Original Research

Advances in Structural Engineering

2019, Vol. 22(2) 444–458
Cyclic testing of Q690 circular Ó The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1369433218790769

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Jiantao Wang and Qing Sun

Abstract
Under seismic action, the severe damage in critical regions of structures could be ascribed to the cumulative damage caused by cyclic
loading. This article describes an investigation of the hysteresis behaviour of Q690 circular high-strength concrete-filled thin-walled
steel tubular columns with out-of-code diameter-to-thickness ratios. A total of eight specimens were tested under constant axial com-
pression and cyclic lateral loading. The study results of phase I testing consisting of a benchmark test were summarized to examine
the seismic behaviour under standard loading, and those of the phase II testing that considered different fatigue loading modes and dif-
ferent concrete strengths were summarized to investigate the low-cycle fatigue behaviour. The load–displacement hysteretic curves,
energy dissipation, strength and stiffness degradation were discussed in detail. A simplified method was proposed to predict the low-
cycle fatigue life, which can be applied in the damage-based seismic design of circular concrete-filled steel tubular structures.

Keywords
cyclic loading, energy dissipation, failure modes, low-cycle fatigue, Q690 circular high-strength concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular
columns

Introduction much attention worldwide (Li et al., 2015; Varma

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns, as a rel-
atively new type of structural member, are inescapably
threatened with potential earthquake risks despite pos-
sessing remarkable mechanical properties, namely,
high strength (HS), high ductility and greater energy
dissipation capacity (Elremaily and Azizinamini, 2002;
Varma et al., 2002a; Wang et al., 2017). During an
earthquake, the severe failure in the plastic hinge
regions of CFST columns is due to the cumulative
damage of the steel tube caused by the repeated cyclic
loading in the post-yield strain range (Boyd et al.,
1995; Elchalakani et al., 2004). To examine the seismic
behaviour of CFST columns, earlier significant quasi-
static cyclic loading experiments have been conducted
by many researchers, such as Usami and Ge (1994),
Ge and Usami (1996), Hajjar and Gourley (1997),
Nakanishi et al. (1999), Marson and Bruneau (2000),
Fam et al. (2004), Han et al. (2005) and Han and
Yang (2006). These researchers made great efforts to
help understand the seismic behaviour of CFST col-
umns through varying different parameters.
Recently, with the advent of HS steel and the prog-
ress in the welding technique, the application of HS
steel (yield strength of fy ø 600 MPa) has attracted
et al., 2002b). Compared with conventional steel, HS
steel could provide a larger elastic deformation capac-
ity and better confined effect for CFST columns, and
the local buckling could be delayed until a large rota-
tion (Skalomenos et al., 2016). Because of the applica-
tion of HS materials, the section size of traditional
CFST columns could be diminished to obtain a favour-
able architectural aesthetic effect and gain further eco-
nomic benefits under the premise of ensuring the
mechanical property; thus, the high-strength concrete-
filled thin-walled steel tubular (HCFTST) columns
begin to develop gradually.
However, the aforementioned studies mainly
focused on the hysteresis behaviour of traditional
CFST columns under standard cyclic loading with
increasing peak drift deformation (Gajalakshmi and
Helena, 2012; Zhang et al., 2009b). Regarding the
Department of Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, P.R.
China
Corresponding author:
Qing Sun, Department of Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University,
Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
Email: sunq@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Wang and Sun
HCFTST columns, studies on the effects of the ampli-
tudes, number of cycles and loading modes on the
damage accumulation are lacking. In fact, many struc-
tures would collapse after peak earthquake accelera-
tion with few inelastic cycles, suggesting that the
low-cycle fatigue damage is not negligible and the effects
of amplitude and cyclic numbers should be noticeable
(EI-Bahy et al., 1999; Zhang et al., 2009a). Therefore,
more experimental research studies are required in this
area, mainly focusing on the HS and thin-walled steel
tubes, to further clarify the influences of cyclic behaviour
on HCFTST columns. Furthermore, more test data are
also required for the design codes, which currently
restrict the use of HS materials in CFST columns because
of the limited knowledge.
So far, no consensus has been reached on the defini-
tion of HCFTST columns. Against this background, a
new out-of-code column, namely, the Q690 circular
HCFTST column, was proposed in this article; this
column comprised ultrahigh-strength Q690 steel (yield
strength of fy .690 MPa) and HS concrete (cylinder
compressive strength of fc ø 60 MPa), and had large
diameter-to-thickness (D/t) ratios outside of the limita-
tions in the current design codes, for example,
American AISC-360-10 (D=t ł (0:15Es =fy )) and
Chinese GB 50936-2014 (D=t ł (31, 725=fy )). In this
study, a total of eight Q690 circular HCFTST columns
were tested to investigate the cyclic behaviour. This
presents the results of phase I tests consisting of
Figure 1. Tensile coupon test.
445
benchmark test to examine the seismic behaviour
under standard loading and the phase II tests to inves-
tigate the low-cycle fatigue behaviour. The tested para-
meters are axial compression ratio (n), loading modes
and concrete strength. The strength, ductility, stiffness
degradation and dissipated energy of the specimens
were experimentally investigated and analysed. A sim-
plified method was proposed to predict the low-cycle
fatigue life based on the Manson–Coffin model
(Coffin, 1953; Manson, 1953; Manson and Halford,
1981). The main objectives of the research are as fol-
lows: (1) to provide a new series of test data for the
HCFTST columns, (2) to evaluate the cyclic behaviour
of the specimens under tested parameters and (3) to
predict the low-cycle fatigue lives of CFST columns.
Experimental programme
Material properties
The ultrahigh-strength Q690 steel from the same batch
was adopted in this study. According to the ‘Metallic
materials-Tensile testing at ambient temperature’ (GB/
T 228-2002), the coupon test was conducted to obtain
the properties of Q690 steel, as shown in Figure 1. The
yield strength (fy ) and ultimate strength (fu ) were 723
and 765 MPa, respectively, and the elastic modulus
(Es ) and Poisson’s ratio (vs ) were 222,010 MPa and
0.281, respectively.
446 Advances in Structural Engineering 22(2)

Table 1. Details of concrete.

Concrete grade fc (MPa) Cement (kg/m3) Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Water Silica fume Water reducer
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)

NS-1 43.5 360 (Portland 425) 733 1084 170 – 13.2

NS-2 49.1 420 (Portland 425) 700 1250 135 – 12
HS-1 78.6 301 (Portland 425) 640 1310 129 129 13
HS-2 97.6 315 (Portland 525) 585 1365 120 135 13

‘NS’ and ‘HS’ denote normal-strength and high-strength, and ‘Portland 425’ and ‘Portland 525’ indicate the cement grade, respectively.

Table 2. Summary of tested specimens.

Test phase Specimen D (mm) t (mm) fy (MPa) D/t ratio fc (MPa) n Loading patterns

I CFST-1-1 140 2 723 70 78.6 0.18 Variable pattern 1

CFST-1-2 140 2 723 70 78.6 0.27 Variable pattern 1
CFST-1-3 260 2 723 130 97.6 0.36 Variable pattern 1
CFST-1-4 260 2 723 130 97.6 0.09 Variable pattern 1
II CFST-2-1 140 2 723 70 78.6 0.27 Constant pattern 1
CFST-2-2 140 2 723 70 78.6 0.27 Constant pattern 2
CFST-2-3 140 2 723 70 78.6 0.27 Variable pattern 2
CFST-2-4 140 2 723 70 49.1 0.27 Variable pattern 2

CFST: concrete-filled steel tubular.

Both normal-strength (NS) and HS concrete were P0 = As fy + 0:85Ac fc ð2Þ

utilized in this article. The reserved concrete blocks for
the compressive strength test were maintained under
the same condition with tested columns. Table 1 lists
the actual cylinder strengths (fc ) and the mix propor-
tions of the concrete.
Specimen design and preparation
According to Chinese GB 50936-2014
(D=t ł (31725=fy )), the maximum D/t ratio of Q690
HCFTST columns is 44. Considering the limitations of
the test setups and the manufacture difficulty in HS
thin-walled steel tubes, the maximum out-of-code D/t
ratios of Q690 circular HCFTST columns were deter-
mined as 70 and 130, respectively. The tests were con-
ducted in two phases. Phase I testing consisted of
benchmark tests under standard cyclic loading, and
phase II testing involved low-cycle fatigue loading
tests. A summary of tested specimens is presented in
Table 2.
In Table 2, the axial compression ratio (n) was
defined as
n = P=P0
where P is the axial load applied on the HCFTST col-
umns and P0 is the nominal squash load calculated by
the following equation
where As and Ac are the cross-sectional areas of the
steel tube and core concrete, respectively.
Figure 2 shows the design details of the Q690 circu-
lar HCFTST columns. The clear height of the
HCFTST column was 525 mm, and a reinforced con-
crete (RC) foundation was cast together with the col-
umn, representing a relative rigid member, such as a
beam–column connection. High-strength steel bars
(HSBs, fy = 1000 MPa) and stiffening ribs were used
to strengthen the RC foundations.
The construction process of specimens is shown in
Figure 3. The steel tubes and the reinforcements of the
foundations were fabricated first. Afterwards, the con-
crete inside steel tubes was cast, and the autoclaved
curing technology at high temperature was employed
to ensure the qualities of the HS concrete.
Subsequently, the stiffening ribs and the reinforce-
ments were assembled. Next, the concrete of RC foun-
dation was poured, and then, the end plates II were
finally welded.
Test setup and instrumentation
ð1Þ
All the specimens were tested in the experimental setup
shown in Figure 4. The RC foundation was attached
to the ground tightly with pressure beams and anchor
stocks, while two adjustable seats were installed to
Wang and Sun
Figure 2. Details of the tested specimens.
Figure 3. Specimen preparation.
prevent the lateral sliding of the specimen. The axial
compression was imposed on the column through a
hydraulic jack of 2000-kN capacity. Furthermore, the
triangular box connector was assembled using HS
bolts (Grade 12.9, M28) for cyclic loading using a
1000-kN MTS actuator. A total of 12 bidirectional
strain gauges, divided into three layers, were mounted
on the steel tubes to monitor the longitudinal and cir-
cumferential deformation in an equal-interval layout
along the circumferential direction. The space between
every two layers was half of the diameter of the tested
columns, and the lowest layer was 30 mm away from
447
the top surface of the RC foundation. The horizontal
load and displacement were automatically recorded by
the MTS actuator. The axial force was monitored by
the pressure transducers fixed on the jack.
Test procedures
The quasi-static cyclic loading method was adopted in
this study. First, the preloading procedure was con-
ducted to ensure the equipment functioned normally.
If all was in order, then the axial load was applied first
to the targeted value and then was kept constant dur-
ing testing. Afterwards, the lateral force of different
loading patterns was cycled under the displacement
control mode, as shown in Figure 5.
During the phase I testing, for ‘variable pattern 1’,
four single cycles with peak drift ratios of D=L 0.10%,
0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75% were initially applied, where
‘D’ indicates the lateral displacement and ‘L’ denotes
the column length. Next, three cycles were exerted at
each drift ratio level from 1% to 8%. Moreover, if
there was no evident failure after drift ratio 8%, then
the test would be continued by applying drift ratio
10% until the failure of specimen.
During the phase II testing, for ‘variable pattern 2’,
the drift ratio increased from 1% to 6%, with applica-
tion of one cycle at each deflection, and then, the drift
ratio decreased to 1% after reaching peak lateral
deformation. Moreover, the constant amplitude load-
ing patterns at drift ratio 4% and 6% were utilized to
examine low-cycle fatigue behaviour of the Q690
448 Advances in Structural Engineering 22(2)

Figure 4. Test setup: (a) schematic diagram of the test devices and (b) test photograph.

40
52.5 10 Variable pattern 2
Variable pattern 1 6
42 8
Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)

31.5 6 20 Until 4
Drift Ratio (%)

Drift Ratio (%)

21 4 failure 2
10.5 2
0 0 0 0
-10.5 -2 -2
-21 -4
-31.5 -6 -20 -4
-42 -8 -6
-52.5 -10
-40
0 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 Cycles
Cycles
(a) (b)
40 50
Constant pattern 1 Constant pattern 2
30 40 6% drift ratio
4% drift ratio 30
Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)

20
Until 20 Until
10 10 failure
failure
0 0
-10 -10
-20
-20
-30
-30 -40
-40 -50
Cycles Cycles
(c) (d)

Figure 5. Loading patterns: (a) variable pattern 1, (b) variable pattern 2, (c) constant pattern 1 and (d) constant pattern 2.

circular HCFTST columns. The test ended when the column bases, except for the specimen CFST-1-4, for
specimen was unable to sustain the targeted axial force which this buckling occurred during the first cycle of
or lateral cyclic loading because of the severe steel frac- drift ratio 4%. On the reverse excursion, slight buck-
ture and concrete crushing. ling was also observed on the other side. From then
onwards, the buckling on both sides of the columns
continued to develop with the steel ductility until the
Experimental observations and failure
7%–8% drift, when small hairline cracks on the tensile
modes side of the steel tube could be observed but did not
During the phase I testing, through the statistics of the penetrated the steel tube; with continued loading, the
test phenomena, very slight local buckling emerged at cracks developed to penetrate the steel shell, accompa-
drift ratios of 2%–3% in the compressive sides of the nied by a loud sound. Finally, the test ended owing to
Wang and Sun
the severe rupture of steel tube and crushing of the
core concrete.
In phase II testing, the specimen CFST-2-1 had
slight local buckling growing gradually at the column
base, and the first crack of steel tube appeared at the
31th cycle; at the 50th cycle, the test ended owing to
severe failure. The slight local buckling of CFST-2-2
emerged at the first cycle and magnified more rapidly
than CFST-2-1; the steel tube fractured first at the 11th
cycle until the severe failure appeared at 20th cycle.
The specimen CFST-2-3 subjected to ‘variable pattern
2’ had slight local buckling at the third cycle, and the
first hairline crack occurred at 14th cycle. With loading
continuously, the apparent cracking of steel tube could
be noticed at 19th cycle until the test ended at the 44th
cycle. For CFST-2-4, the slight local buckling emerged
at the second cycle, and the first crack in tensile side of
steel tube could be seen at 17th cycle; the test ended at
the 44th cycle.
A summary of the failure modes for all HCFTST
columns, including the concrete crushing, severe frac-
ture and local buckling of steel tube at column bases,
is described in Figure 6. In Figure 6(a), an elephant-
foot-shaped buckling in the column base is shown. As
shown in Figure 6(b) and (c), the rupture crack appar-
ently penetrated through the tube thickness, and the
pulverized concrete spilled out through the rupture in
the buckled region as the rupture crack width
increased. For all specimens, the buckling was
observed at nearly the same heights (H = 20 mm)
above the foundation surface, as shown in Figure 6(d).
It should be noted that although the failure modes
of the phase I and phase II testing are similar, the
induced factors of local buckling, concrete crushing
and steel fracture are completely different. In phase I
testing, the adverse P  D effect on the bottom of the
cantilever column increased gradually with the increase
in the drift ratios, and the transcending failure together
with the cumulative damage coexisted. After reaching
the peak load, the transcending failure almost domi-
nated so that the compressive zone of concrete
decreased sharply. Finally, the core concrete was
Figure 6. Failure modes: (a) local buckling, (b) concrete crushing, (c) steel fracture and (d) cracking height.
449
crushed, and transverse cracks in the cross section
were gradually formed. The excessive lateral displace-
ment also promoted the rupture of the steel tube
because of the strength failure. In phase II testing, the
cumulative damage was dominant mostly because the
imposed drift ratios do not exceed the ultimate displa-
cement. Under the reciprocating low-cycle load, the
core concrete and thin-walled steel tube experienced
low-cycle fatigue damage, which eventually lead to the
fatigue failure, namely, concrete crushing and steel
rupture.
Analysis of the experimental results
Load–displacement hysteretic curve
Phase I testing. Figure 7 depicts the hysteretic curves of
phase I testing. An initial elastic response was
observed for all specimens, and then, the columns
entered the elastic–plastic process accompanied by
the gradual strength and stiffness degradation. For
specimens with D/t = 70 (CFST-1-1 and CFST-1-2),
with the increase in drift level, apparent softening
platforms existed in hysteretic curves when the lateral
load turned from unloading to reloading. The slight
pinching observed in the hysteresis curve may be due
to the opening and subsequent closing of horizontal
concrete cracks transverse to the columns axis. As
shown in Figure 7(c) and (d), the hysteretic loops of
CFST-1-4 were narrower and thus have a lower
energy dissipation capacity than those of the CFST-
1-3 due to the loss of the confined effect under the
lower axial compression. Hence, for Q690 circular
HCFTST columns with D/t ratio exceeding current
codes, increasing the axial compression ratio is an
efficient method to improve the potential of HS mate-
rials by providing an excellent confined action to limit
the propagation of the concrete shear cracks. Overall,
the Q690 circular HCFTST columns with reasonable
design could display favourable hysteresis behaviour
and could be expected to have a widespread applica-
tion in earthquake-prone regions.
450
(a)
(c)
Figure 7. Hysteretic curves in phase I testing: (a) CFST-1-1, (b) CFST-1-2, (c) CFST-1-3 and (d) CFST-1-4.
Phase II testing. Figure 8 shows the hysteresis curves of
phase II testing. Under constant amplitude loading,
the hysteretic loops of CFST-2-1 and CFST-2-2 shrank
gradually, accompanied by the stiffness degradation
and strength reduction. The plots indicated that the
larger deformation amplitude could result in severe
damage. With regard to CFST-2-3 and CFST-2-4
under ‘variable pattern 2’, the asymmetric phenom-
enon occurred after accomplishing a total cycle via the
existing residual deformation of the transcendental
damage. The concrete strength had little effect on the
cyclic numbers, and from the plots aforementioned,
the loading history governed the development ten-
dency of the cumulative damage.
Strength analysis
The skeleton curves of phase I testing shown in
Figure 9 were constructed by connecting the maximum
load point at each displacement level according to the
load–displacement hysteretic curves. To evaluate the
seismic resistance, the general yield moment (GYM)
method (Zhou et al., 2012) was adopted to obtain the
yield point (Dy, Py ). In addition, the point (Dm, Pm ) is
Advances in Structural Engineering 22(2)
(b)
(d)
the peak point determined by maximum lateral load,
and the ultimate failure point is defined as (Du, Pu ),
where Du is the displacement when the load decreases
to Pu = 0:85Pm . All characteristic values in phase I
testing obtained by averaging the values of the push
and pull directions are shown in Table 3. Compared
with CFST-1-1, the yield load of CFST-1-2 decreased
by 7.5% and the peak load increased by 2.9%; more-
over, the yield and peak load of CFST-1-4 reduced by
0.1% and 0.6%, respectively, compared to CFST-1-3.
Moreover, the strength degradation factor (Sdj ) at
overall loads was also introduced to explore the global
strength degradation characteristics of tested speci-
mens during the whole loading process and is expressed
as follows
Sdj = Pj =Pm ð3Þ
where Pj is the maximum horizontal load under the jth
drift ratio. The relationship between the strength
degradation factor (Sdj ) and the relative horizontal dis-
placement (D=Dy) is illustrated in Figure 10(a).
For the Q690 circular HCFTST columns, the
strength degradation factor at the overall loads raised
Wang and Sun 451

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 8. Hysteretic curves in phase II testing: (a) CFST-2-1, (b) CFST-2-2, (c) CFST-2-3 and (d) CFST-2-4.

Table 3. Characteristic values of phase I testing.

Specimen Dy (mm) Py (kN) Dm (mm) Pm (kN) Du (mm) Pu (kN)

CFST-1-1 13.79 99.72 28.32 115.27 39.77 98.12

CFST-1-2 14.47 92.22 28.88 118.61 47.64 101.02
CFST-1-3 15.07 261.86 26.25 297.06 43.11 252.50
CFST-1-4 18.04 260.00 28.88 295.67 36.75 251.32

CFST: concrete-filled steel tubular.

gradually with the increase in D=Dy; when the maxi-

mum carrying capacity is exceeded, Sdj reduces gradu-
ally with the increase in D=Dy. The strength
degradation factor at the first cycle of 8% drift ratio
was used for unified comparisons. Compared with the
specimen CFST-1-1, the strength degradation factor in
the positive direction and the negative direction of
CFST-1-2 increased by 30.6% and 4.4%, respectively.
Likewise, the degradation factors of CFST-1-3 (com-
pared to those of CFST-1-4) increased by 22.8% and
16.1%, respectively. That result is due to the stronger
confined effect under a higher axial compression ratio.
The strength degradation in phase II testing is
shown in Figure 10(b), in which the specimens under
different loading patterns had an approximately linear
Figure 9. Skeleton curves.
452
(a)
Figure 10. Strength degradation: (a) phase I testing and (b) phase II testing.
Table 4. Details of ductility.
Specimen uy um uu
CFST-1-1 0.0263 0.0539 0.0758
CFST-1-2 0.0276 0.0550 0.0907
CFST-1-3 0.0287 0.0500 0.0821
CFST-1-4 0.0344 0.0550 0.0700
CFST: concrete-filled steel tubular.
descending tendency. Moreover, the strength degrada-
tion factors of specimen CFST-2-1 as fatigue failure
emerges are 0.81 and 0.88 in the positive and negative
directions, respectively. Regarding the CFST-2-2, the
factors are 0.79 and 0.78, respectively. Note that the
reduction in strength was not caused by the imposed
displacement beyond the ultimate value but the cumu-
lative damage induced by the low-cycle fatigue
phenomenon.
Inter-story drift angle and ductility
The inter-story drift angle and ductility coefficient
were used to evaluate the ductility of Q690 circular
HCFTST columns. In Table 4, the inter-story drift
angle can be expressed by u = D=L. uy , um and uu are
the drift angle at yield, peak and failure, respectively.
The ductility coefficient u can be calculated by
u = Du=Dy based on the data in Table 3.
The Chinese technical code for CFST structures GB
50936-2014 specifies the requirement on the ductility
for CFST structures: the limits of allowable elastic
inter-story drift angle (uy ) and elastic–plastic inter-
story drift angle (uu ) are 1/300 (0.0033 rad) and 1/50
(0.02 rad), respectively. For the Q690 circular
HCFTST columns in this article, the yield drift angle
(uy ) and ultimate drift angle (uu ) are within the ranges
of 0.0263–0.0344 and 0.0700–0.0907, respectively. The
Advances in Structural Engineering 22(2)
(b)
results of Tables 3 and 4 indicate that the HCFTST
columns could display favourable deformation capac-
u ity though the ductility coefficient is smaller than that
2.88 of the traditional CFST columns (Elremaily and
3.30 Azizinamini, 2002; Fam et al., 2004; Gajalakshmi and
2.86 Helena, 2012). Moreover, the HS concrete often exhi-
2.04 bits obvious brittleness compared to NS concrete.
Under out-of-code D/t ratios, the smaller axial com-
pression ratio (n ł 0:36) tends to cause insufficient
confined effect for the HS core concrete, which can
exacerbate the extension of the concrete cracks under
cyclic loading. As a result, the effective compression
zone of the concrete gradually shrinks and the concrete
in tension zone fails prematurely. The contribution of
core concrete to the flexural stiffness is reduced for the
columns with smaller axial compression ratios.
Therefore, the bearing capacity and ductility of the
specimens slightly decrease with the reduction of axial
compression ratio (e.g. CFST-1-3 and CFST-1-4).
Overall, the Q690 circular HCFTST columns could
satisfy the requirement of the Chinese seismic design
code and are applicable for buildings located in
earthquake-prone regions.
Energy dissipation capacity
In this section, energy dissipation analysis was con-
ducted to reveal the cumulative damage regularities
under various loading patterns. The hysteretic energy
of every loop could be obtained by the area integral.
In phase I testing, for comparison purposes, the dissi-
pated energy can be normalized as (Zhu et al., 2016)
X
n
EN = ½Ei =(Fi Di ) ð4Þ
i=1
Di = (D+  + 
i  Di )=2, Fi = (Fi  Fi )=2 ð5Þ
Wang and Sun
(a)
(c)
Figure 11. Energy dissipation analysis of phase I testing: (a) CFST-2-1, (b) CFST-2-2, (c) CFST-2-3 and (d) CFST-2-4.
Table 5. Energy dissipation of phase I testing.
Specimen ET (kN mm)
CFST-1-1 76,961.10
CFST-1-2 68,517.09
CFST-1-3 159,123.02
CFST-1-4 87,726.34
CFST: concrete-filled steel tubular.
where EN is the normalized dissipated energy; D+
i and
D
i are the maximum tip displacements of the ith loop
in the positive and negative direction, respectively; and
Fi+ and Fi are the lateral forces corresponding to D+
i
and D
i , respectively. The cumulative dissipated energy
(ET ) and the normalized dissipated energy (until 8%
drift ratio) for specimens in phase I testing are listed in
Table 5; the CFST-1-4 exhibited lower energy dissipa-
tion capacity (EN = 17:51) than the others
(EN = 26.67–32.37) owing to the high D/t = 130 and
small compression ratio (n = 0.09).
The energy dissipation analysis of phase II testing is
shown in Figure 11, where the ‘1st Half Energy’ and
‘2nd Half Energy’ denote the dissipated energy in the
positive and negative direction, respectively. Moreover,
the accumulated energy ratio could also be observed.
453
(b)
(d)
For CFST-2-1 and CFST-2-2, the analysis result indi-
cated that the loop energy suddenly dropped when
EN entering into failure stage, accompanied by the rupture
32.37 of the steel tube. The accumulated energy ratios of the
29.72 two specimens revealed that the cumulative damage
26.67 increased approximately linearly under constant ampli-
17.51 tude loading. The half cycle energies of the positive
and negative direction were not strictly equal, reflecting
the existence of residual deformation and the
Bauschinger effect. Regarding CFST-2-3 and CFST-2-
4 under ‘variable pattern 2’, the peak energy dissipa-
tion at the maximum drift and the loop energy at the
same drift decreased gradually, highlighting the devel-
opment of cumulative damage caused by low-cycle fati-
gue. Figure 11(c) and (d) shows the wave-shaped
advance trend of the accumulated energy ratio. In
brief, great importance should be attached to the
energy dissipation capacity under low-cycle fatigue of
various loading histories.
Stiffness degradation
To depict the stiffness degradation, the secant stiffness
used could be expressed as
i i+ i
Ksec = (Ksec + Ksec )=2 ð6Þ
454 Advances in Structural Engineering 22(2)

(a) (b)
Figure 12. Stiffness degradation: (a) phase I testing and (b) phase II testing.


i+
Ksec = Fi+ =D+ i 
i , Ksec = Fi =Di ð7Þ

where Fi+ and Fi are the peak loads for the ith cycle

in the two reversal directions, and D+ i and Di are the
displacements corresponding to the peak load for the
i
ith cycle in two directions. The label Ksec is the mean
secant stiffness for the ith cycle.
Figure 12 graphically illustrates the stiffness degra-
dation of the HCFTST columns. For the Q690 circular
HCFTST columns in phase I testing, the increase in
the axial compression ratio (n) tended to improve the
initial stiffness, especially under D/t = 130. After the
columns behaved nonlinearly, the stiffness degradation
rate tended to be slow and showed no abrupt changes.
In phase II testing, under the constant amplitude load-
ing pattern, the specimen CFST-2-2 displayed apparent
Figure 13. Strain amplitude–fatigue life relationship.
stiffness degradation compared to CFST-2-1 because
of the larger drift ratio. Under ‘variable pattern 2’, the
increase in the concrete strength increased the secant
where De=2, Dee =2 and Dep =2 are the total strain ampli-
stiffness of CFST-2-3.
tude, elastic strain amplitude and plastic strain ampli-
tude, respectively, and s0f , e0f , b and c are material
Low-cycle fatigue life prediction parameters. E is the elasticity modulus, and N2f is the
fatigue life. The relationship between the strain ampli-
A more comprehensive understanding of low-cycle
tude and the fatigue life can be depicted in Figure 13,
fatigue is to establish the fatigue life relationship of the
from which, it is noteworthy that, for the low-cycle
columns. In this section, the low-cycle fatigue lives
fatigue problem, the plastic strain dominates the fati-
under different loading patterns were discussed in
gue life.
detail. A simplified fatigue life prediction method was
Considering the large error caused by strain mea-
proposed and verified for application in the perfor-
surement, instrument error and gradient variation in
mance evaluation of CFST columns.
strain at different positions, the relationship in equa-
tion (8) was modified for convenience by ignoring the
Constant amplitude mode. The classical fatigue life pre- effect of elastic strain (EI-Bahy et al., 1999; Krawinkler
diction model proposed by Manson and Coffin et al., 1983) under low-cycle fatigue loading
(Coffin, 1953; Manson, 1953; Manson and Halford,
1981) is expressed as follows N2f = C 1 (DdP )c or DdP = a(N2f )x ð9Þ

De Dee Dep s0 f where C, c, a and x are material parameters. DdP is the

= + = (2N2f )b + e0f (2N2f )c ð8Þ plastic deformation.
2 2 2 E
Wang and Sun
(a)
Figure 14. Variations in material parameters: (a) calculation of parameter C, (b) variation in C and (c) variation in c.
When offering two groups of data (DdP1 , N2f 1 ) and
(DdP2 , N2f 2 ), the parameters C and c (a or x) in equa-
tion (9) could be determined as follows
ln N2f 1  ln N2f 2
c= ð10Þ
ln DdP2  ln DdP1
1 1
C= = ð11Þ
N2f 1  DdcP1 N2f 2  DdcP2
a = C 1=c , x =  1=c ð12Þ
Regarding the aforementioned material parameters,
some scholars considered them as constants for the
same type columns (EI-Bahy et al., 1999; Gajalakshmi
and Helena, 2012; Zhang et al., 2009a). The literature
(Krawinkler et al., 1983) reveals that the parameter C
has a greater fluctuation than that of c in equation
(10). To recalibrate the parameter C for reducing the
fluctuation as much as possible, it can be simplified to
satisfy the function C = f(c) based on equation (11).
Consequently, for the convenience of fatigue life pre-
diction of CFST columns, based on statistical analysis
of the previous test data (Zhang et al., 2009a, 2009b)
and experimental data of this article, the parameter c
can be proposed as follows
455
(b)
(c)
c = 5:9363  2:6058K  0:0119(D=t) ð13Þ
fr
K = 1 + 4:1 ð14Þ
fc
0:38fy  t
fr = ð15Þ
D  2t
where K is the strength enhancement factor (Sakino
et al., 2004) and fr is the confining stress.
The parameter C can be calculated according to
Figure 14(a). Moreover, the variations in the two para-
meters versus the mean drift ratio (d) between different
columns could be depicted in Figure 14(b) and (c). It
could be speculated from the data that the scatter band
was of uniform width along the regression line, indi-
cating that the uncertainty in life prediction can be
ascribed to that phenomenon. Therefore, the fatigue
life of CFST columns could be predicted using equa-
tion (9).
To validate the accuracy of the simplified method
aforementioned, the test data from other research stud-
ies (Gajalakshmi and Helena, 2012) were also used to
verify the prediction result of the fatigue life, as shown
in Figure 15. From the result of the simplified method
without considering the variations in the material
456 Advances in Structural Engineering 22(2)

(a) (b)
Figure 15. Fatigue life prediction results of the simplified method: (a) prediction result without variations and (b) prediction result
considering variations.

Table 6. Equivalent hysteretic cycles.

Loading patterns Specimens ET (kN m) Fy (kN) Fatigue life (Dd = 2%) Fatigue life (Dd = 4%) Fatigue life (Dd = 6%)

Variable pattern 1 CFST-1-1 76.96 99.72 74 37 25

CFST-1-2 68.51 92.22 71 35 24
CFST-1-3 159.12 261.86 58 29 19
CFST-1-4 87.73 260.00 32 16 11
Variable pattern 2 CFST-2-3 42.09 92.22 43 22 14
CFST-2-4 42.47 74.14 55 27 18

CFST: concrete-filled steel tubular.

parameters in Figure 15(a), the mean value and var- ET

iance are 1.120 and 0.197, respectively, and most data
are concentrated in the 0.25 error zone. When consid-
ering the variations in the material parameters in
Figure 15(b), the mean value and variance are reduced
to 1.064 and 0.079, respectively. It can be concluded
that the simplified prediction method is capable of pre-
dicting the low-cycle fatigue life of circular CFST col-
umns, and the changes in material parameters under
different loading history should not be neglected, espe-
cially for cyclic loading.
N2f = ð16Þ
Fy  Dd
where ET is the total dissipated hysteretic energy, Fy is
the yield resistance and Dd is the lateral deformation.
As shown in Table 6, all the tested specimens under
variable loading amplitude in this study were trans-
formed to constant amplitude patterns with different
drift ratios. From the equivalent results, the Q690 cir-
cular HCFTST columns displayed favourable anti-
fatigue ability under low-cycle loading.

Variable amplitude mode. In fact, the structures could
not be subject to the constant amplitude deformation
under earthquake motions. Therefore, an alternative
method should be developed to transform the variable
amplitudes to constant amplitudes for the convenience
of low-cycle fatigue life evaluation. Based on the
energy equivalence principle (McCabe and Hall, 1989),
the low-cycle fatigue lives of specimens under variable
amplitude patterns can be equivalent to the constant
amplitude patterns as follows
Conclusion
This article presented the results of an experimental
study of the hysteresis behaviour of Q690 circular
HCFTST columns. Through the detailed investigation,
the following conclusions can be drawn within the
scope of this study:
1. For the Q690 circular HCFTST columns with
out-of-code D/t ratios, the failure modes
include concrete crushing, severe rupture and
Wang and Sun
local buckling of the steel tube at the column
bases. The elephant foot shaped buckling could
be observed at nearly the same heights
(H = 20 mm) above the foundation surface.
2. The columns with D/t = 130, the lower axial
compression ratio (n) could result in the weak
energy dissipation capacity due to the loss of
confined effect. Increasing axial compression
ratio is an efficient method to motivate the
potential of HS materials for offering an excel-
lent confined action to limit the propagation of
the concrete shear cracks.
3. The Q690 circular HCFTST columns could
exhibit favourable hysteretic performance and
large lateral deformation capacity. The elastic
and the elastic–plastic inter-story drifts of the
columns are, respectively, uy = (0:0276
0:0344) and uu = (0:0700  0:0907). Overall,
this result satisfies the ductility requirement in
some aseismic region.
4. The strength reduction in phase II testing is not
due to the imposed displacement beyond the
ultimate value, but due to the cumulative dam-
age induced by the low-cycle fatigue under cyc-
lic loading. The loading history determines the
developmental tendency of the dissipated
energy and the cumulative damage.
5. In phase I testing, the increase in the axial com-
pression ratio (n) tends to improve the initial
secant stiffness under D/t = 130. In phase II
testing, under the constant amplitude loading
pattern, the larger drift ratio could lead to
rapid degradation of the stiffness and strength.
Under ‘variable pattern 2’, the increase in con-
crete strength could increase the secant stiffness
of CFST-2-3.
6. A simplified fatigue life prediction method is
proposed and verified and is capable of predict-
ing the low-cycle fatigue life of circular CFST
columns, and the changes in material para-
meters under different loading history should
not be neglected, especially for cyclic loading.
In brief, the Q690 circular HCFTST columns
with reasonable design could display favourable hys-
teretic and anti-fatigue abilities and could be expected
to have widespread application in earthquake-prone
regions.
Acknowledgements
The authors are also grateful to everyone participating in this
experimental programme for their selfless assistance.
457
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship and/or publication of this
article: This research work was financially supported by the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.
11172226); their support was gratefully acknowledged.
ORCID iD
Jiantao Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9888-3531
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