, the reduction in the compression
resistance of the composite column due to overall buckling should be allowed for, together with
the effects of residual stresses and initial imperfections. Moreover, the second order effects in
slender columns, as well as the effect of creep and shrinkage of concrete under long-term
loading, must be considered if they are significant. The reduction of flexural stiffness due to
cracking of the concrete in the tension area should also be considered. These are provided for
either explicitly, or empirically, in prEN 1994-1-1: 1994
[18]
(EC4-1-1).

2.2 Material properties
2.2.1 Hot rolled structural steel
Nominal values of the yield stress
y
f , and the ultimate tensile stress
u
f , for structural steel are
presented in Table 2.1 below.
Table 2.1 Mechanical properties of Celsius Sections
Nominal thickness of element t (mm)
t 40 mm 40 mm < t 100 mm
Nominal steel grade
to
BS EN 100210-1
f
y
(N/mm) f
u
(N/mm) f
y
(N/mm) f
u
(N/mm)
S 275 275 430 255 410
S 355 355 510 335 490

Design values of other coefficients for the steel sections are given as follows:
a
E = Modulus of elasticity = 210 000 N/mm
a
G = Shear modulus =
( )
a
a
1 2 +
E

a
= Poissons ratio = 0.3
a
= Density = 7850 kg/m

2.2.2 Structural concrete
Concrete strengths are based on the characteristic cylinder strengths
ck
f measured at 28 days in
accordance with Clause 3.1.2.2, of DD ENV 1992-1-1: 1992
[16]
(EC2-1-1). The different
strength classes, and the associated cube strengths, given by this Eurocode are presented in
Table 2.2 below. Classification grades of concrete, such as C20/25, refer to the cylinder/cube
strength at the specified age.
For normal weight concrete, the mean tensile strength
ctm
f and the secant modulus of elasticity
cm
E , for short-term loading are also given in Table 2.2. The effect of creep and shrinkage of
concrete may be significant under long-term loading in some cases. As will be discussed in
10
Section 2.6.2, provision is given within EC4-1-1
[18]
to reduce the secant modulus of elasticity,
depending on the proportion of permanent load acting on the column.
The density of structural concrete is assumed to be 2400 kg/m for plain, unreinforced, concrete
and 2500 kg/m for reinforced concrete.
Table 2.2 Characteristic compressive strength f
ck
(cylinders), mean tensile strength
f
ctm
and secant modulus of elasticity E
cm
for structural concrete
Strength class of
concrete
C20/25 C25/30 C30/37 C35/45 C40/50 C45/55 C50/60
f
ck
(N/mm) 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
f
ctm
(N/mm) 2.2 2.6 2.9 3.2 3.5 3.8 4.1
E
cm
(N/mm) 29000 30500 32000 33500 35000 36000 37000

2.2.3 Steel reinforcement bars
In the UK, steel bars for the reinforcement of concrete should conform to BS 4449:1997
[19]
. DD
ENV 10080: 1996
[20]
, which is currently at the draft for development stage, will eventually
replace this British Standard. However, the 1997 edition of BS 4449 has been revised
considerably compared to its earlier versions, to bring it into line with the requirements of EC2-
1-1
[16]
. The properties most frequently required in design calculations are referred to in Clause
3.2 of EC2-1-1; types of reinforcement steel are classified as follows:
High (class H) or normal (class N), according to ductility characteristics.
Plain smooth or, ribbed bars, according to surface characteristics.

Steel grades that should be used in construction are given in Table 2.3.
Table 2.3 Characteristic yield strength f
sk
, ductility requirements and modulus of
elasticity E
s
of reinforcing steel
Reinforcing
steel standard
BS 4449: 1997
[19]
DD ENV 10080: 1996
[20]

Name 460A (class N) 460B (class H) B500A (class N) B500B (class H)
f
sk
(N/mm) 460 500
Total elongation
at maximum
force (%)
2.5 5.0 2.5 5.0
Elongation at
fracture (%)
12 14 - -
E
s
(N/mm) 210000 210000
According to EC4-1-1
As can be seen from Table 2.3, apart from the obvious difference in the characteristic yield
strength
sk
f , between reinforcing steels complying with BS 4449:1997
[19]
and DD ENV 10080:
1996
[20]
, BS 4449 also specifies a minimum elongation at fracture: thereby guaranteeing the
length of the plastic deformation plateau. Furthermore, in the 1997 edition of BS 4449, the
minimum elongation at fracture of 14%, for 460B steel, is higher than the 12% requirement for
this yield strength, given in earlier versions of this code of practice. A graphical representation
of the difference in the elongation requirements for these two standards is shown in the stress-
strain curve in Figure 2.1.
11

It should be noted, however, that although the ductility of reinforcing bars has a significant
effect on the behaviour of continuous composite beams
[21]
, this property is of little significance
with respect to the design of composite columns at ambient temperature. Concrete filled hollow
sections may be used without any reinforcement, except for reasons of fire resistance (see
Section 3).

2.3 Partial safety factors
National authorities are free to select appropriate values for partial safety factors for loads and
materials, and substitute them for boxed values in the Eurocodes. The boxed values and the
UK National Application Document (NAD) values are:
Loads: EC4-1-1boxed values UK NAD
Imposed (variable) load,
Q
1.50 1.50
Dead (permanent) load,
G
1.35 1.35
Materials:
Steel,
a

1.10 1.05
Concrete,
c

1.50 1.50
Reinforcement,
s

1.15 1.15

2.4 Basis of design method
In EC4-1-1, isolated columns are defined as compression members that are integral parts of a
braced or non-sway frame but which are considered to be isolated for design purposes.
Definitions of non-sway structures are given in EC2-1-1
[16]
as follows:
Structures or structural elements, with or without bracing elements, for which the influence
of displacements of the connections upon the design moments and forces may be neglected,
are classified as non-sway. Otherwise, they are classified as sway.

Mini mum el ongat i on
at f ract ure
Tot al el ongat i on at
maxi mum f orce
uk
S
t
r
e
s
s
St rain
Mini mum el ongat i on
at f ract ure
Tot al el ongat i on at
maxi mum f orce
uk
S
t
r
e
s
s
St rain

Figure 2.1 Elongation limits for steel reinforcement bars
12
Braced building structures, where substantial shear walls or core structures provide the
bracing, may be assumed to be non-sway.
Frames may be classified as non-sway if the first order displacements of the connections do
not increase the effects of actions calculated without considering these displacements by
more than 10%. In general, it is sufficient to consider only the relevant bending moments
due to these second-order effects.

A similar definition of a non-sway frame in DD ENV 1993-1-1: 1992
[28]
(EC3-1-1) is also given
for reference:
A frame may be classified as non-sway if its response to in-plane horizontal forces is
sufficiently stiff for it to be acceptably accurate to neglect any additional internal forces or
moments arising from horizontal displacements of its nodes.
Two methods of design for isolated composite columns in braced or, non-sway frames are given
within EC4-1-1:
2.4.1 General design method
This comprehensive method is used for composite columns with non-symmetrical or non-
uniform cross-section over the column length. It is also used for composite columns of doubly
symmetrical, and uniform cross-section over the column height, when the limits of applicability
for the simplified design method are not satisfied (see Section 2.5). In these circumstances,
some of the important design issues which should be considered using the general method, are
as follows:
geometrical and material non-linearity;
second order effects (on slender columns);
creep and shrinkage of the concrete under long-term loading;
contribution of the tensile strength of the concrete between cracks;
imperfections for the calculation of internal forces and moments about both axes;
distribution of internal forces and moments between the steel section and the concrete by
means of a clearly defined load path;
transfer of longitudinal shear stress at the interface between the steel section and the
concrete under large transverse shear; and
chemical bond and friction together with mechanical shear connection if necessary.

In order to allow for these design considerations, it is necessary to use sophisticated computer
software, which operate with both geometrical and material non-linearity. In general, the design
effort is considerable. Thus, this method is not preferred for use in practical design, and is
outside the scope of this publication.
2.4.2 Simplified design method
This method is used for composite columns of doubly symmetrical and uniform cross-section
over the column height. It is based on certain assumptions relating to the geometrical
configurations of the composite cross-sections. Moreover, it also adopts the European buckling
curves for steel columns as the basis of column buckling design. The limits of applicability of
this method given in EC4-1-1 are also listed in Section 2.5; when the limits are not satisfied, the
above general design method should be used.
13
It should be noted that this method is formulated in such a way that only hand calculation is
required in practical design. The simplified design method is presented in detail within this
publication. The calculation procedure is in six parts, as follows:
(i) Check that the limits of the simplified design method are satisfied.
(ii) Calculate the properties of the cross-section.
(iii) Calculate the buckling resistance of the column.
(iv) Check whether second-order effects should be considered
(v) Calculate the effect of interaction between axial load and bending.
(vi) Calculate the longitudinal and transverse shear.

2.5 Restrictions on the simplified design method
The application of the simplified design method is subject to various restrictions, as follows:
(a) The column is doubly-symmetrical and is of uniform cross-section over the height of the
column.
(b) The steel contribution ratio must satisfy the following conditions:
9 . 0 2 . 0
If is less than 0.2, the column may be designed according to EC2-1-1
[16]
. If is larger
than 0.9, the concrete is ignored in the calculations, and the column is designed as a bare
steel section.
(c) The maximum non-dimensional slenderness ratio of the composite column is limited
to 2.0.
(d) The maximum amount of longitudinal reinforcement that can be considered in the
analysis is 6% of the concrete area. However, if design for fire resistance is not needed,
according to prEN 1994-1-1: 2001
[17]
, no minimum amount of reinforcement is normally
necessary within a filled SHS column; in other words:
0%
c
s
A
A
6.0%.

2.6 Properties of cross-section
2.6.1 Squash (plastic) resistance, N
pl,Rd

The plastic resistance, to compression, of a composite cross-section represents the maximum
load that can be applied to a short composite column. It is important to recognize that concrete
filled circular hollow sections exhibit enhanced resistance due to the triaxial containment
effects. Concrete filled rectangular sections (RHS) do not achieve such enhancement.
Local buckling of steel hollow sections
Before the plastic resistance of the concrete filled hollow section is calculated, it should be
insured that local buckling of the steel does not occur. To prevent premature local buckling, the
width to thickness ratio of the steel section in compression must satisfy the following limits:
For concrete filled rectangular hollow sections (RHS) 52
t
h

14
For concrete filled circular hollow sections (CHS)
2
90
t
d

where:
t is the wall thickness of the steel hollow section in mm.
h is the larger outer dimension of the rectangular hollow section in mm.
d is the outer diameter of the circular hollow section in mm.

y
235
f
=
y
f is the yield strength of the steel section in N/mm.
Local buckling in some rectangular hollow sections with large h/t ratios may be critical. No
specific design recommendation is given within EC4-1-1, and design using sections which
exceed the local buckling limits should be verified by tests.
Concrete filled rectangular hollow sections (RHS)
The plastic resistance of a concrete filled rectangular hollow section (i.e., the so-called squash
load) is given by the sum of the resistances of the components as follows:
c
ck c
s
sk s
a
y a
Rd pl,

f A f A
f A
N + + =
where:
a
A is the area of the steel section.
s
A is the area of the reinforcement.
c
A is the area of the concrete.
y
f is the yield strength of the steel section.
sk
f is the characteristic yield strength of the steel reinforcement bars.
k c
f is the characteristic compressive strength (cylinder) of the concrete.

For ease of expression,
a
y
f
,
s
sk
f
and
c
ck
f
are presented as design strengths of the respective
materials in the remainder of Section 2 as:
yd
f ,
sd
f and
cd
f respectively. As a result of this
simplification, the above equation for the plastic resistance of the composite column, can be
rewritten in the following compact form:
cd c sd s yd a Rd pl,
f A f A f A N + + =
Concrete filled circular hollow sections (CHS)
For composite columns with concrete filled circular hollow sections, the increased resistance of
concrete due to the confining effect of the circular hollow section may be included. This
restraint to transverse strain in a three dimensional confinement results in increased concrete
15
resistance. At the same time, circular tensile stresses in the circular hollow section also arise,
which reduce its axial resistance.
In general, the resistance of a concrete filled circular hollow section to compression may
increase by up to 15% under simple axial loads when the effect of tri-axial confinement is
considered. However, this effect on the resistance enhancement of concrete depends also on the
slenderness of the composite columns and is significant only in stocky columns. For composite
columns with a non-dimensional slenderness of > 0.5 (where is defined in Section 2.7),
this effect should be neglected and the plastic resistance assessed as for rectangular hollow
sections.
In addition, further linear interpolation is necessary to take account of any effective load
eccentricities. However, the eccentricity, e of the applied load may not exceed the value d/10,
where d is the outer diameter of the circular hollow section.
The eccentricity, e is defined as follows:
Sd
Sd
N
M
e =
where:
Sd
M is the maximum design moment (second order effects are ignored).
Sd
N is the design applied load.
The plastic resistance of a concrete filled circular hollow section may be obtained as follows:
(
+ + + =
ck
y
1 cd c sd s yd 2 a Rd pl,
1
f
f
d
t
f A f A f A N
where:
t is the wall thickness of the steel hollow section in mm.
( )

+ =
|
.
|
\
|
=
d
e
d
e
10
1
10
1
20 20 2
10 1
for 0< e d/10
)
`
=
=
0 . 1
0
2
1
for e > d/10
The basic values
10
and
20
depend on the non-dimensional slenderness ratio , and are
defined as follows:
2
10
17 5 . 18 9 . 4 + = but 0
10

( ) 2 3 25 . 0
20
+ = but 0 . 1
20

16
If the eccentricity e exceeds the value d/10, or if the non-dimensional slenderness ratio
exceeds the value 0.5, then 0
10
= and 0 . 1
20
= . Table 2.4 gives the basic values
10
and
20
for different values of .
Table 2.4 Basic values of
10
and
20
to allow for the effect of triaxial confinement in
concrete filled circular hollow sections
Non-dimensional
slenderness ratio
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
10
4.90 3.22 1.88 0.88 0.22 0
20
0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00

2.6.2 Effective flexural stiffness
Short-term loading
The effective flexural stiffness of the composite column ( )
e
EI is obtained from adding the up
the flexural stiffnesses of the individual components of the cross-section:

( )
c cm s s a a e
6 . 0 I E I E I E EI + + =

where:
a
I ,
s
I and
c
I are the second moment of area, about the appropriate axis of bending, for the
steel section, the reinforcement and the concrete (assumed uncracked)
respectively.
a
E and
s
E are the elastic moduli for the structural steel and the reinforcement respectively.

c cm
6 . 0 I E
is the effective stiffness of the concrete component (the 0.6 factor is an
empirical multiplier, which has been determined from a calibration exercise, to
give good agreement with test results).
cm
E is the secant modulus of elasticity for structural concrete; see Table 2.2.
Long-term loading
For composite columns under long-term loading, the creep and shrinkage of concrete will cause
a reduction in the effective elastic stiffness of the composite column, thereby reducing the
buckling resistance. However, this effect is only significant for slender columns; as a simple
rule, the effect of long-term loading should be considered if the buckling length to depth ratio of
a composite column exceeds 15.
If the eccentricity of loading (see Section 2.6.1) is more than twice the cross-section dimension,
the effect on the applied bending moment distribution caused by increased deflections, due to
creep and shrinkage of the concrete, will be very small. Consequently, it may be neglected and
no provision for long-term loading is necessary. Moreover, no provision is necessary if the non-
dimensional slenderness of the composite column is less than the limiting values given
within Table 2.5 below.
17
Table 2.5 Limiting values of for long-term loading
Frame type
Braced non-sway frame

Sway frames and/or
unbraced frames

Concrete filled hollow sections
( ) 1
8 . 0

( ) 1
5 . 0

The steel contribution factor , given in Table 2.5 above, is defined as follows:
Rd pl,
yd a
N
f A
=
If the eccentricity of loading is less than twice the cross-section dimension and the non-
dimensional slenderness of the composite column is less than the limiting values given
within Table 2.5, the effect of creep and shrinkage of concrete should be allowed for by
reducing the effective elastic modulus of the concrete to the value:
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
Sd
Sd G,
cd c
5 . 0
1
N
N
E E
where:
Sd
Sd G,
N is the part of the design load permanently acting on the column.
Table 2.5 also allows the effect of long-term loading to be ignored for concrete filled hollow
sections with 0 . 2 , provided that is greater than 0.6 for braced (or non-sway) columns,
and 0.75 for unbraced (and/or sway) columns.

2.7 Column buckling resistance
The plastic resistance to compression of a composite cross-section
Rd pl,
N represents the
maximum load that can be applied to a short column. However, for slender columns, with low
elastic critical load, overall buckling considerations may be more significant.
In Figure 2.2(b), the buckling resistance of a column is expressed as a proportion of the plastic
resistance to compression N
Pl,R
, thereby non-dimensionialising the vertical axis compared to
Figure 2.2(a). The horizontal axis may be non-dimensionalised similarly by use of the Euler
buckling load
cr
N as is also shown in Figure 2.2(b).
By incorporating the effects of both residual stresses and geometric imperfections, the European
buckling curves may be drawn on this basis as shown in Figure 2.2(c). These curves form the
basis of column buckling design for both steel and composite columns.

18

The buckling resistance is calculated from the plastic resistance and the Euler (elastic) critical
load using the EC3-1-1
[28]
buckling curve a (N.B. at the fire limit state, curve c is used due to
its close agreement with the results from fire tests; see Section 0). The Euler buckling load is
given by:
( )
2
e
2
cr
l
EI
N

=
where:
( )
e
EI is the effective elastic flexural stiffness of the composite column (see Section 2.6.2).
l is the buckling length of the column.
EC4-1-1 suggests that the buckling length l of an isolated non-sway composite column may
conservatively be taken as equal to its system length L. Alternatively, the buckling length may
be determined using Annex E of EC3-1-1.
The non-dimensional slenderness ratio is given by:
cr
R pl,
N
N
=

a
b
c
1.00
2.0 1.0 0
0
0.2
=
pl,R
cr
=
Rd
pl,Rd
N
N
N
N
(c)
l/r Slenderness
pl
cr
N
N
(a)
=
pl
pl
cr
N
N
N
N (b)
N

Figure 2.2 (a) Idealised column buckling curve, (b) Non-dimensionalised column
buckling curve, (c) European buckling curves according to EC3-1-1
19
where:
R pl,
N is the plastic resistance of the composite cross-section to compression, according to
Section 2.6.1, with 0 . 1
c s a
= = = .
The resistance of a composite column in axial compression (buckling load) is obtained from:
Rd

pl, Rd
.N
N
=

where:
is the reduction coefficient for buckling obtained from curve a of EC3-1-1, and is
dependant on the non-dimensional slenderness ratio .
The reduction factor may be determined from:
| |
5 . 0
2 2
1
+
= but 0 . 1
where:
( ) | |
2
2 . 0 1 5 . 0 + + =
is an imperfection parameter depending on the buckling curve considered.
Relevent Buckling Curves and Imperfection Factors
According to prEN 1994-1-1, circular or rectangular hollow section columns filled with plain
concrete or containing up to 3% reinforcement can be designed using buckling curve a with an
imperfection factor, , = 0.21. However, concrete filled sections containing between 3% to 4%
reinforcement must be designed using buckling curve b with an imperfection factor, , = 0.34
(see Figure 2.3 (a) and (b) below).
In addition, concrete filled circular hollow section columns as shown in Figure 2.3(c) containing
an additional open Section used as primary steel can also be designed as a composite section
using buckling curve b with an imperfection factor, , = 0.34.

Figure 2.3 Typical column cross-sections
20
Although not explicitly stated, Clause 4.8.3.2 of EC4-1-1, while defining the partial safety
factors implies that isolated non-sway composite columns need not be checked for buckling, if
any of the following conditions is satisfied:
(i) the axial force in the column is less than
cr
1 . 0 N ; or
(ii) the non-dimensional slenderness ratio is less than 0.2.

2.8 Analysis of bending moments due to second-order
effects
Under the action of the design axial load
Sd
N on a column with an initial imperfection
0
e , as
shown in Figure 2.4, there will be a maximum internal moment of
0 Sd
e N . It is important to note
that this second order moment, or imperfection moment, does not need to be considered
separately, as its effect on the buckling resistance of the composite column is already accounted
for in the European buckling curves as shown in Figure 2.2(c).

However, in addition to axial forces, a composite column may be also subject to end moments
as a consequence of transverse loads acting on it or, because the composite column is a part of a
frame. The moments and displacements obtained initially are referred to as first order values.
For slender columns, the first order displacements may be significant and additional, or
second order, bending moments may be induced under the actions of the applied loads. As a
simple rule, the second order effects should be considered if the buckling length to depth ratio
of a composite column exceeds 15.
The second order effects on bending moments for isolated non-sway columns should be
considered if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
1) 1 . 0
cr
Sd
>
N
N

where:
Sd
cr
N is the Euler buckling load.
2) ( ) r > 2 2 . 0
where:
is the non-dimensional slenderness ratio
r is the ratio of the smaller to the larger end moment (see Figure 2.5). If there is
any transverse loading, r should be taken as 1.0.
N
Sd
N
Sd
e
o
Figure 2.4 Initially imperfect column under axial compression
21
The second order effects in an isolated non-sway column may be allowed for by modifying the
maximum first-order bending moment
max,Sd
M , with a correction factor k, which is defined as
follows:

0 . 1
1
cr, eff
Sd

=
N
N
k

where:
Sd
N is the design applied load

cr,eff
N
is the elastic critical load of the composite column based on the system length, L, and
a reduced design value of effective stiffness (EI)
e,II

where:
(EI)
e,II
= 0.9(E
a
I
a
+ E
s
I
s
+ 0.5E
cm
I
c
)
is the equivalent moment factor.
For columns with transverse loading within the column length, the value for should be taken
as 1.0. For pure end moments, can be determined as follows:
r 44 . 0 66 . 0 + = but 44 . 0
2.9 Combined compression and bending
The design for a composite column subjected to combined compression and bending is carried
out in stages as follows:
The composite column is isolated from the framework, and the end moments, which result
from the analysis of the system as a whole, are taken to act on the column under
consideration. Internal moments, and forces within the column length, are determined from
the structural consideration of end moments, axial and transverse loads.
For each axis of symmetry, the buckling resistance to compression should be checked with
the relevant non-dimensional slenderness of the composite column.
In the presence of applied moment about one particular axis e.g., the y-y axis, the moment
resistance of the composite cross-section should be checked with the relevant non-
dimensional slenderness of the composite column i.e.,
y
, instead of
z
, although
z
may
be larger, and thus more critical, than
y
.
For slender columns (see Table 2.5 and Section 2.8), both the effect of long-term loading
and the second-order effects are included.

Sd
Sd
-1 r +1
rM
M

Figure 2.5 Ratio r of the end moments
22
It should be noted that, by adopting the EC4-1-1
[18]
simplified method, imperfections within the
column length need not be considered as they are taken account of in the relevant buckling
curve when determining the buckling resistance of the column (see Section 2.7).
2.9.1 Combined compression and uni-axial bending
In EC4-1-1
[18]
, the resistance of a composite column subjected to combined compression and
bending is determined from an interaction curve. For a bare steel section, the interaction curve is
characterised by a continuous reduction of the moment resistance with a corresponding increase
in axial load.
However, as shown from the interaction curve in Figure 2.6: a short composite column may
exhibit an increase in moment resistance under axial load. The reason for this increase is that,
under some favourable conditions, the compressive axial load prevents concrete cracking, and
therefore makes the cross-section of a short composite column more effective in resisting
moments.
An interaction curve between compressive axial load and moment can be obtained for a short
composite column by considering several possible positions of the neutral axis within the cross-
section, and determining the internal forces and moments from the resulting plastic stress
blocks. For the simplified method given within EC4-1-1, sufficient accuracy in estimating the
effects of combined compression and bending may be found by constructing the interaction
curve, shown in Figure 2.7, from 4 or 5 points.

1.0
1.0
0
Rd
M
N
Rd
pl,Rd
N
N
M
M
pl,Rd
Figure 2.6 Interaction curve for a composite column subjected to compression and
uni-axial bending
23

For composite columns, which are doubly symmetrical and of a uniform cross-section over their
height, the following approach given in EC4-1-1
[18]
, and the UK NAD, may be adopted.
Figure 2.8 shows the plastic stress distributions within the cross-section of a concrete filled RHS
at point A, B, C, D and E of the interaction curve given in Figure 2.7. The significance of each
of these points are as follows:
Point A indicates the plastic resistance of the cross-section to compression, in the absence
of an applied bending moment:
0
A
Rd pl, A
=
=
M
N N

Point B corresponds to the plastic moment resistance of the cross-section, in the absence of
an applied axial load:
Rd pl, B
B
0
M M
N
=
=

At point C, the axial compression and moment resistance of the composite column are
given as:
Rd pl, C
cd c Rd c, Rd pm, C
) (or
M M
f A N N N
=
= =

N
A
E
C
D
B
M
pl,Rd
pm,Rd
pm,Rd
N
N
N
pl,Rd max,Rd M M

Figure 2.7 Interaction curve with linear approximation
24

The expressions may be obtained by combining the stress distributions of the cross-section
at points B and C; the compression area of the concrete at point B is equal to the tension
area of the concrete at point C. The moment resistance at point C is equal to that at point B,
since the stress resultants from the additionally compressed parts cancel one another out in
the central region of the cross-section. However, these additionally compressed regions
create an internal axial force, which is equal to the plastic resistance to compression of the
concrete alone i.e.,
Rd pm,
N or
Rd c,
N .
At point D, the plastic neutral axis coincides with the centroid of the cross-section, and the
resulting axial force is half of the value at point C, i.e.:
Rd max, D
Rd pm, D
2 /
M M
N N
=
=

Point A
cd yd sd
pl.Rd

cd yd sd
cd yd sd

cd yd sd
cd yd sd

Point B
+
+
B
Point C
n
+
+
C
C
+
Point D
Point E

+
D
E
E
E
f f f
f f f
f f f
f f f
f f f
h
h
No moment
N
M = M
zero axial force
pl,.Rd
pl,Rd
c,Rd
M = M
N = N
2
max,Rd
c,Rd
M
N
n
h
M = M
N
D
N =
h /2
h/4

(N.B., the moment resistance M
max,Rd
, at point D, is not allowed in the UK NAD)
Figure 2.8 Stress distributions for the points on the interaction curve for concrete filled
hollow sections, according to EC4-1-1
[18]

25
Generally, point D is less than point C in design.
Point E is mid-way between A and C, and is often required for highly non-linear interaction
curves, in order to achieve a better a better approximation. For concrete filled structural
hollow sections, the use of point E will yield a more economical design; however, much
more calculation effort is required. Thus, to retain simplicity, point E tends not to be used.
According to the UK NAD, the additional moment resistance of the composite cross-section
(indicated by point D within Figure 2.7), should not be taken account of in design. Therefore, in
the UK, an interaction curve consisting of A-C-B or A-E-C-B may only be considered.
The plastic moment resistance of a concrete filled hollow section may be evaluated as follows:
) ( ) ( 5 . 0 ) (
psn ps sd cn p pc cd pan pa yd Rd pl,
W W f W W f W W f M + + =
where:
yd
f ,
sd
f ,
cd
f are
a
y
f
,
s
sk
f
and
c
ck
f
respectively
pa
W ,
pc
W ,
ps
W are the plastic section moduli for the steel section, the concrete of the
composite cross-section (assumed to be uncracked) and the
reinforcement respectively.
pan
W ,
pcn
W ,
psn
W are the plastic section moduli of the corresponding components within
the region of
n
2h from the centre-line of the composite cross-section.
The values of the relevant parameters in the above equation for concrete filled hollow sections
are:
Rectangular hollow sections
( )( )
( )
ps
2 3
2
pc
2
4
3
2
4
2 2
W r t
h
r r
t h t b
W
(

=
where: r is the internal radius of the corners to the hollow section
Circular hollow sections

( )
ps
3
pc
6
2
W
t d
W

=

In general, for both types of section:
( )
( )
cd yd cd
cd sd sn cd c
n
2 4 2
2
f f t bf
f f A f A
h
+

=
where:
sn
A is the area of reinforcing bars within the region of
n
2h from the centreline of the
composite cross-section.
For rectangular hollow sections, it can be explicitly stated that:
W
pan
= 2t.h
n
2

26
( )
psn
2
n pcn
2 W h t b W =
Similar simple explicit equations cannot be written for circular sections. However, the above
equations can be conservatively applied to circular sections with a high accuracy by substituting
diameter d for breadth b
For the calculation of the resistances at the additional point E,
Rd E,
N and
Rd E,
M (see above),
the neutral axis is located between
n
h and the border of the section, so that
h h h 25 . 0 5 . 0
n E
+ = . Using rectangular hollow sections, the axial resistance of the column for
this case is:
( ) ( )( ) ( )
Rd pm, cd sd sE cd yd n E cd n E Rd E,
2 2 2 N f f A f f h h t f h h b N + + + =
where
sE
A is the sum of the areas of reinforcement lying in the additional compression region
between
E
h and
n
h .
The magnitude of
Rd E,
M is calculated from the above equations but with
E
h substituted for
n
h
in the values of
pan
W and
pcn
W .
Again, the above equations can be applied to circular sections by substituting diameter d for
breadth b but may become highly over-conservative. In such circumstances it may be preferable
to simply apply a linear interpolation between points A and C
The principal for checking the composite cross-section under combined compression and uni-
axial bending, in accordance with EC4-1-1
[18]
, is illustrated graphically in Figure 2.9. Firstly, the
resistance of the composite column under axial load is determined in the absence of bending,
which is given by
Rd pl,
N (see Section 2.7). The moment resistance of the composite column
should then be checked with the relevant non-dimensional slenderness, which is in the same
plane of the applied moment. As mentioned earlier, the initial imperfections of columns have
been incorporated within the appropriate buckling curve, and no additional consideration of
geometrical imperfections is necessary in the evaluation of bending moments within the column
height.
Consider the interaction curves for combined compression and uni-axial bending shown in
Figure 2.9. Under an applied force
Sd
N equal to
Rd pl,
N , the horizontal coordinate
Rd pl, k
M
represents the second order moment due to imperfections within the column, otherwise known
as the imperfection moment. It is important to recognise that the moment resistance of the
column has been fully utilised in the presence of the imperfection moment; the column,
therefore, cannot resist any additional applied moment. Moreover, the influence of the
imperfections decreases when the axial load ratio is less than , and it is assumed to vary
linearly between
n
and . For an axial load ratio less than
n
, the effect of imperfections is
neglected.
It is important to note that the value
n
accounts for the fact that the influence of the
imperfections and that of the bending moment do not always act together unfavourably. For
columns with only end moments,
n
may be determined as follows:
( )

4
1
n
r
=
27
where r is the ratio of the small to the large end moment (see Figure 2.5).
If transverse loads occur within the column height, then r must be taken as unity and
n
is thus
equal to zero (i.e., it coincides with the origin of the interaction curve shown in Figure 2.9).

With a design axial load of
Sd
N , the design axial load ratio
d
is defined as follows:
Rd pl, Sd d
/ N N =
By reading off the horizontal distance from the interaction curve (see Figure 2.9), the moment
resistance ratio may be obtained, and the moment resistance of the composite column under
combined compression and uni-axial bending may be evaluated. Details of the UK NAD
method for calculating , and its limitations, are discussed below.
EC4-1-1
[18]
considers that the design is adequate when the following condition is satisfied:
Rd pl, Sd
9 . 0 M M
where:
Sd
M is the design bending moment, which may be factored to allow for second-order effects,
if necessary (see Section 2.8).
is the moment resistance ratio obtained from the interaction curve.
Rd pl,
M is the plastic moment resistance of the composite cross section.
The interaction curve shown in Figure 2.9 has been determined without considering the strain
limitations within the concrete. Hence the moments, including second-order effects (if
necessary), are calculated using the effective elastic flexural stiffness ( )
e
EI , and taking into

Rd Rd
d
1.0
d k
Rd
(a) (b)
d
1.0
Rd
d k
0 0
Cross-section
interaction curve
A
C
B
pm
1.0 1.0
N
N
N
N
M
M
M
M
pl,Rd pl,Rd
pl,Rd pl,Rd

Figure 2.9 Interaction curve for compression and uni-axial bending using (a) the EC4-
1-1 method; and (b) the simplified method in the UK NAD
28
account the entire concrete area of the cross-section (i.e., the concrete is uncracked).
Consequently, in order to allow for these simplifications, the 0.9 constant, shown in the above
equation, is applied to the moment resistance.
For concrete filled hollow sections, the interaction curve of A-E-C-B (shown in Figure 2.7) may
be preferred to A-C-B (shown in Figure 2.9(b)), as it will give a more economical design:
especially for columns with high axial load and low end moments (although much more
calculation effort is required). For a better approximation, the position of point E may be chosen
to be closer to point A rather than being mid-way between points A and C. For further
information, refer to EC4-1-1
[18]
.
Requirements of the UK National Application Document (NAD)
The following additional requirements are specified in the UK NAD:
For columns under combined compression and bending, the ratio
n
should be
determined
[24,25]
as follows:

(i) Concrete filled rectangular hollow sections
Providing the non-dimensional slenderness does not excess 1.0, the ratio
pm d

may be determined from the equation shown above. For values of in the range of 1.0 to
2.0, 0
n
= .
(ii) Concrete filled circular or square hollow sections
The ratio
n
may be determined from the equation shown above, with no limits place on
the non-dimensional slenderness .
The design moment resistance, in combined compression and uni-axial bending, of a
composite column should not exceed the design plastic moment resistance
Rd pl,
M ,
irrespective of the applied load N (i.e., point D on the interaction curve shown in Figure 2.7
is not allowed).

Combined compression and uni-axial bending to the UK National Application
Document
In order to comply with the UK NAD, the moment resistance ratio , for a composite column
under combined compression and uni-axial bending should be evaluated as follows:

( )( )
( )( )
n pm
n d
1
1

= when
pm d

( )( )
( )( )
n pm
n d
1
1
1

= when
pm d
<
where:
pm
is the axial resistance ratio due to the concrete,
Rd pl, Rd pm,
/ N N
d
is the axial resistance ratio,
Rd pl, Sd
/ N N
29
is the reduction factor due to column buckling (see Section 2.7).
For concrete filled rectangular hollow sections
n

( )
4
1 r
= for 0 . 1 <
0 = for 0 . 2 0 . 1
For concrete filled circular or square hollow sections
n

( )
4
1 r
= for 0 . 2
The expression, for the moment resistance ratio , is greatly simplified by taking 0
n
= as
follows:

( )
pm
d
1

= when
pm d

( )
( )
pm
d
1
1
1

= when
pm d
<
The above expressions are obtained from a general consideration of the geometry of the UK
NAD interaction curve shown in Figure 2.9(b). The simplified expression for the moment
resistance ratio , is always conservative; since, by taking 0
n
= it is implied that r = 1.0 (i.e.,
the end moments are equal, and constant over the column length, see Figure 2.5).
2.9.2 Combined compression and bi-axial bending
For the design of a composite column under combined compression and bi-axial bending, the
axial resistance of the column in the presence of bending moment for each axis, has to be
evaluated separately. In general, it will be obvious which of the axes is more likely to fail and
the imperfections need to be considered for this direction only: as shown in Figure 2.10. If it is
not obvious which plane is more critical, checks should be made on both planes.
30

After the evaluation of the moment resistance ratios
y
and
z
for both axes, as described in
the previous section, the interaction of the moments must also be checked using the linear curve
shown in Figure 2.10 (c). This linear interaction curve is cut off at
y
9 . 0 and
z
9 . 0 . The
design moments,
Sd y,
M and
Sd z,
M , related to the respective plastic moment resistances, must
lie within the moment interaction curve.
EC4-1-1
[18]
considers the check is adequate when all the following conditions are satisfied:
9 . 0
Rd y, pl, y
Sd y,
M
M

9 . 0
Rd z, pl, z
Sd z,
M
M

and 0 . 1
Rd z, pl, z
Sd z,
Rd y, pl, y
Sd y,
+
M
M
M
M

As it is only necessary to consider the effect of geometric imperfections in the critical plane of
the column buckling, the moment resistance ratio in the other plane may be evaluated without
the consideration of imperfections, which is presented as follows:

1.0
n
k

d
1.0
z
a
1.0
d
1.0
Rd Rd
b
z
Rd Rd
(a) Plane expected to fail, with
consideration of imperfections
(b) Plane without consideration
of imperfections
(c) Moment interaction curve
for bi-axial bending
c
y
0.9
y
0.9
z
y
N
N
N
N
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
pl,Rd pl,Rd
pl,Rd pl,Rd
pl,y,Rd
y,Rd
z,Rd
pl,z,Rd

Figure 2.10 Verification for combined compression and bi-axial bending
31

pm
d
1
1
= when
pm d
>
0 . 1 = when
pm d

These expressions are based on the simplified interaction curve, given in the UK NAD.

2.10 Longitudinal and transverse shear
In general, the applied internal forces and moments from a member connected to the ends of a
composite column are distributed between the steel section and the concrete. EC4-1-1
[18]

requires that adequate provision should be made for the distribution of these internal forces and
moments.
For structural hollow sections, the shear resistance between the steel section and the concrete is
achieved by both chemical bond and friction at the interface. In these circumstances, the design
shear resistance, developing at the interface between the concrete and the inner wall of the steel
section, is limited to
[17]
: 0.40 N/mm for a square or rectangular hollow section (RHS); and
0.55 N/mm for a circular hollow section (CHS).
For axially loaded columns, it is usually found that this interface shear is sufficient to utilise the
combined strengths of both materials at the critical cross-section (mid-column height). For
columns with significant end moments, a horizontal shear force is required, which demands the
development of longitudinal shear forces between the concrete and the steel.
Similarly, the design transverse shear forces may be assumed: to act on the steel section alone;
or to be shared between the steel section and the concrete. For the latter case, the shear force to
be resisted by the concrete must be assessed in accordance with EC2-1-1, whereas the shear
force to be resisted by the steel section may be checked according to von Mises yield criterion.
However, it is simpler in design to assume that the whole of the transverse shear force acts on
the steel alone. Figure 2.11 indicates the reduction in the design strength of the shear area (web)
that will occur within a steel section subjected to transverse shear stress.

For design purposes, any reduction in the design steel strength in the shear area of the steel
section may be transformed into a reduction in steel thickness. For a steel section under major
axis bending, the effective wall thickness of the web
w,d
t in the presence of transverse shear
may be evaluated as follows:

cd yd
f f
red.fyd
+
sd

+
f

Figure 2.11 Reduction of design strength of steel within shear area in the presence of
transverse shear stress
32
(
(
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
2
Rd pl,a,
a,Sd
w w,d
1
2
1
V
V
t t
where:
a,Sd
V is the design shear force to be resisted by the cross-section
Rd pl,a,
V is the plastic resistance of the steel cross-section in shear =
3
yd
v
f
A
v
A is the shear area of the steel section.
For rectangular hollow sections of uniform thickness:
Load parallel to depth, h, ) /(
v
h b Ah A + =
Load parallel to breadth, b, ) /(
v
h b Ab A + =
For circular hollow sections and tubes of uniform thickness, = / 2
v
A A
However, no reduction in the web thickness is necessary when:
Rd pl,a, a,Sd
5 . 0 V V <
Using the effective wall thickness of the web
w,d
t of the steel hollow section, the moment
resistance of the composite cross-section may be evaluated using the same set of expressions
given within 2.9.1: without any modification.
For simplicity, the division of the shear force between the hollow section and the concrete may
be neglected, and the design shear force is assumed to be resisted by the steel section alone.

2.11 Load introduction
Where a load is applied to a composite column, it must be ensured that the load is distributed
between the individual components of the cross-section in proportion to their design resistances
within a specified introduction length. For composite columns using SHS, this may be achieved
as follows:
(i) No shear connection needs to be provided for load introduction through a cap plate, at the
top of a column, if the full interface between the concrete section and endplate is
permanently in compression: after due consideration of the effects of creep and shrinkage.
Otherwise, the load introduction has to be verified according to (v). For concrete filled
circular hollow sections, the effect caused by the confinement may be taken into account
for load introduction according to Section 2.6.1, but using the values
10
and
20
for =
0.
(ii) If the cross-section of a cap-plate is only partially loaded (see Figure 2.12), loads may be
distributed with a ratio of 1:2.5, over the thickness of the end plate. The concrete stresses
should be limited then in the area of the effective load introduction area for concrete filled
hollow sections according to Figure 2.12, Figure 2.13 and (vi) below.
33

(iii) In absence of a more accurate method, when loads are introduced at an intermediate
position of an SHS length, the introduction length should be assumed not to exceed 2.5d,
where d is the minimum transverse dimension in the case of concrete filled rectangular
hollow sections or the outside diameter of the column for circular hollow sections.
(iv) Shear connectors should be provided in the load introduction area, and in areas with change
of cross-section, if a design shear strength at the interface between the steel and concrete
exceeds the values given in Section 2.10 viz.: 0.40 N/mm for RHS; and 0.55 N/mm for
CHS. The shear forces should be determined from the change of sectional forces of the
steel or reinforced concrete section within the introduction length, where the sectional
forces should be determined by plastic theory. If the loads are introduced only into the
concrete cross section, the values resulting from an elastic analysis considering creep and
shrinkage should be taken into account. At a beam connection position, it is necessary to
check that:

For an RHS column:
s Sd
A V / ) 1 ( < 0.40 N/mm with db A
s
5 . 2 =
For a CHS column:
s Sd
A V / ) 1 ( < 0.55 N/mm with 4 / 5 . 2
2
d A
s
=
where:
Sd
V is the design shear load to be transferred to the column by a beam connection.
is the steel contribution ratio.
s
A
is the usable shear area/connection at the concrete interface.
b is the breadth of RHS face at a shear connector.
d is the minimum dimension of an RHS or diameter of a CHS.
If load introduction would give rise to excessive interface shear stresses, then additional
shear stud connectors, or a through gusset plate (Figure 2.13), should be provided in the
load introduction area, to enable the additional load to be introduced into the concrete core.
(v) Shear studs may be designed using the usual method given in EC4-1-1
[18]
, based on the
following assessment, namely that the design shear strength of a stud should be determined
as the lower of:

F
Steel
Concrete
1:1
1:2.5 1:2.5
1:1

Figure 2.12 Load dispersion through a locally loaded cap plate
34
( )
v u Rd
d f P = / 4 / 8 . 0
2

or
( )
v cm ck Rd
E f d P = / 29 . 0
2

with ( ) | | 1 / 2 . 0 = d h for 3 h/d 4
0 . 1 = for h/d > 4
where:
u
f is the specified ultimate strength of the shear stud material (but not greater that 500
N/mm)
ck
f is the characteristic cylinder strength of the concrete.
cm
E is the secant modulus of the concrete as given in Table 2.2.
d is the diameter of the shank of shear stud.
h is the length of the shear stud within the concrete core
v
is a partial safety factor of 1.25.

(vi) When a concrete filled circular or rectangular square hollow section is only partially loaded
by plate stiffeners at a cap column divider plate position (column section type A-A in
Figure 2.13), or from a gusset plate through the profile at an intermediate column length
position (section type B-B in Figure 2.13), the local design resistance strength of concrete

N
Sd
e
g
t
s
t
c
c,Rd
A A
Section A - A Section B - B
B B
c,Rd
Sd
M
N
Sd
f
yd
t
e
e
A
1
c
s
t + 5t

Figure 2.13 Load introduction into a concrete core through a gusset plate
35
Rd c,
under the gusset plate or stiffener, resulting from the sectional forces of the concrete
section, should be determined by:

l
cd c
l
c
ck
y
cl cd d R c,
1
A
f A
A
A
f
f
t
a
f
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ =
where:
f
cd
and f
ck

are the design strength of the steel and the characteristic strength of the concrete
respectively.
t is the wall thickness of the steel tube.
a is the diameter of the tube or the width of the rectangular section.
A
c

is the cross-sectional area of the concrete.
A
l

is the loaded area under the gusset plate according to Figure 2.13.
cL

is 4.9 for circular steel tubes; and 3.5 for rectangular sections.
The ratio A
c
/ A
l
in the equation above should not exceed 20. Welds between the gusset
plate and the steel hollow sections should be designed according to Section 3 of prEN
1993-1-8: 2002
[29]
.
(vii) For concrete filled circular hollow sections, longitudinal reinforcement may be fully taken
into account when assessing cross-sectional design parameters, even where the
reinforcement is not welded to the end plates or in direct contact with the endplates,
provided that the gap e
g
between the reinforcement and the end plate does not exceed 30
mm (see also column section type A-A in Figure 2.13).

Alternatively, proprietary nailed connectors can used to effect the required shear transfer
capacity. These must be shot fired through the tube wall from the outside in a defined pattern
before concrete filling. Typically, they can have a design shear capacity of 12 kN/connector and
are placed at a spacing of 50 mm between connectors
[34]
.For further information

see the cited
reference.

36
3 FIRE DESIGN
3.1 General
The presence of load bearing concrete within a hollow steel column has a beneficial effect on
the fire resistance of the steel section. Columns may be fire protected in the conventional way
using externally applied protection but, in many cases, significant periods of fire resistance can
be obtained without the need for external protection. Guidance on both methods of achieving
fire resistance is given in this section; however, the emphasis is on the use of unprotected
sections. Nevertheless, in most practical cases, applying external protection has the practical
advantage of removing the need to use reinforcment bars to obtain longer periods of fire
resistance.
Note that in any particular case, reducing the applied loads will increase the fire resistance of a
column.
Extensive experimental and theoretical investigations on the fire performance of concrete filled
columns, without applied protection, have been carried out in Europe and the UK with the
support of: the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); the International Committee for
the Development and Study of Tubular Structures (CIDECT); and various national
governments. These studies have led to the development of the design rules that are now
included in the design codes of many countries in addition to DD ENV 1994-1-2: 2000
[3]
(EC4-
1-2) and BS5950-8: 1990
[22]
.
The design guidance presented in this publication is based on the Eurocode methodology rather
than BS5950-8. SCI and Corus are of the opinion that the Eurocode methods are more
advanced than BS5950-8 and are therefore preferred.
Software to design concrete filled hollow sections for both normal conditions and fire has been
written by SCI and is available on a Corus CD for general use. The software only covers
unprotected sections. Details of the software are given in Section 6.
3.1.1 Behaviour in fire
Under ambient conditions the steel and concrete material in a concrete filled hollow section
move together, and hence longitudinal steel and concrete strains are equal. Accordingly, the
stress in each material is proportional to the ratio of the elastic moduli of the two materials.
On heating, the steel will try to expand more rapidly than the concrete, and will therefore begin
to resist a greater proportion of the applied load. However, at the same time, the steel yield
stress and modulus of elasticity will begin to reduce and, eventually, the steel will begin to shed
load into the concrete.
Heat from the steel shell will be transferred to the outer layers of the concrete core, causing their
temperature to rise. However, concrete is not a good conductor of heat, and the rate of heat flow
through the core will be slow.
As the temperature of the outer layers increases, the concrete strength itself will begin to fall as
the heat degrades the concrete. The degradation includes the driving off of water, which is
present both as free moisture and from the hydrated constituents of the mix. This produces a
marked plateau in the concretes temperature-time profile as a considerable amount of heat is
absorbed in converting this moisture to steam.
37
It is imperative that venting is provided in the steel shell to allow any steam to escape. BS
5950-8 and EC4-1-2 recommend that the sections should contain one vent hole, with a
minimum diameter of 20 mm, at the top and bottom of each storey (see Section 4.1.1). The
longitudinal spacing of these holes should never exceed 5 m. Care must also be taken to ensure
that these vent holes are positioned such that they are not within the depth of the floor
construction.
The steel shell contains the concrete and prevents direct flame impingement, both preventing
progressive spalling and reducing the rate of degradation of the core.
Failure of the column will occur when the combined strength of the steel and concrete has
reduced to the level of the applied load.
Parameters affecting fire performance
The most significant design parameters affecting the performance of concrete filled columns in
fire are detailed below.
Material strength
From solely a fire resistance perspective, the most efficient column is obtained by using a high
strength concrete with a thin-walled grade S275 steel section. This gives the most advantageous
ratio of concrete load capacity to overall column strength.
Column size
As the external size of a column increases, the cross-sectional area of the concrete core will
increase at a faster rate than that of the steel. Accordingly, the core of a larger sized column will
support a greater proportion of the total load than a smaller one.
External protection (if applied)
Externally applied protection will reduce the rate of heating and will therefore increase the fire
resistance. The use of external protection will normally eliminate the need to reinforce the
concrete core.
Applied load
The lower the level of the applied load, the lower the stresses produced, and the longer the
period of fire stability of the column.
Effective length
For short columns (i.e., columns with effective lengths up to approximately 12 times the column
width), failure will occur when the combined strength of the materials reduces to a level that is
less than the applied load (i.e., a crushing failure). As the column length increases, failure will
become progressively more related to instability considerations. EC4-1-2 allows a reduction in
the effective length of columns in fire (see Section 3.6.1 for further details).
Bending moments and eccentricity
When the flexural stiffness of the steel shell is lost, the bending resistance of the column is
significantly reduced, because of the relatively low value of the elastic modulus for concrete and
its poor flexural strength compared to steel.
The effect of accidental eccentricity and out-of-straightness in a column subjected to nominal
axial loads is not significant for short columns. However, this can be a significant factor for
slender columns in fire.
38
The presence of moments in the column produced by either end moments or an eccentrically
applied end load (cleat loading) also has a significant effect on the fire stability.
Reinforcement
The presence of reinforcement in the concrete will improve the flexural and axial properties of
the core and so improve the fire resistance, particularly where buckling stability and/or bending
moments are major factors.
The Eurocodes use the parameter axis distance and not concrete cover to describe the position
of the reinforcement within the concrete core. Axis distance is measured from the centre of the
bar to the inside of the steel tube, as shown in Figure 3.1.

3.2 Protected columns
Concrete-filled structural hollow section columns with a design capacity based on the room
temperature properties of the full cross-section may be protected against fire with externally
applied insulating materials. The presence of the concrete core will substantially add to the heat
sink of the column and so markedly reduced the effective Section Factor of the composite
column. The Section Factor V A
m
/ is the ratio of the exposed perimeter to the area of steel and
is commonly used in assessing the required thickness of fire protection.
The thickness of fire protection material required for a concrete-filled structural hollow section
column may be determined as follows:
1. Determine the resistance of the fully composite column according to EC4-1-1.
2. Calculate the utilization factor in fire, defined as:
C 20 at Resistance
state limit fire at Load
=
3. Using the utilization factor, assess the critical temperature for the section using the
design procedures for a simple steel section according to ENV 1993-1-2: 1995
[27]
(EC3-
1-2).
4. The effect of the heat sink, from the presence of the concrete core, is to increase the
Section Factor of the steel section. As a result, the effective Section Factor may be
calculated based on an increased wall thickness of the steel section as follows
[31, 32]
:
ce s se
t t t + =

Axis
distance
Axis
distance

Figure 3.1 Illustration of axis distance for CHS and SHS sections
39
with
i ce
b t 15 . 0 = for T b
i
12 <
T t
ce
8 . 1 = for T b
i
12

where:
t
s
is the wall thickness (mm).
t
ce
is the effective increase in wall thickness due to the concrete core (mm).
b
i
is the minimum dimension of the concrete core (mm).
T is the fire resistance time (mins).

5. Calculate the effective Section Factor.
se
m
t V
A
on based SHS of Area
SHS of area Surface
=
6. The thickness of fire protection material required can then be obtained in the
conventional manner.
The above method for determining the thickness of externally applied fire protection may be
used for any passive insulating materials. The same approach may also be adopted for
intumescent coatings, provided that suitable test evidence is available.

3.3 Unprotected columns
The method proposed in this section directly follows the principles of Eurocode 4. EC4-1-2
gives general design methods for composite columns and, in Annex G, specific rules for
concrete filled hollow sections. Following a calibration exercise, SCI and Corus concluded that
a combination of the two methods was the best approach, which is fully in line with the
principles of this Eurocode.
For the combined buckling resistance and bending check, SCI and Corus have adopted a more
conservative approach than that recommended by EC4-1-2. This approach takes into account
the slenderness of the column; a factor presently ignored in the Eurocode.
Tables to allow an estimate of the column size to achieve the required fire resistance are given
in Section 6.
The Eurocode states, in general principles, that the buckling resistance of a column may be
computed by using buckling curve c. The squash resistance and Euler buckling resistances are
calculated by integrating across the cross section taking into account the temperature
distribution and corresponding material properties.
Thus, the buckling resistance is given by:
Rd pl, fi, Rd fi,
N N =
40
where:

is the reduction coefficient for buckling obtained from curve c of Section 5.5.1, of
EC3-1-1 and is dependant on the non-dimensional slenderness ratio
.
Rd pl, fi,
N is the design value of the plastic resistance to axial compression in the fire situation.
The calculation is carried out in five stages, as follows:
1. Carry out a thermal analysis to establish the temperature distribution throughout the
cross-section.
2. Calculate the properties of the cross-section.
3. Calculate the buckling resistance of the column.
4. Calculate the bending resistance of the column.
5. Calculate the effect of interaction between axial load and bending.

DD ENV 1991-2-2: 1996
[26]
(EC1-2-2) gives an equation for determining the heat transfer,
which includes two partial factors. These are applied to the radiation and convection terms.
They are included to allow heating rates in different furnaces to be modelled.
Rate of heat input (W/m) = ( ) ( ) ( ) | |
4
s
4
g r r s g c
273 273 + + +
where:
s
is the steel temperature (C)
g
is the gas temperature (C)
r
is the effective emmissivity
is the Stefan Boltzmann constant (5.67 10
-8
W/m K
4
)
Values for the other parameters are given in EC1-2-2, as follows:
is the convection coefficient = 25 W/m
2
K
c
is the partial factor for convection (a boxed value) = 1.0
r
is the partial factor for radiation (a boxed value) = 1.0
is the orientation (view) factor = 1.0
The UK NAD to EC1-2-2 specifies 0.45 for
r
. From a consideration of test data, SCI and
Corus consider this value to be too low
[4]
for calculating the heat input to concrete filled hollow
sections. It is therefore recommended that a value of 1.0 for
r
is more appropriate for concrete
filled hollow sections.

3.4 Partial safety factors
During 2002 the UK National Application Document (NAD) for EC4-1-2 is expected to be
published. This will specify the partial safety factors and combination factors that should be
used in the UK. The relevant factors that are due to be given in the NAD are:
41
Partial material factors:
Steel,
M,fi,a
1.0
Concrete,
M,fi,c
1.1
Reinforcement,
s M,fi,
1.0

Combination factors,
1 , 1
, for imposed floor loading:
Storage 0.9
Escape stairs and lobbies 0.9
Plant 1.0
All other areas 0.7

The NAD will also give more conservative values than the Eurocode for the effective length of
columns in fire (see Section 3.6.1).

3.5 Properties of the cross-section
It is generally not feasible to carry out design calculations by hand and use of the ConcFill
software is advised (see Section 6). The first step is to divide the cross-section into a number of
elements, as part of a finite difference thermal analysis. The structural section properties are
then calculated by summing the properties of all the elements, with due account being paid to
the effect of the temperature on each element.
3.5.1 Squash (plastic) resistance, N
fi,pl,Rd

The squash resistance of the composite column is calculated from the following summation:

+
=
m M,fi,c
c, c,
k s M,fi,
max, s, s,
j M,fi,a
max, a, a,
Rd pl, fi,

f A f A f A
N
where:
a,
A is the area of an element of the steel section.
s,
A is the area of an element of the reinforcement.
c,
A is the area of an element of the concrete.
max, a,
f is the strength of the steel section element at temperature (see Section 3.8.1).
max, s,
f is the strength of a steel reinforcement bar at temperature (see Section 3.8.2).
c,
f is the strength of the concrete element at temperature (see Section 3.8.3).
i fi, M,
is the partial material safety factor for the element.

3.5.2 Effective flexural stiffness
The effective flexural stiffness of the composite column ( )
eff fi,
EI can be determined from:
( )
, , c,
m
c, s,
k
s, a,
j
, a, eff fi,
I E I E I E EI

+ + =
where:
42
a,
I ,
s,
I and
c,
I are the second moment of area of each element.
, a,
E ,
, s,
E and
, c,
E are the tangent moduli of the stress-strain relationship for the material
of each element at its temperature and stress .

3.6 Column buckling resistance
3.6.1 Effective length of composite columns in fire
The effective (buckling) length of composite columns in fire can be determined from Clause
4.3.6 of EC4-1-2, which is shown schematically in Figure 3.2. For columns within an
intermediate storey of a building, the buckling length of the column is 0.5 times the system
length. For columns on the top storey, the buckling length should be taken as 0.7 times the
system length.
In the draft UK NAD for EC4-1-2 the factors of 0.5 and 0.7 have been conservatively increased
to 0.7 and 0.85 respectively.

3.6.2 Buckling resistance
The buckling resistance is calculated from the squash resistance and the Euler (elastic) critical
load using the EC3-1-1 buckling curve c. The Euler buckling load is given by:
where:
l is the buckling length of the column in fire

The non-dimensional slenderness ratio is given by:
cr fi,
Rd pl, fi,
N
N
=

L
L
L
Shear wall or other bracing system
L
0.7L
0.85L

Figure 3.2 Effective length of columns in fire conditions (N.B., the values of 0.7 and
0.85 are taken from the draft UK NAD)
2
( )
2
eff fi,
cr fi,

=
l
EI
N
43
The resistance of a composite column in axial compression (buckling load) is obtained from:
Rd pl, fi, Rd fi,
N N =
where:
is the reduction coefficient for buckling obtained from curve c of Section 5.5.1, of
EC3-1-1 and is dependant on the non-dimensional slenderness ratio
.

The reduction factor may be determined from:
| |
5 . 0
2 2
1
+
= but 0 . 1
where:
( ) | |
2
2 . 0 1 5 . 0

+ + =
is an imperfection parameter depending on the buckling curve considered. For
buckling curve c the imperfection factor, , is 0.49.

3.7 Combined compression and bending
The design method can be applied to columns in multi-storey steel frames. These columns
should carry predominately axial loads. It is recommended that the ratio of applied moment to
moment capacity should not exceed 0.67.
The calculation of the plastic bending resistance is broadly similar to the calculation of the
squash load and flexural stiffness. Two steps have to be carried out.
Find the plastic neutral axis such that:

=
0
c fi, M,
c, c,
s fi, M,
max, s, s,
a fi, M,
max, a, a,
f A f A f A

where the stresses are considered as positive in tension or negative in compression.
Calculate the plastic moment resistance:

+
= y
f A
y
f A
y
f A
M
c fi, M,
c, c,
s fi, M,
max, s, s,
a fi, M,
max, a, a,
Rd fi,

where y represents the distance from the centroid of each element to the plastic neutral axis.
The interaction of axial compression and bending is checked using the expression below. This
is a more conservative approach than that given in the Eurocode.
0 . 1
Rd fi,
fy
y
Rd fi,
fx
x
Rd fi,
f
+ + =
M
M
k
M
M
k
N
N
R
44
where:
f
N is the applied load.
fx
M is the maximum applied moment about the major axis.
fy
M is the maximum applied moment about the minor axis.
x
k ,
y
k are modification factors based on slenderness (see Section 3.7.1)

For a circular section, the moments about orthogonal axes can be added vectorially.
In cases where there are no applied moments, or the moments are small, it is recommended that
a nominal moment about the minor axis is assumed.
The nominal moments can be assessed according to existing practice in BS 5400-5: 1979
[30]
as
follows:
For a CHS
f fx
03 . 0 DN M =
For a RHS
f fy
03 . 0 BN M =
where:
D is the diameter of the CHS
B is the width of the RHS

3.7.1 Determination of k factor
The factor k is a moment multiplier (k 1.0) used to take account of any possible second order
effects in slender columns in accordance with ambient temperature composite column design to
EC4-1-1.
The factor should be assessed separately for each axis, since it is dependent on the variation of
end moments on an axis, as well as the slenderness on that axis.
Second order effects are only to be considered significant if both of the following conditions are
satisfied:
1) 1 . 0
Rd fi,
f
>
N
N

2) ( ) r >
2 2 . 0

where:
r is the ratio of the smaller to the larger end moment (see Figure 2.5). If there is
any transverse loading, r should be taken as 1.0.
If second order effects are not significant then k = 1.0.
Otherwise:
0 . 1
1
cr,
=
f
f
N
N
k

45
where:
is the equivalent moment factor.
For columns with transverse loading within the column length, the value for should be taken
as 1.0. For pure end moments, can be determined as follows:
r 44 . 0 66 . 0 + = but 44 . 0
3.8 Material properties
For the design of the resistance of concrete filled structural hollow sections in fire, the design
method of EC4-1-2 Annex G uses a special set of material properties. These are slightly
different from those used for the design of other composite elements (see Section 2.2).
During the development of EC4-1-2, the calibration of the Annex G method was carried out
using a set of material properties that were different from those generally adopted for other
elements in the Eurocode. Due to the fact that there was insufficient time to recalibrate the
method, the material properties for the design of concrete filled sections have remained
unchanged.
The material properties used in Annex G are reproduced below.
3.8.1 Hot rolled structural steel
The ratio
C ay,20
ay,
f
f
is given by:
If 0 < 600C
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ =
1750
log 900
0 . 1
e
C ay,20
ay,
f
f

If 600 < 1000C
( )
( ) 240
34 . 0 340
C ay,20
ay,

=
f
f

The ratio
C a,20
a,
E
E

is given by:
If 0 < 600C
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ =
100
log 2000
0 . 1
e
C a,20
a,
E
E

If 600 < 1000C
46

( )
( ) 3 . 53
69 . 0 690
C a,20
a,

=
E
E

where:
C ay,20
f is the yield stress of the structural steel at 20C.
ay,
f is the yield stress of the structural steel at temperature .
C a,20
E is the modulus of elasticity of the structural steel at 20C.
a,
E is the modulus of elasticity of the structural steel at temperature .
3.8.2 Steel reinforcement bars
The ratios
C sy,20
sy,
f
f

and
C s,20
s,
E
E
are obtained from the following table:
Table 3.1 Strength reduction factors for steel reinforcing bars
Temperature
s
(C) 0 400 580 750
C sy,20
sy,
f
f

and
C s,20
s,
E
E
1.00 1.00 0.15 0

3.8.3 Structural concrete
The ratios
C c,20
c,
f
f
and
C c,20
c,
E
E

are obtained from the following table:
Table 3.2 Strength reduction factors for concrete
Temperature
c
(C) 0 50 200 250 400 600 1000
C c,20
c,
f
f

1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.76 0.45 0
C c,20
c,
E
E

1.00 1.00 0.50 0.41 0.15 0.05 0.05
C c,20
E is obtained from Table 2.2
47
4 FABRICATION AND CONNECTIONS
4.1 General
This section illustrates the more salient points to be considered when detailing the connections
to concrete filled columns so as to ensure economy and efficiency in design. The details will
follow standard structural engineering practice and will depend on the nature of the loads and
the type of beam or flooring present.
4.1.1 Column Venting
It is necessary to provide ventilation holes in the column walls to prevent the dangerous build
up of steam pressure inside the column in the event of a fire. Two 20 mm diameter holes placed
diametrically opposite each other both at the top and bottom of each storey height have been
used in testing and have proved to be adequate. Care must be taken that the holes are positioned
outside the level of any floor slab or screed.
A drain hole should be also provided at the base of a column to prevent water collecting if it is
left standing empty on site prior to filling (Figure 4.1). This hole may be one of the steam vent
holes.

4.1.2 Welding to Concrete Filled Columns
Primary load bearing structural components should be welded to the column before filling with
concrete. The welding of relatively small lugs and fittings after filling is permissible.

4.2 Column Splices and Flange plate connections
Column splices are generally made either by butt-welding lengths together, or by providing
bolted flange connections at the ends of column lengths. Some common examples of these
connections are shown in Figure 4.2.

Drain and
vent hole

Figure 4.1 Column base plate and drain hole
48

Column Splice Connections

Flange plate connection
Section through floor with flange plates on
RHS or CHS columns cast into concrete
slab. The bottom plate has projecting
studs welded to it; for flange plates
connected above the slab, in a raised
floor space, a normal bolting arrangement
may be used. In general, the flange plate
connection provides transfer of axial
forces but only limited moment transfer.

Welded splice connection

Elevation on RHS column with weld
backing strip and angle brackets for
erection; brackets are removed after
some welding completed; backing strip
also used as alignment spigot. For CHS
Columns, vertical plates are used instead
of brackets.

Welded splice connection with long
bolts

The use of long bolts with double nuts
permits accurate alignment of the SHS
and backing material before site welding.

Figure 4.2 Column splice connections

Particular details that should considered when using these two connection types are as follows:
(i) Welded Splices
To allow welding to take place, the concrete filling should be stopped at a level
approximately 250 mm below the top of the column. The next column length can then be
spliced into place using a full penetration butt weld with a backing ring. Following this,
concrete filling can be resumed.
49
(ii) Bolted Flange Joints
When a flanged connection is used, the flange should be welded to the column before
filling. When flanges are used at both ends of a column length, at least one flange will
have to incorporate an aperture for filling (see Figure 4.3). In order to ensure complete
filling under this flange, the maximum size of any lip should not exceed 15 mm.

4.3 Beam-to-column connections
Simple Connections
Simple connections are normally assumed to give vertical support but to provide only limited
restraint against rotation: these connections are assumed to be able to rotate without damage. A
selection of some common examples is shown in Figure 4.4 below.

Drain and vent hole
Vent hole
A A
Section A - A
15 mm max.
Detail 1
Detail 1

Figure 4.3 Column cap plate and splice detail for flange plate connections
50

Reverse channel connection

Section through floor with steel beams
connected to CHS columns by a
channel fixing; a standard flexible end
plate is normal at the beam end, which
then develops only nominal moments.
A similar detail is used for RHS
columns.

Web cleat connection

Section through floor with secondary
and primary beams which are
connected to RHS columns by a
T-section web cleat; this connection can
have greater stiffness and robustness
than the equivalent fin plate connection.

Fin plate/Shear tab connection

Section through composite deck floor
with steel beam connected to RHS or
CHS column by a finplate; a very
economic joint; a seating cleat may be
used to help erection, with removal
afterwards if required.

Hollobolt or Flowdrill connection

Section though floor with steel beam
connected to face of RHS column by
Hollobolts or fully threaded bolts in
Flowdrill holes; only nominal moments
develop with flush or partial depth
flexible end plates; thicker plates can
develop between 10 to 15 per cent of
beam capacity.
Figure 4.4 Beam-to-column joints simple connections
51
The most common arrangements for beam-to-column joints make use of bolted connections via
attachments welded to the faces of the hollow section column. By far the most common
connection of this type is the fin plate connection, using a flat plate welded to each column face.
For RHS columns, an alternative is the web cleat connection, using single angle sections, or
T-sections, welded to the column face. The use of double angles is a further option and provides
greater capacity than a single angle would. An increasingly popular option for CHS or RHS
columns is the use of the reverse channel connection. Of these, the most economic is the fin
plate connection or the web cleat connection using a single angle. Note also that it is not
necessary to have a continuous weld of the bracket to the column when under internal
conditions of exposure.
Simple steel connections using flexible end plates or double angle cleats, which are bolted direct
to the column, are also possible with RHS columns. These joints use either expanding bolt
types, such as Hollobolt, or fully threaded bolts in tapped holes produced by the Flowdrill
system.
Moment connections
Moment Connections are those that are assumed to give vertical support, provide a degree of
restraint against rotation and develop some moment capacity. A selection of some common
examples is shown in Figure 4.5 below.
Rigid or semi-rigid moment connections are feasible with all types of hollow section column.
These may use flange plates or beam stubs, which are usually of the same section as the beam
being connected. Through-plated connections are another popular type of moment connection;
this is similar in appearance to the fin plate connection but has slots in the column to allow a
single plate to be taken through it. In almost all cases, moment connections are more expensive
than simple connections, but the extra cost of the connection can be more than offset by savings
in beam sizes, or by provision of more usable floor space.
Beam-to-column connections in fire
Connections generally need to be either fire protected or shielded by other elements such as
floor slabs.
Questions sometimes arise as to how the loads are transferred into a concrete filled column from
an incoming beam, when the outer steel tube is exposed to fire below the connection. If bolts or
studs protrude into the concrete core, then some degree of direct load transfer can be envisaged.
However, it will often be the case that the beam-to-column connection takes the form of a fin
plate, resulting in no obvious direct load path into the concrete core. In this case, the load
transfer is via the cold part of the steel tube above the connection. The beam reaction is
therefore resisted by tension in the tube, which is transferred into the concrete core by a
combination of shear, bond and direct axial load via the column cap.
52

Composite beam moment connection

Section through floor with composite
beam connected to RHS or CHS
columns by fin plates and bottom flange
plate to provide continuous or
semi-continuous joints; the top
reinforcement in the concrete slab is
designed to provide the other arm of the
moment couple.

Steel beam moment connection

Section through floor with secondary
steel beams on top of primary beams
which are connected to RHS or CHS
columns by fin plates and flange plates
to provide continuous or
semi-continuous joints.

Stub connection

Section through floor with stub beam
sections welded to face of RHS
columns; moment capacity usually
limited by yielding of column face; large
moments require internal diaphragms or
external flange plates.

Through-plate connection

Section through floor with through-plate
passed through slots and welded to
each face of RHS or CHS column; the
through plate connection allows
significant axial forces and bending
moments to be transferred from the
beam, if this is required.

Figure 4.5 Beam-to-column joints moment connections

4.4 Shearhead connections to slabs
The use of steel decking or precast concrete floor slabs, supported on steel beams, can lead to
economical designs. In each of these cases, the fixing of the steel beams to the concrete filled
hollow sections can be achieved by using the connections shown in Figure 4.4 and Figure 4.5.
53
In situ concrete beams and floors may also be used with concrete filled hollow sections. Figure
4.6 illustrates some shearhead connection details to provide shear and moment transfer between
reinforced concrete flat slabs and composite columns.

Centre stub shearhead

Section through concrete flat slab floor with
column stubs welded to RHS or CHS
columns; a stiffening collar may be
required around the column top when large
moments are produced in it from
unbalanced loads.

Grid shearhead

Section through concrete flat slab floor with
grid welded to faces of RHS columns; the
connection is designed for transfer of
tensile and compressive forces from the
slab to the shearhead elements.

Figure 4.6 Shearhead connections to in situ concrete slabs

4.5 Base plate connections
With the exception of the need to provide a drain/ vent holes in the wall of the hollow section
(see Figure 4.1), no specialised details are required for base plate connections. A typical
example of a base plate for a concrete filled column using SHS is shown in Figure 4.7.

Baseplate with loose bolts

Section through base with cast-in bolts in
boxes; bolts are loosened soon after
concrete has set; underside of base and
bolt boxes are grouted after baseplate is
packed up and column is plumb.

Figure 4.7 Base plate connections

54
5 PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
5.1 Concrete Filling

5.1.1 General
This section has been written on the assumption that the hollow sections are to be filled with
concrete on site. For sections filled under factory conditions, the same basic requirements need
to be met; however, the more closely controlled conditions in the factory could have advantages,
particularly when high strength concretes are being used.
It must be emphasised that the concrete plays an important structural role and it will only do this
if a good standard of concrete design, concreting procedure, control and site supervision is used.
In many cases, grout is an acceptable alternative to concrete for filling hollow sections and in
most cases the following recommendations also apply to grout filling.
5.1.2 Concrete materials, testing and control
Good control over concrete materials and testing is required, especially for higher strength
mixes. The testing of materials for concrete, and of the concrete itself, should be in accordance
with the standards and regulations generally accepted or laid down in the country in which the
work is to be carried out. General information on concrete and concreting may be found in
textbooks on the subject.
5.1.3 The concrete mix
The concrete must fill the steel section completely. Because it is not possible to inspect the
concrete visually after placing, there must be no doubts about the ability of the concrete and the
concreting procedure to meet these requirements. Due consideration of the following
recommendations will ensure, as far as possible, that these requirements are satisfied.
The concrete should have the following properties:
(i) sufficient workability to ensure proper compaction;
(ii) sufficient cohesiveness to reduce the likelihood of segregation and bleeding;
(iii) the specified 28-day strength;
(iv) when filling a column with a plain concrete mix, the maximum size of aggregate should be
10 mm for 100 mm minimum section columns, 20 mm for 140 to 180 mm minimum
section columns and 40 mm for 200 mm minimum section columns; and
(v) when a reinforcement cage is inserted into the concrete for additional capacity, or to
improve the fire performance, the clearance between the reinforcement bar outer fibre and
the SHS inner wall should be at least 5 mm larger than the maximum aggregate size.
The workability of the concrete should be high enough to ensure its proper compaction, but not
too high otherwise most of the other desirable properties of the mix will suffer. With the
exception of bottom pressure filling (see below), an average slump of about 50 mm will
probably suffice in most instances. The attainment of high strength may make stiffer mixes
necessary, but this will increase the difficulties of placing and compaction. A lower slump will
be possible where large sizes or short column lengths make placing and compaction easier.
55
Given the desired workability and knowledge of the available aggregates, a mix to give the
required strength may be designed in accordance with the recommendations of any of the
standard publications.
In order to obtain the required cohesiveness and to reduce bleeding it is advisable to increase the
proportion of fine aggregate in the total aggregate content by up to about 5% more than would
normally be used, especially for smaller size columns. Fine sands produce more cohesive mixes
than coarse sands.
A water-reducing admixture may help throughout the strength range and may be very useful
when high strength concretes are specified.
5.1.4 Preparation for placing
The internal surface of the hollow section needs no special preparation. However if cutting oils
have been used, any deposits of oil in the region of the cut should be removed. It is important
that all loose material and debris be removed from the bottom of the column. Any free water,
which may have collected at the bottom, must also be removed.
5.1.5 Placing and compacting the concrete
Conventional top filling
Special plant will not normally be required. If a good cohesive mix has been obtained it may
quite satisfactorily be dropped into the column from the top. However, care must be taken to
ensure that the first 100 mm or so of concrete in the bottom of the column does not contain an
excessive amount of coarse aggregate, which would lead to honeycombing, or voids between
aggregate particles.
The concrete is best compacted by an internal (or poker) vibrator: this type should be used
whenever possible. The vibrator should be lowered to the bottom of the column and switched on
immediately before any concrete is placed. The concrete should be placed slowly around the
vibrator, which must be left running continuously, and raised as the concrete level rises, such
that its position is just below the surface of the concrete; its position may be judged by raising
and lowering it, and noting the change in sound as it emerges from the concrete.
Placing the concrete requires careful consideration because of the cost of the plant required to
handle relatively small quantities. The majority of concrete used on site is ready-mixed, and this
is most economical if it can be used in 6 m loads, which need to be placed within half an hour if
waiting charges are to be avoided. A crane and skip could handle concrete at this rate into the
large columns. A mobile pump with a boom can place the concrete continuously as it is being
compacted and, provided that the poker diameter is at least 50 mm, this rate of placing could be
achieved in medium sized columns. However, concrete in smaller columns should be placed at a
proportionally slower rate, in order to achieve satisfactory compaction. Mortar pumps with 50
mm diameter rubber hoses could be used, provided that the maximum aggregate size does not
exceed 10 mm. Generally, each time the maximum size of aggregate is halved, the cement
content needs to be increased by 20%.
If it is decided to mix the concrete in small batches on site, it is possible to manhandle the
concrete in buckets and to compact it with a 40 to 50 mm square timber tamper. With care,
compaction by this method is at least as good as vibration.
External vibration is also possible; however, a lot of energy will be absorbed by the steel
column. For this reason, a very powerful clamp-on vibrator is necessary; this should be moved
up as the concrete surface rises.
56
The concrete may settle during the first hour in hot weather, or perhaps three hours in cold
weather. This may be overcome by adding extra concrete during placing, and trowelling it off
flush with the top of the cap plate after the concrete has settled, but before it is too stiff to
trowel.
Reworking concrete is not harmful provided that the concrete is not loosened in the process,
and no extra water is added.
Drain holes that are present in the column to prevent the build up of water on site, and to allow
the escape of moisture in the event of fire (see Section 4.1.1), should be temporarily plugged
whilst the concrete is being placed. If this is not done, grout and fine material will escape from
the mix, leaving an area of weak honeycombed concrete inside the column. The plugs should be
removed after the concrete has achieved its initial set.
Bottom pressure filling
Bottom pressure filling of composite columns using hollow sections has, in the past, been
proved to be very successful in Australia, which has led to it being widely employed in Japan
and North America.
The significant features of this method of filling are:
Pumping heights of 24 m can be readily achieved with normal pumps, and up to a
maximum height of 200 m for special pumps.
Pumping from the base of the column avoids aggregate segregation; vibration of the
concrete, whether it being internal or external, is not normally required.
Mixes need to be of a high workability, with slumps exceeding 150 mm. (However, it is
recommended that the workability of a mix be established from the flow table test, in
accordance with BS 1881-105
[33]
).
Peak pumping rates of 50 m/hour are achievable.
Although a typical concrete pump pressure is 60% greater than the hydrostatic head (using
a 125 mm standard pump), this pressure may rise depending on the number of obstructions
within the column (e.g., reinforcement cages).
No surface preparation is necessary at breaks in the concrete, prior to pouring the next
(upper) section.
Figure 5.1 shows a typical cut-off valve used as an entry point for bottom pressure filled
sections. The valve is usually located at between 300 to 450 mm above the column base, and is
welded to the wall of the hollow section (thereby resulting in a permanent fitting). The size of
valve appropriate for a standard 125 mm diameter supply pipe will usually dictate that, for
practical purposes, a column with a minimum cross-sectional dimension of 300 mm is needed.
As a consequence, for columns with smaller cross-sectional dimensions, conventional top filling
is preferred.
57

5.1.6 Curing the concrete
The main objects of curing are to prevent early drying out of the concrete, and to protect it from
frost. The concrete can only dry out at the top surface and, in most cases, a polythene sheet or
bag placed over the top and tied or taped around the column will provide the necessary
protection.
5.1.7 Concreting in cold weather
Concrete must not be allowed to freeze during the early stages of setting and hardening. The
steel section has negligible insulating properties so, if cold weather is expected, concreting
should be suspended, or insulation and heating (if necessary) provided.
In frosty weather the steel section should be warmed above 0C to melt any ice on, or in the
column. Care should be taken to ensure that all constituents of the concrete are free of ice. After
placing, the columns should be wrapped in insulating quilts to prevent the temperature of the
concrete dropping below 10C for the first day, or even two days for 20 N/mm
2
concrete with a
low initial temperature. These temperatures ensure that the concrete matures sufficiently before
it is allowed to freeze.

Figure 5.1 Cut-off valve used in bottom pressure filled composite columns
58
6 SOFTWARE
ConcFill2 is a program that will check a composite column at the normal and the fire limit state.
All calculations are in accordance with EC4-1-1 and EC4-1-2, as described in Sections 2 and 3.
In fire, applied protection is not considered. ConcFill2 replaces ConcFill, which was an earlier
version distributed on CD by Corus in 1999.
The program uses a sophisticated load specification in which dead and imposed loads may be
applied centrally and at user defined offsets at the top and bottom of a storey height. Moments
may also be applied at the top and bottom of the column. Loads applied at offsets are used to
generate additional moments. Moments are considered in two directions and effective lengths
may be specified in two directions separately for both normal and fire conditions.
Facilities are included which make the positioning of reinforcement very straightforward. It is
also possible to rotate the section without having to re-enter applied loads.
The user may select the section size from the large range supplied by Corus.
The extensive output may be viewed on the screen before being printed. This includes: details
of all factored and unfactored applied loads and moments generated by load offsets; cross-
section resistances and column buckling resistances for both normal and fire conditions; and
unity factors, which give an indication of critical sensitivities and efficiency.
ConcFill2 is an analysis program and the user has to iteratively arrive at an appropriate section
size. Table 6.1 has been developed to assist in the initial selection process.
The table is based on the following assumptions.
Concrete grade 30/37
Steel grade Celsius 355
Column length 3.5
Effective length (normal) 0.85
Effective length (fire) 0.7
Reinforcement Approximately 4%
Axis distance 60 minutes 40 mm
90 minutes 50 mm
120 minutes 60 mm

Enquiries about the availability of ConcFill2 should be addressed directly to Corus

Corus Tubes, Structural & Conveyance Business, PO Box 6024, Weldon Road, Corby, Northants,
NN17 5ZN , the United Kingdom UK Freephone
Technical Helpline : +44 (0) 1724 405060 Fax: +44 (0) 1536 404127 Email: corustubes.s-
c@corusgroup.com
59
Table 6.1 Column buckling resistances and bending resistances for initial sizing in
ConcFill2
Fire resistance (mins) Section
type
Section size Rebar Normal
design 60 90 120
168.3x 10 4 x 16
d R
N
d R
M
1858
96
481
18
178
7
-
-
193.7x10 4 x 16
d R
N
d R
M
2361
132
691
26
293
10
-
-
219.1x12.5 4 x 20
d R
N
d R
M
3394
209
1162
47
589
23
221
11
244.5x16 4 x 20
d R
N
d R
M
4666
320
1636
75
899
35
355
15
273x16 4 x 25
d R
N
d R
M
5593
418
2240
111
1426
61
711
29
323.9x16 4 x 25
d R
N
d R
M
7022
604
2940
158
2062
92
1386
58
355.6x16 6 x 25
d R
N
d R
M
8276
758
3876
233
2906
149
2290
114
406.4x16 6 x 32
d R
N
d R
M
10299
1054
5590
389
4501
276
3869
228
457x16 6 x 32
d R
N
d R
M
12040
1358
6627
479
5423
337
4817
283
Circular
Hollow
Section
508x16 6 x 32
d R
N
d R
M
14300
1768
8504
674
7137
493
6521
425
160x160x12.5 4 x 16
d R
N
d R
M
2663
161
552
22
142
5
-
-
180x180x16 4 x 16
d R
N
d R
M
3747
244
810
33
280
10
-
-
200x200x16 4 x 20
d R
N
d R
M
4473
318
1183
53
540
22
107
5
250x250x16 4 x 25
d R
N
d R
M
6320
546
2134
112
1439
67
777
35
300x300x16 4 x 32
d R
N
d R
M
8334
846
3504
220
2627
146
1835
89
350x350x16 4 x 32
d R
N
d R
M
10201
1169
4494
294
3389
186
2621
121
Square
Hollow
Section
400x400x16 8 x 32
d R
N
d R
M
12906
1691
7008
560
5628
404
4744
309
Note:
d R
N is the design buckling resistance (kN) and
d R
M is the design bending moment
resistance (kNm).

60
7 REFERENCES
1. BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION
BS EN 10210-1: 1994 Hot finished structural hollow sections of non-alloy and fine grain
structural steels. Technical delivery conditions.

structural steels. Tolerances, dimensions and sectional properties.

DD ENV 1994-1-2: Eurocode 4 Design of composite steel and concrete structures: Part
1.2: General rules Structural fire design (in preparation, available late 2000).

4. NEWMAN, G.M. and SIMMS, W.I.
The fire resistance of concrete filled tubes to Eurocode 4
The Steel Construction Institute, P259, 2000.

5. BRITISH STEEL TUBES & PIPES
Fire resistant design. A guide to evaluation of structural hollow sections using BS 5950 Part
8
TD408, 1998.

Fire resistant design. A guide to evaluation of structural hollow sections using BS 5950 Part
8
TD409, 1998.

Intumescent coatings & SHS concrete filled columns
TD410, 1998.

8. CORUS TUBES
Hot finished SHS for multi-storey columns
TD416, 1999.

9. WEBB, J. and PEYTON, J.J.
Composite concrete filled steel-tube columns
Proceedings of the 2
nd
National Structures Conference
Institution of Engineers Australia, 1990, pp. 181-185.

10. SEWELL, J.S.
Columns for buildings
Engineering News, Vol. 48, No. 17, 1902.

11. KLPPEL, K. and GODER, D.
Collapse load tests on concrete filled steel tubes and the derivation of design formulae
Der Stahlbau, 1957.
61

12. BOU, P.
Concrete filled steel stanchions
Acier Steel, No. 9, 1957, pp.351-356.

13. NEOGI, P.K., SEN, H.K. AND CHAPMAN, J.C.
Concrete filled tubular steel columns under eccentric loading
The Structural Engineer, Vol. 47, No. 5, 1969, pp. 187-195.

14. KNOWLES, R.B. AND PARK, R.
Strength of concrete filled steel tubular columns
Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 95, No. 2, pp. 2565-2587.

15. KNOWLES, R.B. AND PARK, R.
Axial load for concrete filled steel tubes
Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 96, No. 10, pp. 2125-2155.

DD ENV 1992-1-1: 1992 Eurocode 2 Design of concrete structures: Part 1.1: General rules
and rules for buildings.

17. EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
Draft prEN 1994-1-1: 2001 Eurocode 4 Design of composite steel and concrete structures:
Part 1.1: General rules and rules for buildings.

prEN 1994-1-1:2002 Eurocode 4 Design of composite steel and concrete structures: Part
1.1: General rules and rules for buildings.

BS 4449:1997 Specification for carbon steel bars for the reinforcement of concrete.

DD ENV 10080: 1996 Steel for the reinforcement of concrete. Weldable ribbed reinforcing
steel B500. Technical delivery conditions for bars, coils and welded fabric.

21. COUCHMAN, G.H. and WAY. A.
Joints in steel construction: Composite connections
The Steel Construction Institute/The British Constructional Steelwork Association,
P213/98, 1998.

BS 5950-8: 1990 Structural use of steelwork in building: Part 8: Code of practice for fire
resistant design.

structural steels: Part 1: Technical delivery requirements.

62
24. BASU, A.K. and SOMERVILLE, W.
Derivation of formulae for the design of rectangular composite columns
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Supplementary Volume 1969, pp. 233-280

25. VIRDI, K.S. and DOWLING, P.J.
Composite columns in axial bending
Axially compressed structures (Vol. 1 of Stability and Strength Series Editor: R.
Narayanan)
Applied Science Publishers, 1982

DD ENV 1991-2-2: 1996 Eurocode 1 Basis of design and actions on structures: Part 2.2:
Actions on structures exposed to fire (together with United Kingdom National Application
Document).

27. COMIT EUROPEN DE NORMALISATION (CEN)
ENV 1993-1-2: 1995 Design of steel structures: Part 1.2: General rules Structural fire
design.

DD ENV 1993-1-1: 1992 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures: Part 1.1: General rules
and rules for buildings.

29. COMIT EUROPEN DE NORMALISATION (CEN)
prEN 1993-1-8: 2002 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures: Part 1.8: Design of joints.

BS 5400-5: 1979 Steel, Concrete and composite bridges: Part 5: Code of practice for
design.

31. EDWARDS, M.
The performance in fire of concrete filled SHS columns protected by intumescent paint
th
International Symposium on Tubular Structures, Balkema,
Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1998

32. EDWARDS, M.
The performance in fire of fully utilised concrete filled SHS columns with external fire
protection
th
International Symposium on Tubular Structures, Balkema,
Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2000

BS 1881-105: 1984 Methods for the determination of flow

34. BECK, H.
Nailed Shear Connection in Composite Tube Columns
Paper No,35, Proceedings of the 1999 Eurosteel Conference, CVUT, Prague, ISBN 80-01-
01963-2

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l is the buckling length of the column in fire

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