Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

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Thin-Walled Structures
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Full length article

Mechanical behavior of stirrup-confined rectangular CFT stub columns T

under axial compression
⁎
Fa-xing Dinga, Liang Luoa, , Jiang Zhua, Liping Wanga, Zhi-wu Yua,b
a
School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410075, PR China
b
National Engineering Laboratory for High Speed Railway Construction, Changsha, Hunan Province 410075, PR China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper mainly presents a combined experimental, numerical and theoretical study on the mechanical be-
Stirrup-confined rectangular CFT stub columns haviors of both conventional concrete-filled rectangular steel tubular stub columns (RST) and stirrup-confined
Bidirectional stirrup concrete-filled rectangular steel tubular stub columns (SST) under compressive load. 16 RST stub columns and
Mechanical behavior 16 SST stub columns were tested, with consideration of parameters including internal stirrup, concrete strength,
Ultimate bearing capacity
and cross-sectional aspect ratio B/D. The failure patterns, bearing capacity, stiffness and ductility of specimens
Ductility index
were analyzed based on the experimental results. A 3D finite element (FE) model was established for numerical
Finite element analysis
simulation and parametric study to investigate the composite action among the steel tube, stirrups and the core
concrete. The improvement of energy dissipation capability due to the stirrups confinement on the core concrete
is also discussed. In addition, a unified theoretical formula to predicted ultimate bearing capacity for SST stub
columns and RST stub columns subjected to compressive load was developed according to the superposition
principle with rational simplification. It is shown that the proposed formula for these columns has a higher
accuracy compared with the existing formulas in current literatures and codes.

1. Introduction
Concrete filled steel tubular (CFT) columns have been increasingly
used in bridges and high-rise buildings due to their enhanced com-
pressive strength and stiffness, improved ductility and higher energy
absorption capacity. With such benefits, the use of CFT columns is be-
coming more commonplace and the performance of CFT columns has
caught more and more research attention [1–3]. Several studies have
demonstrated that circular CFT stub columns can provide sufficient
constraint from the steel tube to the core concrete [4–6]. However, the
flexural rigidity and flexural capacity are comparatively low and, in
particular, the configuration of joints connecting the circular CFT col-
umns and beams is complex. In comparison, the section moment of
inertia (therefore bending stiffness) of square or rectangular CFT col-
umns is improved and the joint configuration is more convenient.
Aspect ratio B/D is an important parameter of rectangular CFT
columns, which is defined as the sectional length B divided by the
sectional width D of rectangular section in this paper. Xiong et al. [7]
conducted experiments on the mechanical behavior of 15 square CFT
stub columns with high strength concrete under axial compression. A
test program of 24 rectangular CFT stub columns with B/D from 1 to
1.33 under axial compression was completed by Evirgen et al. [8], in
which the effects of cross section parameters and compressive strength
of concrete on the ultimate loads, ductility and buckling behavior were
investigated. Similarly, Du et al [9,10] focused on local buckling of 18
rectangular CFT stub columns with B/D ranged from 1.0 to 2.0 under
axial compression and proposed a series of design recommendations.
Due to the requirement of architectural form, rectangular CFT columns
with large B/D are also widely used. However, there is few experi-
mental research on rectangular CFT stub columns with B/D larger than
2.0 at present.
Moreover, researchers have proposed different structural measures
on rectangular CFT stub columns in order to increase the confinement
effect from the steel tube to the core concrete and improve their load-
bearing capacities and ductility. Carbon fibre reinforced polymer
(CFRP) fabrics were externally bonded with square steel tubes in the
studies by Sundarraja et al. [11]. This measure can effectively delay
local buckling of the steel tube and also improves the ultimate bearing
capacity by 29%. Petrus et al. [12] compared the mechanical behavior
of square CFT stub columns with tab stiffeners and longitudinal stif-
feners. The experimental results indicated that tab stiffeners lead a 13%
increase of load-bearing capacities but a 14% decrease of ductility
index. Yang et al. [13] proposed three forms of specimens stiffened with
1) oblique battlement-shaped reinforcements, 2) welded circular

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: luoliang1220@csu.edu.cn (L. Luo).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2017.12.007
Received 9 June 2017; Received in revised form 6 November 2017; Accepted 5 December 2017
0263-8231/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Nomenclature Nu,2 Ultimate bearing capacity of RST stub columns

Nu,c Ultimate load-bearing capacity of CFT stub columns from
Ac Cross-sectional area of core concrete formulas
Ac1 Area of concrete confined by both the steel tube and stir- Nu,e Ultimate load-bearing capacity of CFT stub columns from
rups experimental results
Ac2 Area of concrete confined by stirrups Nu,fe Ultimate bearing capacity of SST and RST stub columns
As Cross-sectional area of steel tube from FE results
Asso The converted cross-sectional area of the stirrup t Wall thickness of steel tube
Asc Total area of cross-section σ Axial stress of concrete
B Sectional length of rectangular section σi Equivalent stress of steel tube
b Sectional length of core concrete σL,c1 Longitudinal compressive stress of the core concrete
B/D Aspect ratio caused by stirrups and the steel tube
D Sectional width of rectangular section σL,c2 Longitudinal compressive stress of the core concrete
d Sectional width of core concrete caused by the stirrup
ds Diameter of the stirrup σL,s Axial compressive stress of steel tube
DI Ductility index σr,c Radial concrete stress of the confined area
fc Uniaxial compressive strength of concrete prism σr,cr Radial stress of core concrete caused by stirrups
fc’ Uniaxial compressive strength of concrete cylinder σθ,s Tensile transverse stress of steel tube
fcu Cubic compressive strength of concrete ε Axial strain of concrete
fs Yield strength of steel tube ε0.75 Axial strain when the load attains of 75% the ultimate load
fsv Yield strength of stirrup in the pre-peak stage
fsc Ultimate strength of CFT column εb Equal to ε0.75/0.75
K Axial stiffness εc Strain corresponding with the peak compressive stress of
k Lateral pressure coefficient concrete
k1 Coefficient for the confinement effect of stirrups εi Equivalent strain of steel tube
k2 Coefficient for the confinement effect of the steel tube εL Axial strain of steel
L Height of the specimens εy Yield strain of the steel tube
m Number of stirrups along the length of the cross-section νsc Strain ratio of steel tube
N Axial load ε0.85 Axial strain of CFT stub columns when the load falls to
n Number of stirrups along the width of the cross-section 85% of the ultimate bearing capacity
Nu Axial ultimate bearing capacity of the SST and RST stub ρs Steel ratio of steel tube
columns ρsa Equivalent stirrup ratio
Nu,1 Ultimate bearing capacity of SST stub columns ρsv Volume-stirrup ratio

stirrups, and 3) tensile strips. It was found that the oblique battlement-
shaped reinforcements have the most significant effect on the ductility
index, which was improved by 77% with a 14.4% increase of steel ratio.
However, all of the 3 strengthening methods have no obvious im-
provement on the ultimate bearing capacity. Recently, based on the
comparison of four structural measures including studs, circular stir-
rups, rhombus stirrups and bidirectional stirrups, Ding et al. [14,15]
proposed a way of welding the bidirectional stirrups to the inner wall of
the square steel tube, which was proved to yield the most effective
constraint on the core concrete and applied it to round-ended CFT stub
columns. Similarly, it can also be applied to the rectangular CFT stub
columns under axial compression.
The aim of this study, therefore, is to focus on the constraint effect
of bidirectional stirrups welded to the inner wall of the steel tube of
rectangular CFT stub columns. More specifically, three objectives are
included in this study: (1) to investigate the damage mechanism of
concrete-filled rectangular steel tubular (RST) and stirrup-confined
concrete-filled rectangular steel tubular (SST) with B/D from 1.0 to 3.0
subjected to axial compression through experiments on 32 specimens;
(2) to study the effect of bidirectional stirrups on mechanical behavior
indexes including ultimate bearing capacity, confinement to concrete,
stiffness and ductility of RST columns and SST columns from experi-
mental results; (3) to discuss the composite action among the steel tube,
stirrups, the core concrete and energy dissipation capability improved
by stirrups from FE results.
2. Experimental investigation
2.1. Specimens and materials
The cross-sections of specimens with four different aspect ratios (B/
D) included in this experiment are shown in Table 1. In order to ensure

Table 1
Sectional forms of specimens.

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F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

the successful progress of the tests and compare the mechanical beha-
vior of the identical specimens, 4 specimens were tested for each size
including 2 conventional rectangular CFT stub columns (RST-A, B) and
2 stirrup-confined rectangular CFT stub columns (SST-A, B). The details
of the number and parameters of specimens are shown in Table 2,
where t is the wall thickness of the steel tube, L is the height of the
specimen, fcu is the cubic compressive strength of concrete, fs is the
yield strength of steel tube, fsv is the yield strength of stirrup. ρs is the
steel ratio of steel tube defined as ρs = As/(As + Ac), where As and Ac is
the cross area of steel tube and core concrete, respectively. ρsa is the
equivalent stirrup ratio defined as ρsa = ρsv × fsv/fs, where ρsv is the
stirrup ratio. Nu,e is the ultimate load-bearing capacity of stub columns
from experimental results, DI is the ductility index.
The rectangular steel tubes were welded from two channel sections
which were firstly bent using the Q235 hot-rolling steel plates with
nominal yield strength of 235 MPa. The welds were according to the
standard GB 50017-2003 [16] and the ends of the steel grooves (as the
sites of welding) were kept smooth after welding. For SST specimens,
the bidirectional stirrups were formed using φ6 steel reinforcing bars
with the transverse interval of 100 mm and the longitudinal interval of
50 mm. For the convenience of observation and record of deformation
and failure mode of the specimen, red paint was sprayed on the external
surface of the steel tube and 50 mm × 50 mm white grids were plotted Fig. 1. Schematic graphs of test setup.
on the surface. A cover plate was initially welded to cover the bottom
end of the steel tube before concrete pouring. Concrete was then machine.
pumped into the tube from the top and was vibrated to be well com- Before the column tests, the cubic compressive strength fcu of con-
pacted and the concrete surface was leveled before finishing. Mean- crete were obtained from the testing of the concrete cubes according to
while standard concrete cubes with a dimension of 150 mm × 150 mm GB/T 50081-2002 [17]. The material properties of steel plates and
× 150 mm were prepared and cured at the same condition as those of stirrups were obtained from the tensile coupon tests according to GB/T
CFT specimens. After 28 days of curing, the concrete had achieved its 228-2002 [18]. The measured material properties are presented in
compressive strength and its surface was then flattened with grinding Table 2.

Table 2
Geometric properties and load bearing capacity of specimens.

Specimen ID B×D×t×L/mm B/D fcu/MPa Steel quantity Nu,e/kN Nu,fe /kN Nu, Eq. (11) Au/mm
/kN
ρs ρsa Increase Test Average Increase
percentage value value percentage

RST1-A 200×200×3.69×600 1 35.5 0.072 – – 2160 2125 9.9% 2094 2036 11.7
RST1-B 201×201×3.74×600 0.073 – – 2090 2110 2064 11.9
SST1-A 200×200×3.78×600 0.074 0.008 11.1% 2330 2335 2235 2232 9.6
SST1-B 200×200×3.76×600 0.074 0.008 11.1% 2340 2129 2227 9.6
RST2-A 300×201×3.75×700 1.5 0.061 – – 2890 2900 12.4% 2851 2694 14.1
RST2-B 297×203×3.72×700 0.061 – – 2910 2725 2686 14.1
SST2-A 300×202×3.79×700 0.062 0.009 15.3% 3270 3260 3184 3108 10.9
SST2-B 300×199×3.74×700 0.062 0.010 15.5% 3250 3182 3061 10.7
RST3-A 401×200×3.68×800 2 0.054 – – 3470 3610 17.2% 3419 3359 15.3
RST3-B 400×198×3.68×800 0.055 – – 3750 3471 3326 15.5
SST3-A 402×198×3.76×800 0.056 0.010 18.2% 4260 4230 4107 4020 13.4
SST3-B 401×198×3.79×800 0.056 0.010 18.1% 4200 4024 4022 14.3
RST4-A 599×200×3.68×1200 3 39.3 0.049 – – 5500 5539 16.2% 5718 5109 18.1
RST4-B 598×201×3.76×1200 0.050 – – 5578 5734 5157 18.1
SST4-A 599×198×3.76×1200 0.050 0.011 21.7% 6425 6437 6281 6336 17.9
SST4-B 601×199×3.73×1200 0.049 0.011 21.9% 6449 6304 6363 17.3
RST5-A 200×200×3.75×600 1 54.5 0.074 – – 2500 2555 14.1% 2414 2671 12.5
RST5-B 200×200×3.74×600 0.073 – – 2610 2519 2669 12.5
SST5-A 199×199×3.69×600 0.073 0.008 11.4% 2920 2915 2826 2806 10.6
SST5-B 200×200×3.70×600 0.073 0.008 11.3% 2910 2841 2831 11.3
RST6-A 301×201×3.69×700 1.5 0.060 – – 4020 3595 19.3% 4084 3632 12.6
RST6-B 300×201×3.65×700 0.060 – – 3170 4060 3611 12.2
SST6-A 300×201×3.74×700 0.061 0.010 15.5% 4290 4290 4115 4028 9.3
SST6-B 301×206×3.73×700 0.060 0.009 15.6% 4290 4122 4116 10.7
RST7-A 399×198×3.69×800 2 57.4 0.055 – – 4942 4876 10.1% 5115 4767 15.6
RST7-B 402×200×3.69×800 0.055 – – 4810 5001 4841 15.9
SST7-A 401×198×3.72×800 0.055 0.010 18.4% 5349 5368.5 5317 5450 15.1
SST7-B 401×197×3.77×800 0.056 0.010 18.1% 5388 5314 5444 14.3
RST8-A 599×199×3.71×1200 3 0.049 – – 6425 6758 24.3% 7049 8226 23.7
RST8-B 599×198×3.80×1200 0.051 – – 7091 6962 8143 24.1
SST8-A 601×200×3.73×1200 0.049 0.011 21.9% 8456 8399 8162 8226 22.1
SST8-B 601×198×3.68×1200 0.049 0.011 22.1% 8342 7948 8153 21.9

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F.-x. Ding et al.
2.2. Experimental setup and instrumentation
The compression tests on rectangular stub column specimens were
conducted using a 2000-ton testing machine in the National
Engineering Laboratory for Construction Technology of High Speed
Railway at Central South University. To accurately measure the de-
formation, four strain rosettes (S1 to S4) were placed on the two ad-
jacent side surfaces at the mid-height of each steel tube. Two linear
voltage displacement transducers (LVDT1 and LVDT2) with range of
100 mm and accuracy of 0.1 mm were also installed on the two longer
side surfaces of each steel tube, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The axial dis-
placement for 1/3 length in the middle portion of the steel tube was
measured by LVDTs, and the corresponding strain of the steel tube was
obtained. Load-strain curves were acquired by a DH3818 static strain
measurement system and load-deformation curves were acquired from
electronic transducers and a data acquisition system. Fig. 2 shows the
actual experimental setup. Specimens were placed within the loading
frame and sat directly on the strong floor base. The compressive load
was applied from the top of the specimen using a load control mode.
The load was increased with an increment of 1/10 of the estimated
ultimate load in the elastic stage and with an increment of 1/20 of the
estimated load in the elastic-plastic stage. Each loading step took about
3–5 min. When the ultimate load was approached, the specimen was
loaded slowly and continuously until the end of a test. The development
of the failure mode, the deformation, and the load bearing history of the
specimens were carefully monitored and recorded.
3. Experimental results and discussion
3.1. Damage mechanism
In the early stage of loading, all specimens were in an elastic status.
Before the load reached 30% of ultimate load, the increase of cir-
cumferential tensile strain of the steel tube was very low (less than
0.01%), indicating that both steel tube and concrete were in axial
compression during this stage. When the imposed load reached 60–70%
of the ultimate load, the steel stub started to yield without obvious
buckling on its surface, and the load-axial strain curves and load-cir-
cumferential strain curves of steel stub gradually demonstrated elastic-
plastic behavior. After the applied load reached the ultimate load, the
core concrete was crushed and the rectangular steel tube displayed
significant local buckling. For the SST specimens, the internal stirrup
was snapped with crisp sound after the ultimate load was reached, and
the bearing capacity of the specimens decreased with continuous in-
crease of the axial displacement.
Fig. 3 shows the side view of the core concrete after failure for four
typical specimens with different B/D ratios, i.e., B/D = 1, B/D = 1.5,
B/D = 2, and B/D = 3, respectively. The core concrete in the rectan-
gular CFT stub columns demonstrated obvious crush failure in the
normal section.
The comparison of failure pattern between RST stub columns and
SST stub columns was presented in Fig. 4. It is indicated that large
deformation occurred mainly in the middle and upper part of these
columns. With the increase of B/D of rectangular cross section, local
buckling of the steel tube surface became more obvious. In general, the
stirrups have a beneficial effect to both the core concrete and steel tube.
Firstly, the stirrups provide direct lateral restraint to the core concrete,
similar to the stirrups in the reinforced concrete members. Secondly,
fracture of stirrups indicates that the tensile strength of stirrups is fully
utilized to restrain the lateral deformation of rectangular steel tube and
alleviate its local buckling effectively.
Fig. 5 shows the axial load (N) versus strain ratio (νsc) curves of two
typical specimens RST3-A and SST2-A. The νsc is defined as the absolute
value of ratio of circumferential strain to axial strain, reflecting the
hoop constraint of the steel tube exerting on the core concrete. The
larger the νsc is, the stronger the hoop constraint is. Midpoint1,
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Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150
Midpoint3 and Endpoint2 are illustrated in Fig. 1. It can be seen from
Fig. 5 that, the νsc of RST3-A exceeded 0.5 and the νsc of SST2-A ex-
ceeded 0.9 when reaching the ultimate load. The results suggest that
the SST specimens have a better confining effect on the core concrete
than the RST specimens.
3.2. Load-deformation responses
3.2.1. Confinement effect of stirrups
Table 2 summarizes the load bearing capacity Nu,e of 32 specimens
subjected to compression. Fig. 6 shows the load-axial strain (N-εL)
curves of RST specimens and SST specimens in each size. It is reflected
from Table 2 and Fig. 6 that the ultimate bearing capacity of SST spe-
cimens was significantly improved by the application of stirrups in
comparison to RST specimens. In addition, the increase of ultimate
bearing capacity and the increase of the amount of stirrups generally
show a 1:1 linear relationship. For example, compared to specimen
RST1 with B/D = 1, the ultimate bearing capacity of SST1 was im-
proved by 9.9% with an increase of 11.1% amount of steel. Similarly,
compared to specimens RST3 with the B/D = 2, the ultimate bearing
capacity of SST3 was improved by 17.2% with an increase of 18.2%
amount of steel.
3.2.2. Effect of concrete strength
Fig. 7 presents the load-axial strain (N-εL) relationships of the test
specimens with consideration of the effects of different concrete
strength grade. From the load-axial strain curves under axial com-
pression in Fig. 7 and results in Table 2, the bearing capacity of spe-
cimens is increased with the increase of concrete strength grade.
Moreover, the bearing capacity of SST specimens is increased at a larger
extent than RST specimens. For example: compared to specimen RST1
with C30 concrete, the ultimate bearing capacity of specimen RST5
with C50 concrete increased about 20.2%. Similarly, compared to
specimen SST1 with C30 concrete, the ultimate bearing capacity of
specimen SST5 with C50 concrete increased about 24.8%.
3.2.3. Effect of aspect ratio B/D
Fig. 8 presents the load-axial strain (N-εL) relationships of the spe-
cimens with consideration of the effects of different B/D values. From
Fig. 8 and results in Table 2, the bearing capacity of specimens is in-
creased with the increase of B/D. Moreover, the bearing capacity of SST
specimens is increased at a larger extent than RST specimens. For in-
stance: compared to specimen RST1 with B/D = 1, the ultimate bearing
capacity of RST2 (B/D = 1.5), RST3 (B/D = 2), RST4 (B/D = 3) was
improved by 36.5%、69.9%、160.7%, respectively. Similarly, com-
pared to specimen SST1 with B/D = 1, the ultimate bearing capacity of
SST2 (B/D = 1.5), SST3 (B/D = 2), SST4 (B/D = 3) was improved by
39.2%, 81.2%, 175.7%, respectively.
Fig. 2. Actual graphs of test setup.
F.-x. Ding et al.
3.3. Stiffness
In this test, when the load reaches 60~70% of the ultimate bearing
capacity, the load axial strain curves demonstrated the obvious elastic-
plastic behavior in general. So the slope of the line from the origin to
the 40% of Nu,e is taken as the axial stiffness K, which is summarized in
Table 3. It can be found that the increase of stiffness and the increase of
the amount of stirrups generally show 2:1 linear relationship. For ex-
ample, compared to specimen RST3, the K of SST3 was improved by
44.3% with an increase of 18.2% amount of steel. Similarly, compared
to specimens RST7, the K of SST7 was improved by 33.5% with an
increase of 18.4% amount of steel.
3.4. Ductility
To investigate the effect of various parameters on the ductility of
specimens, a ductility index (DI) proposed by Han and Yao [19] is
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Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150
Fig. 3. Typical failure modes of the core concrete of RST with
different B/D values.
adopted in this study, which is defined as follows:
ε0.85
DI =
εb (1)
where ε0.85 is the axial strain of steel tube when the load drops to 85%
of the ultimate load bearing capacity, and εb is equal to ε0.75/0.75, ε0.75
is the axial strain of steel tube when the load attains to 75% the ulti-
mate load in the pre-peak stage. According to Eq. (1), the calculated
ductility indices DI in this experiment are presented in Table 3. Fig. 9
illustrates the comparisons of DI with consideration of stirrups (Fig. 9a),
concrete strength (Fig. 9b) and aspect ratio (Fig. 9c) obtained from the
tests.
Table 3 and Fig. 9(a) show that the ductility index of the specimens
is greatly improved by the inner stirrup. In addition, the increase of
ductility index and the increase of the amount of stirrups generally
show a 7:1 relationship. For example: compared to specimen RST1 with
B/D = 1, the ductility index of SST1 was improved by 86.61% with an
Fig. 4. Typical failure modes of RST and SST with different B/D
values.
F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Fig. 5. Load (N) - strain ratio (νsc) curves of different measuring

points of 2 typical specimens.

Fig. 6. Influence of internal stirrup on the load-axial strain (N-εL)

curves of specimens.

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F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Fig. 7. Influence of concrete strength on the load-axial strain (N-

εL) curves of specimens.

increase of 11.09% amount of steel. Similarly, compared to specimen (B/D = 1.5), SST3 (B/D = 2), SST4 (B/D = 3) was decreased by
RST3 with B/D = 2, the ductility index of SST3 was improved by 12.58%, 23.25%, 41.83%, respectively.
138.14% with an increase of 18.18% amount of steel.
As illustrated in Table 3 and Fig. 9(b), in general the higher the
4. Finite element analysis (FEA)
concrete strength grade is, the smaller the ductility index is. Mean-
while, the ductility index of SST specimens decreased less than RST
4.1. FE models
specimens. For example: compared to specimen RST1 with C30 con-
crete, the ductility index of RST5 with C50 concrete decreased about
Based on the axial compression tests on SST and RST stub columns,
14.29%. Similarly, compared to specimen SST1 with C30 concrete, the
nonlinear FE models for simulation of SST and RST stub columns under
ductility index of SST5 with C50 concrete decreased about 13.38%.
axial loading were established using commercial software ABAQUS. In
Table 3 and Fig. 9(c) explain that the larger the B/D is, the smaller
the numerical models, the 8-node reduced integral format 3-D solid
the ductility index is. This may also due to that the steel tubes with
element (C3D8R) was used to model the core concrete, the steel tube
larger width-to-thickness ratio are more susceptible to local buckling. In
and the loading plate for all the specimens, and the 2-node linear 3-D
general, the ductility index of SST specimens decreased less than RST
truss element (T3D2) was used for stirrups. The structured meshing
specimens. For instance: compared to specimen RST1 with B/D = 1, the
technique was adopted as shown in Fig. 10. A surface-to-surface contact
ductility index of RST2 (B/D = 1.5), RST3 (B/D = 2), RST4 (B/D = 3)
was adopted for the constraint between the steel tube and the core
was decreased by 23.51%, 39.88%, 41.96%, respectively. Similarly,
concrete with finite slip formula. The interaction of the normal direc-
compared to specimen SST1 with B/D = 1, the ductility index of SST2
tion of two surfaces was hard contact. In the tangential direction, a

Fig. 8. Influence of aspect ratio (B/D) on the load-axial strain (N-

εL) curves of specimens.

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F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Table 3
Increased stiffness and ductility index due to the confinement by stirrups.

Specimen ID Increase percentage of 40%Nu,e/ Corresponding strain/ K/106 kN Average value Increase DI Average Increase
steel kN 10−6 /106 kN percentage value percentage

RST1-A – 864 510 1.69 1.52 29.7% 3.26 3.37 86.4%

RST1-B – 836 619 1.35 3.47
SST1-A 11.1% 932 490 1.90 1.97 6.31 6.28
SST1-B 11.1% 936 457 2.05 6.25
RST2-A – 1156 587 1.97 2.16 17.4% 2.65 2.57 113.6%
RST2-B – 1164 495 2.35 2.49
SST2-A 15.3% 1308 488 2.68 2.54 5.50 5.49
SST2-B 15.5% 1300 543 2.39 5.48
RST3-A – 1388 619 2.24 2.52 44.3% 2.08 2.03 137.4%
RST3-B – 1500 535 2.80 1.97
SST3-A 18.2% 1704 484 3.52 3.64 4.92 4.82
SST3-B 18.1% 1680 447 3.76 4.72
RST4-A – 2200 733 3.00 2.91 29.9% 1.98 1.95 84.1%
RST4-B – 2231 794 2.81 1.92
SST4-A 21.7% 2570 718 3.58 3.78 3.72 3.59
SST4-B 21.9% 2580 649 3.97 3.45
RST5-A – 1000 632 1.58 1.59 30.6% 2.89 2.88 88.9%
RST5-B – 1044 650 1.61 2.86
SST5-A 11.4% 1168 564 2.07 2.08 5.33 5.44
SST5-B 11.3% 1164 556 2.09 5.55
RST6-A – 1608 713 2.26 2.29 21.2% 2.22 2.28 97.8%
RST6-B – 1268 548 2.32 2.34
SST6-A 15.5% 1716 579 2.97 2.77 4.54 4.51
SST6-B 15.6% 1716 667 2.57 4.48
RST7-A – 1977 663 2.98 2.78 33.5% 1.82 1.84 118.5%
RST7-B – 1924 749 2.57 1.85
SST7-A 18.4% 2139 584 3.66 3.71 4.13 4.02
SST7-B 18.1% 2155 575 3.75 3.90
RST8-A – 2570 577 4.46 4.61 23.1% 1.71 1.72 50.6%
RST8-B – 2836 595 4.77 1.72
SST8-A 21.9% 3382 612 5.53 5.68 2.57 2.59
SST8-B 22.1% 3337 573 5.83 2.60

friction coefficient of 0.5 named penalty function was used for analysis. and the loading plate, and also used between the steel tube and stirrups
A tie constraint is used to couple two separate surfaces together so that in the models. Stirrups were embedded in core concrete at specified
no relative motion occurs between them. Thus, the tie constraint was positions.
adopted between the core concrete and the loading plate, the steel tube A concrete constitutive model of the core concrete in SST and RST

Fig. 9. Comparison of the ductility index of specimens with dif-

ferent parameters.

143
F.-x. Ding et al.
Fig. 10. Mesh generation of FE models.
stub columns subjected to axial loading proposed in literature [20] was
adopted in the numerical analysis, which is a modified model under tri-
axial compression presented by Ottosen [21]. The concrete damage
plasticity model provided in ABAQUS had been verified to be applicable
in simulating triaxially compressive concrete in CFT columns with cir-
cular, round ends and square cross-sections, by using the parameters
defined by Ding [22]. Poisson's ratio (Es) of the core concrete in elastic
stage is 0.2; the eccentricity is taken as 0.1; the ratio of initial equi-
biaxial compressive yield stress to initial uniaxial compressive yield
stress (fb0/fc0) is 1.225 [23]; the ratio of the second stress invariant on
the tensile meridian to that on the compressive meridian is taken as 2/
3; the viscosity parameter is taken as 0.005; and the dilatancy angle (θ)
is taken as 40°. With the above parameters for the characteristics of the
concrete damage plasticity, the adopted concrete model is validated in
modelling triaxial compressed concrete of square, round-ended and
circular CFT stub columns [14,15,22]. Based on a lot of experimental
studies on the mechanical properties of steel, an elasto-plastic con-
stitutive model [22] considering the Von Mises yielding criteria,
Prandtl-Reuss flow rule and isotropic strain hardening was used to
describe the constitutive behavior of the steel tube and stirrups in SST
and RST stub columns.
Displacement control was applied in the FE analysis to achieve the
descending stage of load-axial strain curve. The cross-sections of SST
and RST stub columns in FE models are shown in Fig. 11. A1 is the
middle point along the width of the rectangular section; A2 is the corner
point of the rectangular section; A3 is the quarter point along the length
of the rectangular section; A4 is the middle point along the length of the
rectangular section. Points 1, 2, 3 and 4 are located on the stirrups, as
shown in Fig. 11(b).
4.2. Results and discussions
The comparisons of the typical axial load vs. axial strain curves
between FE and experimental results are shown in Fig. 6. It is seen that
good agreement between experimental and FE modelling results was
found in the elastic stage. In the elastic-plastic stage and failure stage,
the steel tube at measured points had been yielded, which caused de-
viations between modelling and experimental curves.
Comparison of ultimate bearing capacity obtained from FE (Nu,fe)
and test results (Nu,e) is shown in Table 2 and Fig. 12. The average ratio
of ultimate bearing capacity of experimental results to FE results is
1.035, with a dispersion coefficient of 0.02. Fig. 13 shows the stresses
and deformation contours of steel tubes at the ultimate stage obtained
from FE results. It is shown that the Mises yield stresses of the steel tube
of the SST stub columns are more uniform than that of the RST stub
columns at the ultimate stage. The values of the amplitudes for the
buckling deformation of steel tubular surface (Au) when the axial strain
reaches 0.04 are also presented in Table 2, where Au is defined as the
coordinate after the deformation minus the coordinate before the de-
formation. It can be seen that Au of SST stub column is smaller than that
of RST stub column, which is attributed to that the stirrups can delay
144
Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150
the buckling of the steel tube.
4.3. Composite action analysis
The validated FE modelling approach was further used to in-
vestigate the composite action among core concrete, steel tube and
stirrups of SST and RST stub columns with the same overall steel ratio
(ρso, ρso = ρs + ρsv fsv/fs, ρso is volume-stirrup ratio). The SST stub
column (SST3) was identical with the numerical specimen SST3-A with
the dimensions as follows: L = 600 mm, B = 400 mm, D = 200 mm,
concrete strength fcu = 35.5 MPa, yield strength of steel tube fs =
311 MPa, yield strength of stirrups fsv = 435 MPa, equivalent stirrup
ratio ρsa = 0.01 (ρas = ρsv fsv/fs), steel ratio of cross-section ρs = 0.056.
The rectangular CFT stub column (RST9) was modeled with the same
cross-sectional area and overall steel ratio as that in SST3. The com-
posite action of SST3 and RST9 was compared and the results are shown
in Figs. 14 and 15.
Fig. 14 gives the stress-strain curves of the relationships between
radial stresses of the core concrete and axial strain at points A1, A2, A3
and A4 (see Fig. 11). When the CFT stub column was axially loaded,
both the core concrete and steel tube were subjected to compression
until the yield strain of the core concrete was reached. After that the
core concrete expanded increasingly with the continuous loading,
which led to the increase of transverse stress in the steel tube due to
confinement effect. According to the Mises yield criterion, the axial
stress decreased with the increase of transverse stress of the steel tube
[22]. Therefore, it can be concluded that the earlier the intersection of
the curves for the axial stress and the transverse stress of the steel tube
appeared, the stronger the composite action was.
The radial stress of the core concrete herein indicates the lateral
compressive stress provided by the steel tube on the core concrete.
Generally, the radial stresses at points A3 and A4 of the SST3 specimen
reach the peak values when the axial strain value is about 0.005.
Furthermore, the radial stresses at points A1, A3 and A4 of the spe-
cimen SST3 are much larger than that of RST9 with the same axial
strain level, especially at point A4. This is because that stirrups
strengthened the constraint effect of the steel tube on the core concrete.
The radial stresses at point A2 of SST3 and RST9 are close because the
core concrete at the corner of both specimens are mainly confined by
the steel tube.
Fig. 11. Cross-sections of SST and RST stub columns in FE models.
F.-x. Ding et al.
Fig. 12. Comparison of ultimate bearing capacities obtained from FE and test results.
The axial and transverse stresses of the steel tube at points A1, and
A2 of SST3 and RST9 are shown in Fig. 15. According to the study
conducted by Ding [22], the stress-strain curve of the steel tube can
reflect the intensity of composite action. After the axial stress increased
to a certain value, the axial stress at point A1 started to decrease while
the transverse stress continued to increase until they intersected for the
specimen SST3, but there was no intersection for RST9. It is reflected
that the composite action at point A1 of SST3 is greater than that of
RST9. The axial and transverse stresses of the steel tube at point A2 of
SST3 and RST9 are close, as shown in Fig. 15(b), because the core
concrete at the corner of both specimens are mainly confined by the
steel tube.
4.4. Energy dissipation analysis
4.4.1. Energy balance
ABAQUS/Explicit [23] was used to analyze the energy dissipation of
SST and RST stub columns. The equilibrium equation of energy in
ABAQUS/Explicit is shown as follow:
Etotal = Ei + E v + Eke + Efd − E w
Fig. 13. Deformation and stress contours of SST and RST stub columns in FE analysis.
Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150
where Ei is the internal energy; Ev is the viscous dissipation; Eke is the
kinetic energy; Efd is the frictional dissipation; Ew is the external work.
For the RST and SST stub columns under axial loading in this study, Ev
= Eke = Efd = 0. Therefore, the equilibrium equation of energy can be
simplified as:
Ei = E w − Etotal (3)
The equation of the internal energy of the RST and SST stub col-
umns under axial loading can be expressed as:
Ei = Ese + Epd + Ecd + Eae + Edmd + Eqb + Eee (4)
where Ese is the elastic strain energy; Epd is the plastic dissipation; Ecd is
the creep dissipation energy; Eae is the artificial strain energy; Edmd is
the damage dissipation energy; Eqb is the energy lost to quiet bound-
aries; Eee is the electrostatic energy. For the RST and SST stub columns
under axial loading in this study, Ecd = Edmd = Eqb = Eee = 0. The
equation of the internal energy can be simplified as:
Ei = Ese + Epd + Eae (5)
4.4.2. Stirrups
The comparison of total internal energy of the steel tube and stir-
rups for the SST3 and RST9 is shown as Fig. 16(a). It is shown that
before the axial strain reached 0.005, there was small difference of total
internal energy of the steel tube and stirrups between the RST9 and
SST3. After the axial strain reached 0.005, the total internal energy of
the steel tube and stirrups of SST3 increased faster than that of RST9.
The comparison of energy of the core concrete of SST3 and RST9 is
shown in Fig. 16(b). The ultimate elastic strain energy of SST3 was 90%
higher than that of RST9. After reaching the ultimate load, the plastic
dissipation of the core concrete increased with the plastic deformation
of the core concrete, while the elastic strain energy of the core concrete
continuously reduced. It can be seen that the ability of elastic de-
formation and energy dissipation of core concrete were improved, and
the axial ultimate bearing capacity and ductility of rectangular CFT stub
(2) columns were also enhanced due to the obvious confinement effect of
145
F.-x. Ding et al.
stirrups on the core concrete.
4.4.3. Equivalent stirrup ratio
Based on the cross-sections of FE models in Table 2, a total of 16
models have been developed to investigate the influence of different
equivalent stirrup ratios and aspect ratios of cross-section with the
following parameters: the aspect ratios (B/D) ranged from 1 to 3, where
D is fixed as 200 mm; L = 600 mm; the grades of the steel tube and
stirrups are Q311 and Q435 with measured yield stresses of 311 MPa
and 435 MPa, respectively; the concrete grade is C35.5; the cross-sec-
tional steel ratio of the steel tube ρs is 0.056; and the equivalent stirrup
ratios are 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.015 and 0.02, respectively.
The Influence of different equivalent stirrup ratios on energy dis-
sipation are shown in Fig. 17. The plastic dissipation (when the axial
strain is 0.04) and ultimate elastic strain energy increased with the
increase of equivalent stirrup ratio, and both of them generally grow
linearly with the equivalent stirrup ratio. It can be seen that increasing
the equivalent stirrup ratio will improve the capability of the energy
dissipation of the core concrete, and enhance the confinement effect of
stirrups on the core concrete.
4.4.4. Aspect ratio
The influence of aspect ratio B/D of cross-section on the energy
dissipation capacity is shown in Fig. 18. It is found that increasing the
aspect ratio of cross-section could improve the capacity of energy dis-
sipation of the core concrete. When the equivalent stirrup ratio is 0, the
elastic strain energy of the core concrete increased linearly with the
increase of aspect ratio, while the plastic dissipation (when the axial
strain is 0.04) grew more and more slowly. The elastic strain energy
was improved by 67%, 112% and 207%, respectively, when comparing
the SST stub columns (with B/D values equal to 1.5, 2 and 3) with the
column (B/D = 1) with the equivalent stirrup ratio of 0.005, and the
corresponding plastic dissipation was improved by 73%, 147% and
281%, respectively. Moreover, the elastic strain energy was improved
by 69%, 121% and 225%, respectively, compared the SST stub columns
(with B/D values equal to 1.5, 2 and 3) with the column (B/D = 1)
when the equivalent stirrup ratio is 0.02, and the corresponding plastic
146
Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150
Fig. 14. Comparison of lateral confinement stresses at separate
locations in the cross-section of the core concrete.
dissipation was improved by 92%, 170% and 351%, respectively. It can
be seen that the growth rate of ultimate elastic strain energy and plastic
dissipation of the core concrete is accelerated with the increase of
equivalent stirrup ratio.
5. Bearing capacity calculation
5.1. Model of stress distribution
The effects of aspect ratio of cross-section (B/D), concrete strength,
cross-sectional steel ratio and equivalent stirrup ratio, steel yield
strength on the ultimate bearing capacity of SST and RST stub columns
are discussed in the section. Parametric study on a total of 288 models
have been performed including the following parameters: aspect ratios
(B/D) range from 1 to 3; nominal yield stresses of steel tube and stirrups
range from 235 MPa to 420 MPa; concrete grades range from C40 to
C100; D is fixed as 1000 mm; L = 2B; steel ratios of the steel tube ρs are
0.02, 0.05 and 0.08, respectively; equivalent stirrup ratios are 0, 0.005,
0.01, 0.015, respectively. The following steel and concrete were paired
for the SST and RST stub columns: C40 concrete was paired with Q235
steel, C60 concrete was paired with Q235 and Q345 steel, C80 concrete
was paired with Q345 and Q420 steel, C100 concrete was paired with
Q420 steel. The numbers in the steel grades indicate the nominal yield
stress of the steel.
Nonlinear analysis was carried out for the FE models and the ulti-
mate strengths of the SST and RST stub columns were obtained. The
ratio of the longitudinal stress (σL,s) at the ultimate state to the yield
strength (fs) of the steel tube at different locations in the middle section
(points A1, A2 and A4 are shown in Fig. 11) of the SST and RST stub
columns were obtained, as shown in Fig. 19 (a1 = σL,s1/fs, a2 = σL,s2/fs).
Where σL,s1 is the longitudinal stress along the length of the rectangular
steel tube; σL,s2 is the longitudinal stress along the width of the rec-
tangular steel tube. The average ratio of longitudinal stress to yield
strength of the steel tube of the SST stub column is approximately same
to that of RST stub column. Table 4 summarizes the average ratios of
longitudinal stress to yield strength of the steel tube. Further, based on
the Von Mises yield criterion, the corresponding tensile transverse
Fig. 15. Comparison of stresses in different directions of steel
tube.
F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Fig. 16. Comparison of energy dissipation of RST and SST stub

columns with the same overall steel ratio.

stresses along the length of the rectangular steel tube (σθ,s1) and the provided by stirrups (σr,cr) and the yield strength of stirrups (fsv) at the
corresponding tensile transverse stresses along the width of the rec- ultimate state can be expressed as:
tangular steel tube (σθ,s2) were also determined, as shown in Table 4.
mAsso fsv nAsso fsv
Fig. 20 illustrates the von Mises stress contours at mid-section of the σr,cr = +
2s × (B − 2t ) 2s × (D − 2t ) (7)
RST and SST stub columns obtained from FE analysis. It can be ob-
viously seen that the confining effect of steel tube on the core concrete The relationship between the average radial stress of the core con-
of the RST stub column is mainly concentrated at the corners as shown crete (σr,c) provided by the steel tube and the tensile transverse stress of
in Fig. 20(a). In contrast, the confining effect in the SST stub column is the steel tube (σθ,s) at the ultimate state can be expressed as:
remarkably enhanced by the stirrups, where the longitudinal stress of 2σθ,s2
the core concrete is higher and more evenly distributed, as shown in ⎧ σr ,c1 = B / t − 2
⎪
Fig. 20(b). The stress distribution of SST and RST stub columns is 2σ
σ = θ,s1
simplified in Fig. 21, in which the core concrete section is divided into ⎨ r ,c2 D / t − 2
⎪ σ = σr ,c1 + σr ,c2
two parts (Ac1 and Ac2), where Ac1 is the area of concrete confined by
⎩ r ,c 2 (8)
both the steel tube and stirrups; Ac2 is the area of concrete confined by
stirrups; b is the length of the core concrete; d is the width of the core The longitudinal compressive stresses of the core concrete in the
concrete; b1 is the edge length of Ac1, and d1 is the edge length of Ac2; two regions (σL,c1 and σL,c2) (as shown in Fig. 19) can be expressed as:
σr,c1 is the radial stress of the core concrete provided by the width of the
⎧ σL,c1 = fc + kσr ,c + kσr ,cr
steel tube; σr,c2 is the radial stress of the core concrete provided by the
length of the steel tube. The relationships between Ac1, Ac2 and Ac with ⎩ σL,c2 = fc + kσr,cr
⎨ (9)
different B/D ratios are listed in Table 4. in which k (= 3.4) is the lateral pressure coefficient based on the study
by Ding [22].
5.2. Formulation of design rule According to the static equilibrium of the cross-section, the ultimate
bearing capacity of the SST and RST stub columns (Nu) can be described
For the convenience of calculation, the stirrups are transformed into as:
a rectangular steel tube with equivalent wall thickness, in which the Nu = σL,c1 Ac1 = σL,c2 Ac2 = σL,s1 As1 = σL,s2 As2 (10)
steel ratios are the same. Consequently, the sectional area Asso of the
equivalent steel tube (the virtual tube) can be calculated by the fol- Substituting Eqs. (6)–(9) and the relationship between the axial
lowing equation: stress, transverse stress and yield strength of rectangular steel tube (in
Table 4) into Eq. (10), the ultimate bearing capacity of SST stub col-
πd 2 [(B − 2t ) n + (D − 2t ) m]
Asso = umns (Nu,1) under axial loading can be obtained as:
4s (6)
Nu,1 = fc Ac = k1 fs, v Asso = k2 fs As (11)
where ds is the diameter of stirrups, s is the spacing of longitudinal
stirrups, m is the number of stirrups along the length of the cross-sec- where k1 is the coefficient for the confinement effect of stirrups, k2 is
tion, n is the number of stirrups along the width of the cross-section. the coefficient for the confinement effect of the steel tube. Fig. 22 and
The relationship between the radial stress of the core concrete Fig. 23 depict the fitting curves for the relationship between the

Fig. 17. Influence of equivalent stirrup ra-

tios on the elastic strain energy and plastic
dissipation.

147
F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Fig. 18. Influence of cross-sectional aspect ratios on elastic strain

energy and plastic dissipation.

Fig. 19. Average ratio of axial longitudinal stress to yield stress of

the steel tube.

148
F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Table 4
Relationships between longitudinal stress, transverse stress and yield strength.

B/D σL,s1/fs σL,s2/fs σθ,s1/fs σθ,s2/fs Ac1/Ac Ac2/Ac k1 k2

1 0.78 0.78 0.34 0.34 0.75 0.25 1.84 1.2

1.5 0.79 0.83 0.33 0.28 0.46 0.54 2.30 1.08
2 0.973 0.964 0.050 0.064 0.36 0.64 2.76 1.03
3 0.985 0.97 0.02 0.04 0.01 0.99 3.22 1

coefficients (k1, k2) and the aspect ratio (B/D), respectively. The re-
lationship between (k1, k2) and B/D can also be described as:
B / D − 0.09
k1 =
0.3 + 0.2B / D (12)

k2 = 1.04 − 0.06 × ln(B / D − 0.93) (13) Fig. 21. Simplified stress distribution model of the SST and RST stub columns.

For RST stub columns, the Asso is 0. The design formula of the
bearing capacity for RST stub columns (Nu,2) can be simplified from Eq.
(11) as:
Nu,2 = fc Ac = k2 fs As (14)

5.3. Validation

The load bearing capacities calculated from Eq. (11) (Nu,1), FE

modelling (Nu,fe) and those obtained from the experimental results
(Nu,e) for all SST and RST stub columns were compared, as shown in
Fig. 24 and Fig. 25. The average ratio of Nu,e to Nu,1 is 1.017 with the
corresponding dispersion coefficient of 0.07. The average ratio of Nu,fe
to Nu,1 is 1.010 with the corresponding dispersion coefficient of 0.06.
Fig. 22. Fitting curve for the relationship between k1 and B/D.
Therefore, it is demonstrated that the proposed formula (Eq. (11)) can
provide accurate prediction of the ultimate bearing capacities for the
SST stub columns.
Table 5 summarizes the comparison of test results divided by mo-
ment capacities calculated using different design rules (Nu,c) including
Eq. (11) and the existing formulas in current literatures and codes
[19,24–28]. For RST stub columns, the strengths predicted using the
formulas proposed by Han [19] and Eurocode 4 [27] are closer to the
test values compared to other formulas with error of 2.2% and 1.2%,
respectively. It should be noted that all formulas in literatures and
standards [19,24–28] cannot accurately reflect the reinforcement effect
of stirrups and underestimated the strengths of SST stub columns with
the minimum error of 16.5% and maximum error of 30.7%. Moreover,
the proposed formula (Eq. (11)) in this paper has higher accuracy and
therefore is recommended for the design of SST stub columns under
axial loading. Fig. 23. Fitting curve for the relationship between k2 and B/D.

6. Conclusions following conclusions can be drawn:

This paper mainly investigates the mechanical behaviors of both
conventional concrete-filled rectangular steel tubular stub columns
(RST) and stirrup-confined concrete-filled rectangular steel tubular stub
columns (SST) under compressive load by a combination of experi-
mental, numerical and theoretical study. Based on the results, the
(1) Bidirectional stirrups can effectively confine the lateral deformation
and delay the local buckling of the steel tube as well as enhance the
constraint on the core concrete. Compared to the increasing amount
of stirrups, the increase of ultimate bearing capacity, stiffness and

Fig. 20. Stress contours at the mid-section of RST and SST stub
columns.

149
F.-x. Ding et al. Thin-Walled Structures 124 (2018) 136–150

Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant No. 51578548 and

51608538, and the National Key Research Program of China, Grant No.
2017YFC0703404.

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(3) A theoretical formula for predicting the ultimate bearing capacity of [23] Harper, Angel, Inc., ABAQUS user’s manuals, Version 6.9. Pawtucket, RI, USA.
RST stub columns and SST stub columns is established based on the [24] ACI 318-14, Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete and Commentary,
American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 2014.
numerical and test results. The predicted results by the proposed [25] AIJ-CFT, Recommendations for Design and Construction of Concrete Filled Steel
method agree well with the experimental results. Therefore, the Tubular Structures, Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, 2008.
proposed formulas can be used for the design of RST stub columns [26] BS 5400, Steel, Concrete and Composite Bridges –Part 5: Code of Practice for Design
of Composite Bridges, British Standards Institution, London, 2005.
and SST stub columns. [27] Eurocode 4, Design of Composite Steel and Concrete Structures, Part 1-1: General
Rules and Rules for Buildings, EN 1994-1-1, Brussels, 2004.
Acknowledgment [28] CECS 159, Technical Specification for Structures With Concert-Filled Rectangular
Steel Tube Members, China Planning Press, Beijing, 2004.

This research work was financially supported by the National

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