Concrete-Filled Elliptical Hollow Section

Beam-Columns under Seismic Loading

Cheng Fang, M.ASCE 1; Feng Zhou 2; Zhuoyue Wu 3; and Facheng Wang 4

Abstract: The seismic behavior of elliptical hollow section (EHS) beam-column members was examined in this study. A comprehensive
experimental investigation was conducted on 14 concrete-filled and four bare steel EHS beam-column specimens under combined com-
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pression and cyclic bending. The main testing parameters were tube wall thickness, axial load ratio, and bending direction. Among other
findings, it was revealed that the bare steel specimens failed in local buckling, whereas the concrete-filled members exhibited more diverse
failure modes, including local buckling, a fracture of the steel section following local buckling, and an abrupt fracture of the steel section with
no evident local buckling. The failure modes largely depended on the bending direction. Due to the beneficial effects of material hardening
and steel-concrete interaction, the moment resistance obtained from the test was consistently larger than the predicted plastic moment re-
sistance. In addition, the specimens exhibited satisfactory ductility and energy dissipation performance, and both characteristics could be
effectively improved by either increasing the compactness of the steel section or by applying the concrete infill. The strength, ductility, and
energy dissipation characteristics of the specimens subjected to biaxial bending fell between the cases of major-axis and minor-axis bending.
Based on the test results, the existing design methods for predicting the moment resistance of the considered members were evaluated. A
preliminary design equation for ductility prediction was also proposed. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002693. © 2020 American
Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Concrete-filled; Composite; Elliptical hollow section (EHS); Cyclic loading; Hysteretic response; Beam-column;
Seismic.

Introduction examined a series of EHS stub columns through experimental and

Tubular hollow section members have been widely used in practice
due to favorable section properties and the ease of concrete pour-
ing. In addition to the typical square, rectangular, and circular
hollow sections (SHSs, RHSs, and CHSs), elliptical hollow sec-
tions (EHSs) have gained increasing interest among the commun-
ities of both civil engineers and architects, majorly due to their
aesthetic appearance and more diverse flexural properties com-
pared with the CHSs (Chan et al. 2010). With improving fabrica-
tion techniques and growing industrial demand, standard hot-rolled
and cold-formed EHS products are now readily available in the
market (Zhu and Young 2011; Chan et al. 2015).
Since the first pioneering application of EHS members in the Bri-
tannia and Royal Albert Bridges (Feinstein et al. 1971), significant
research efforts have been devoted to the behavior and design of
EHSs at both the section and member levels. Chan and Gardner
(2008), Ruiz-Teran and Gardner (2008), and Zhao and Packer (2009)
1
Associate Professor, Dept. of Structural Engineering, Tongji Univ.,
Shanghai 200092, China, Email: chengfang@tongji.edu.cn
2
Associate Professor, State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in
Civil Engineering, Dept. of Structural Engineering, Tongji Univ., Shanghai
200092, China (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000
-0001-9421-738X. Email: zhoufeng@tongji.edu.cn
3
Engineer, Fujian Provincial Institute of Architectural Design and
Research, No. 1 Architectural Design Unit, No. 188 Tonghu Rd., Fuzhou
350001, China. Email: 470160125@qq.com
4
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua Univ.,
Beijing 100084, China. Email: wangfacheng@tsinghua.edu.cn
Note. This manuscript was submitted on April 19, 2019; approved on
February 6, 2020; published online on May 20, 2020. Discussion period
open until October 20, 2020; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Structural Engi-
neering, © ASCE, ISSN 0733-9445.
numerical studies, based on which section of classification criteria
were proposed, and some research outcomes have been adopted by
relevant design handbooks (SCI/BSCA 2009). Silvestre and Gardner
(2011) and McCann et al. (2016) confirmed that EHSs with certain
geometric configurations could have stable postbuckling responses,
in contrast to CHSs which exhibit unstable postbuckling behavior.
A set of design curves taking account of the postbuckling response
was proposed for EHSs with varying aspect ratios. For the member
behavior, Chan and Gardner (2009) examined the global buckling
resistance of EHS columns through experimental and numerical
studies. It was revealed that the existing design buckling curve
for hot-rolled CHS columns (CEN 2005) could also be applicable
to EHS ones. Law and Gardner (2012) investigated the lateral-
torsional buckling response of EHS members in which a member
length threshold that ensures no occurrence of lateral-torsional buck-
ling was determined. Design recommendations for EHS members
under combined axial compression and uniaxial bending were fur-
ther proposed by Law and Gardner (2013).
Extra benefits, such as larger load carrying capacity, enhanced
local buckling resistance, and improved fire and seismic perfor-
mances, can be offered when the EHS members are filled with con-
crete. The section behavior was investigated by Yang et al. (2008),
Dai and Lam (2010), and Sheehan et al. (2012) in which the con-
finement effect to the concrete infill was particularly examined,
and analytical and design models have been proposed for predict-
ing the section capacity. The behavior of high-strength concrete-
filled EHSs was further discussed by Hassanein et al. (2018). At
the member level, Jamaluddin et al. (2013), Dai et al. (2014), and
McCann et al. (2015) examined the global buckling response of
slender concrete-filled EHS columns. A common finding was that
the existing design formulae for concrete-filled CHS columns in
Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a) are also applicable to the EHS columns.

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 The same conclusion was drawn by Mahgub et al. (2017) who car-
ried out an experimental study on self-compacting concrete-filled
EHS columns. Yang et al. (2017) studied a series of concrete-
filled cold-formed EHS beam-columns with aspect ratios ranging
from 1.0 to 2.5. Qiu et al. (2017) performed a reliability assessment
on concrete-filled EHS columns and beam-columns through a para-
metric study, and it was claimed that the commonly used partial
factor of 1.0 (CEN 2004a) is also applicable to the design of the
concrete-filled EHS members. Apart from the ambient behavior,
the fire performance of EHS members has been investigated
(Espinos et al. 2015; Rodrigues and Laím 2018), and the positive
role played by the concrete infill for enhancing the fire resistance
was confirmed.
While great progress has been made on the static behavior and
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design of EHS members, research on their cyclic behavior is very
limited. Narendra and Singh (2016, 2017) evaluated the extremely
low cycle fatigue behavior of EHS beams and braces through
numerical studies. Fang et al. (2018) conducted an experimental
study on bare steel EHS beam-columns under cyclic loading and
proposed design models for predicting the ductility of the members.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the cyclic behavior of
concrete-filled EHS members has not been studied. The lack of avail-
able research data may hinder the practical application of concrete-
filled EHS members in seismic regions. Because EHS members are
commonly used as columns, the performance of concrete-filled EHS
beam-columns under combined axial load and cyclic bending is of
particular importance to designers. Moreover, the existing studies
only focused on the EHS members under axial load and/or uniaxial
bending, whereas their biaxial bending behavior is not very clear.
In this paper, 18 EHS beam-column specimens are tested,
including 14 composite specimens and four bare steel ones.
Fig. 1. Details of test specimens.
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The varying parameters are tube wall thickness, axial load ratio,
and bending direction. The material property, failure mode, hysteretic
response, strength, ductility, and energy dissipation characteristics of
the specimens are discussed in detail, and design considerations for
the moment resistance and ductility of the members are finally
presented.
Experimental Program
Test Specimens
A total of 18 concrete-filled or bare steel 300 × 150 mm
(larger outer diameter × smaller outer diameter) EHS beam-column
specimens were tested in the experimental program. As shown in
Fig. 1, each specimen consisted of an EHS tube, two end plates, and
a series of stiffeners welded to the end-plates and the main body of
the tube. The specimens were essentially cantilever columns, which
were fixed at one end, with the vertical and horizontal loads applied
at the other free end. An opening was made on one of the end-plates
to facilitate concrete pouring for the concrete-filled specimens. The
net length between the top and bottom stiffeners of the specimens
was 1 m, which is sufficiently long to reveal the typical failure
behavior of the section and to reflect the representative distribution
of member imperfections, while being suitably stocky to capture
the local section failure response prior to global buckling. The
EHS tubes were produced from parent seamless Grade Q235
(nominal fy ¼ 235 MPa) hot-rolled CHS tubes, employing a se-
quential cold-working and annealing procedure. The annealing
process was used to refine the grain size and to reduce the residual
stress. The annealing temperature and duration were 720°C and 3 h,
J. Struct. Eng.
 respectively, which was followed by air cooling. It is believed that
the EHS tubes manufactured using this procedure could have basic
material properties similar to those of standard hot-rolled EHS
products. This can be confirmed by the material test results, as pre-
sented subsequently.
Table 1 gives the measured dimensions and basic loading infor-
mation for the 18 specimens. Three nominal tube wall thicknesses,
i.e., t ¼ 6, 8, and 12 mm, were used. Considering the equivalent
diameter being De ¼ 2a2 =b, the section slenderness De =tε2 (ε2 ¼
235=f y ) of the considered EHSs ranged from 45.5 to 116.0, indi-
cating a broad range of section slenderness from compact to slen-
der. It is noted that the existing class 3 section limit of De =tε2 ¼ 90
for CHSs (CEN 2005) may also be applicable to EHSs (Chan and
Gardner 2008). The axial load ratios (n), as expressed in Eq. (1),
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and the maximum measured gap, i.e., the imperfection amplitude,
was 0.2 mm for the specimens. The global imperfection was not
measured, as global failure (e.g., flexural buckling) was not of con-
cern in the current study.
Test Setup, Instrumentation, and Test Procedure
As shown in Fig. 2(a), the specimen was vertically oriented and
placed within a self-balanced reaction frame. The test setup was ar-
ranged such that each specimen represents part of a column, i.e., the
bottom end reflects a typical rigid column foot, and the upper free end
replicates the contra flexure. The bottom end-plate was fixed to the
rigid base via a series of M30 high-strength bolts. The vertical and
horizontal loads were applied to the upper end of the specimen via a

were taken as n ¼ 0.2 and 0.3, where N 0 is the constant axial load
applied to the specimen; Ac and As are the measured areas of the
concrete core and steel tube, respectively; and fc and fy are the
cylinder strength of concrete (converted from the measured cube
strength) and the measured yield strength of steel, respectively.
The maximum load ratio of 0.3 was determined according to the
maximum capacity of the testing facility
n ¼ N 0 =ðAc f c þ As fy Þ
Apart from the varying tube wall thicknesses and axial load ra-
tios, three different bending directions were considered, namely,
major-axis bending, minor-axis bending, and biaxial bending with
an angle of 45°. For ease of identification, each specimen was des-
ignated with a specimen code, starting with the type of cross-
section (C for concrete-filled and H for hollow), followed by the
nominal tube wall thickness and loading direction (M for major-
axis bending, W for minor/weak-axis bending, and B for biaxial
bending), and ending with the axial load ratio.
The local failure behavior of the specimens may be influenced
by the initial geometric imperfections, which could be induced dur-
ing the manufacturing process. In this study, the local imperfection
was measured using the feeler gauge method recommended by Jiao
and Zhao (2003). By firmly bearing a specially-produced steel
block with a flat surface against the tube surface, a feeler gauge,
with a range of measurement from 0.01 to 1.5 mm, was inserted
into any possible gap between the steel block and the tube. Differ-
ent locations at both the corner and flattest regions were measured,
specially designed hinged connection. The lever arm, i.e., the distance
from the center of the hinge (i.e., the contra flexure) to the upper edge
of the bottom stiffeners, was 1,445 mm. The vertical hydraulic jack
was movable in the horizontal direction. The horizontal electrohy-
draulic servo actuator has a maximum load capacity of 2,000 kN
in both directions and a stroke of 250 mm. It should be noted that
friction force may exist in the horizontal sliding rail, and this force
ð1Þ could be estimated via the hysteretic loop when the specimen behaves
elastically. The measured friction forces for the considered test spec-
imens range from 8.6 to 18.5 kN, and these forces are removed from
the subsequently discussed hysteretic curves.
Ten LVDTs, i.e., LVDT D1 through D10, were used to measure
the displacements at critical locations. The arrangement of the
LVDTs is illustrated in Fig. 2(b), and their purposes are summa-
rized in Table 2. In addition, four pairs of strain gauges were
mounted around the perimeter of the tube near the column foot.
The main purpose of the strain gauges was to indicate the first
yielding time of the column foot. The strain gauge readings were
also used to facilitate alignment when the axial load was applied.
The loading procedure included two steps. The vertical load was
first applied according to the predetermined load ratio and was kept
constant. The horizontal load was then applied quasi-statically fol-
lowing the SAC standard loading protocol, which employs the
drift ratio as the governing parameter (SAC Joint Venture 1997).
This loading protocol was initially proposed based on a series
of time-history analyses on steel moment-resisting frames (MRFs)
subjected to far-field earthquakes. Because the EHS members are

Table 1. Basic information of specimens

Measured dimension Axial Axial Bending
Specimen 2a × 2b × t (mm) De =tε2 load ratio load (kN) Section type direction
C-6-M-0.2 300 × 149 × 6.75 111.6 0.2 506.9 Composite Major axis
C-6-M-0.3 299 × 146 × 6.90 110.7 0.3 755.1 Composite Major axis
C-6-W-0.2 304 × 144 × 6.90 116.0 0.2 505.8 Composite Minor axis
C-6-W-0.3 300 × 144 × 6.85 113.8 0.3 747.6 Composite Minor axis
C-6-B-0.3 300 × 144 × 6.95 112.1 0.3 752.6 Composite Biaxial
C-8-M-0.2 300 × 144 × 8.60 72.1 0.2 488.1 Composite Major axis
C-8-M-0.3 300 × 144 × 8.90 69.6 0.3 743.4 Composite Major axis
C-8-W-0.2 300 × 143 × 8.50 73.4 0.2 483.2 Composite Minor axis
C-8-W-0.3 300 × 144 × 8.55 72.5 0.3 730.3 Composite Minor axis
H-8-M-0.2 300 × 144 × 8.45 73.3 0.2 265.3 Hollow Major axis
H-8-M-0.3 300 × 145 × 8.85 69.5 0.3 417.0 Hollow Major axis
H-8-W-0.2 300 × 142 × 8.55 73.5 0.2 267.1 Hollow Minor axis
H-8-W-0.3 300 × 144 × 8.55 72.5 0.3 402.5 Hollow Minor axis
C-12-M-0.2 300 × 143 × 12.85 46.5 0.2 571.5 Composite Major axis
C-12-M-0.3 300 × 144 × 13.05 45.5 0.3 867.9 Composite Major axis
C-12-W-0.2 300 × 143 × 12.85 46.5 0.2 571.5 Composite Minor axis
C-12-W-0.3 300 × 143 × 12.70 47.0 0.3 852.2 Composite Minor axis
C-12-B-0.3 300 × 144 × 12.55 47.3 0.3 850.9 Composite Biaxial

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 expected to be used in MRFs, it is reasonable to use the SAC load-
ing protocol to estimate their ductility supply and energy dissipa-
tion characteristics. As shown in Fig. 2(a), each of the first three
levels of amplitude (0.375%, 0.5%, and 0.75% drifts) was repeated
for six cycles, followed by four cycles at a 1% drift, and proceeds
with a 1.5%, 2%, then with a 1% incremental interval, with each
amplitude repeated for two cycles. The test was stopped when the
horizontal load resistance degraded to 40% of the peak load resis-
tance, and failure was deemed to occur in this case (SAC Joint
Venture 1997), or when the drift reached 10%. Larger drifts were
not attempted for safety reasons.

Test Results and Discussions

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Material Tests
Tension coupons were directly cut from the EHS tubes at both the
corner and flattest regions (ISO 2009). Specially designed grippers
were used to eliminate loading eccentricity of the tension coupons,
as shown in Fig. 3(a). For each tube wall thickness, four tension
(a)
coupons were tested—two from the corner region and two from
the flattest region. The mean measured material properties are sum-
marized in Table 3, and the stress–strain relationships are shown in
Fig. 3(b). It can be seen that the stress–strain curves show a typical
yield plateau and a pronounced hardening with good ductility. The
difference in the basic material properties obtained from the differ-
ent regions is not significant, indicating that the cold hardening
effect was alleviated by the annealing procedure adopted for the
initially cold-formed EHS tubes. Grade C35 concrete was used,
and the mix proportions are as follows: 197 kg=m3 of cement,
812 kg=m3 of sand, 1,032 kg=m3 of coarse aggregate, 170 kg=m3
of water, 53 kg=m3 of fly ash, 83 kg=m3 of mineral powder,
and 4.3 kg=m3 of admixture. The measured cube strength was
48.7 MPa at the day of the test. No reinforcement was used in the
concrete core.

Failure Behavior of Beam-Column Specimens

As previously mentioned, failure refers to the stage when the hori-
zontal load degraded to 40% of the peak load (SAC Joint Venture
1997). Based on the tests on the concrete-filled specimens, three
(b) typical failure modes were observed, namely, local buckling near
the base (LB type), a fracture of the steel section following local
Fig. 2. Test arrangements: (a) test setup; and (b) instrumentation buckling (LB-FS type), and an abrupt fracture of the steel section
(millimeters). with no evident local buckling (FS type). For the LB type failure,
outward bulges were observed at around 60 mm above the upper
edge of the bottom stiffeners. The bulges became more and more
evident with an increase in the loading amplitude. An elephant foot
failure mechanism was finally formed, and the specimen signifi-
Table 2. Information of instrumentation cantly lost the load carrying capacity. For the LB-FS type failure,
LVDT/strain local buckling occurred prior to the initiation of the fracture that
gauge Direction Measurement was first observed at the corner region immediately above the bot-
tom stiffeners. It was believed that the fracture was mainly caused
D1 Horizontal Translational movement of
by stress concentration and, in addition, related to the heat-affected
bottom end-plate
D2–D5 Vertical Rotation of bottom end-plate zone (HAZ). As the fracture propagated, the horizontal load resis-
D6 Horizontal Translational movement of tance decreased until the load carrying capacity was completely
stiffener edge lost. The FS type failure corresponds to the case that the horizontal
D7–D8 Vertical Column end shortening load resistance decreased abruptly when the fracture happened,
D9–D10 Horizontal Horizontal movement with no early warning of local buckling. It is worth mentioning that
of hinge for some specimens, local buckling accompanied by bulging defor-
S1-1–S4-1 Hoop Hoop strain near mation did occur, but the final failure criterion was not reached at
(horizontal) column base the maximum considered drift of 10%.
S1-2–S4-2 Longitudinal Longitudinal strain near The critical damage stages of the test specimens during the load-
(vertical) column base
ing process are summarized in Table 4, and the typical failure

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(a)

(b)

Fig. 3. Material test: (a) tension coupons and test arrangement; and (b) stress–strain relationship.

Table 3. Average material properties from tension coupon tests drift of 10% was achieved. When under major-axis bending, the
Young’s Yield Ultimate Elongation specimens either failed in the LB-FS or FS modes, with the excep-
modulus strength strength at fracture tion of specimen C-6-M-0.3, which exhibited an LB type failure.
Material (GPa) fy (MPa) f u (MPa) (%) With an increase in the tube wall thickness, the outward bulge, be-
6 mm—corner 189 270 410 26.66
cause of local buckling, became less significant. For the specimens
6 mm—flattest 198 316 453 28.95 under biaxial bending, both the LB and LB-FS type failures could
8 mm—corner 202 241 417 43.47 be possible. The shape of the outward bulge at failure was similar to
8 mm—flattest 182 226 422 34.84 that of the specimens under uniaxial bending. On the other hand,
12 mm—corner 204 233 413 43.29 the failure of the hollow section specimens was mainly governed by
12 mm—flattest 198 215 414 36.58 local buckling, the occurrence of which was much earlier than their
concrete-filled counterparts.
In order to further examine the damage condition of the concrete
core, part of the steel tube was cut and removed after the tests, as
modes are shown in Fig. 4. In the table, the first yield drift was shown in Fig. 5. The concrete crushing concentrated on the column
indicated by the strain gauge readings, and the local buckling drift foot immediately above the bottom stiffeners was clearly seen. This
was determined according to a careful visual observation, which region had a large bending moment in combination with the applied
may be subjected to subjective judgment. It was observed that all axial compression, and in addition, the concrete in this area could
the specimens under minor-axis bending experienced LB type fail- be subjected to extra pressure from the buckled tube wall. The con-
ure. With an increase in the tube wall thickness, the postpeak hori- crete away from the column foot was generally intact, although sev-
zontal load resistance decreased more slowly. For specimens with eral minor cracks were observed. Incidentally, no obvious voids or
t ¼ 12 mm, in particular, the horizontal load resistance was still honeycomb-like patterns were observed in the concrete core, sug-
more than 40% of the peak load when the maximum considered gesting that the quality of the concrete pouring was satisfactory.

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 Table 4. Summary of test results
First yield First local Failure
Specimen drifta (%) buckling drift (%) mode M u (kN · m) M p (kN · m) M u =M p θy b (%) θu (%) μ ζ eq (%)
C-6-M-0.2 0.75 4 LB-FS 202.1 153.8 1.31 1.07 5.59 5.21 24.77
C-6-M-0.3 0.75 4 LB 199.4 152.2 1.31 1.04 5.25 5.04 25.10
C-6-W-0.2 0.75 4 LB 98.1 85.8 1.14 1.15 5.23 4.54 22.93
C-6-W-0.3 0.75 4 LB 95.8 84.9 1.13 1.09 4.07 3.72 29.52
C-6-B-0.3 0.75 4 LB 161.4 126.0 1.28 1.06 5.32 5.02 29.63
C-8-M-0.2 0.75 5 LB-FS 219.2 151.8 1.44 1.14 6.15 5.41 39.88
C-8-M-0.3 0.75 5 LB-FS 213.0 149.6 1.42 1.12 6.03 5.38 38.86
C-8-W-0.2 0.75 6 LBc 117.9 84.5 1.40 1.20 7.01 5.83 35.76
C-8-W-0.3 0.75 6 LB 118.2 83.1 1.42 1.18 5.82 4.97 31.02
H-8-M-0.2 0.75 4 LB-FS 157.1 127.9 1.23 1.09 5.33 4.92 36.44
H-8-M-0.3 0.5 2 LB 145.4 121.2 1.20 0.94 3.86 4.11 32.92
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H-8-W-0.2 0.75 3 LB 84.1 72.1 1.17 1.14 5.69 5.01 29.93

H-8-W-0.3 0.5 3 LB 69.1 66.0 1.05 1.09 4.44 4.07 29.91
C-12-M-0.2 1.5 6 FS 312.9 193.5 1.62 1.16 6.50 5.62 43.64
C-12-M-0.3 1.0 5 LB-FS 299.0 186.6 1.60 1.13 5.70 5.07 40.18
C-12-W-0.2 1.5 7 LBc 169.1 108.3 1.56 1.33 9.24 6.92 55.57
C-12-W-0.3 1.0 6 LBc 162.5 103.2 1.57 1.19 7.39 6.22 43.90
C-12-B-0.3 0.75 6 LB-FS 244.3 167.8 1.46 1.18 7.53 6.42 42.92
Note: LB = local buckling; LB-FS = fracture of the steel section following local buckling; and FS = abrupt fracture of the steel section with no evident local
buckling.
a
Based on strain gauge reading.
b
Based on skeleton curve.
c
Horizontal load resistance more than 40% of peak load at 10% drift.

Fig. 4. Typical failure modes of test specimens.

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Fig. 5. Typical damage mode of concrete infill (C-8-M-0.2).
Hysteretic Responses
The moment-drift responses of the beam-column specimens are
shown in Figs. 6–8, where the moment includes both the first order
and second order ones. The former resulted directly from the hori-
zontal load, and the latter was caused by the axial load, i.e., the P-Δ
effect. The calculated section plastic moment resistance M p , con-
sidering the interaction between compression and bending, is also
marked in the figures for comparison purpose. Fig. 9(a) illustrates
the assumed yield stress block for the calculation of M p , where
elastoperfect plastic stress–strain relationships were considered
for both materials, while the tensile capacity of the concrete was
ignored, as recommended by Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a). Due to
the relatively complex geometric shape of the EHS, the calculation
of M p was aided by MATLAB version 7.10 (MathWorks 2010).
Both the ultimate moment resistance obtained from the test
(Mu ) and the calculated plastic moment resistance (Mp ) are sum-
marized in Table 4.
The hysteresis is generally stable as the amplitude increases, and
the difference between the two hysteretic loops (two laps) at the same
amplitude is negligible in the beginning. Minor degradation of the
hysteresis starts to be seen when the applied moment reaches Mu , in
which case the peak moment of the second lap becomes smaller than
that of the first lap. The M u of the different specimens varies between
69.1 and 312.9 kN · m. The value of M u is majorly affected by the
tube wall thickness and bending direction. The axial load ratio has a
marginal influence on the M u of the composite specimens. This can
be explained by observing the shape of the interaction curves for
composite sections subjected to combined compression and bending,
as typically shown in Fig. 9(b). On the other hand, the M u of the
hollow section specimens is more sensitive to the axial load ratio,
as the maximum moment resistance of bare steel sections always
decreases with an increase in the axial load. Another important find-
ing is that the M u =Mp ratios of the specimens are all above unity,
which mainly results from the ignorance of the material hardening
effect when calculating the M p . It is also found that the M u =M p ratio
increases as the tube wall thickness increases. This is attributed to the
postponed occurrence of local buckling when the section becomes
compact and might also be due to the more significant constraining
effect on the concrete core from the thicker steel tube. The benefit
from the steel-concrete interaction is further confirmed by finding the
evidently larger Mu =M p ratios for the composite sections in com-
parison to the hollow ones.
The shape of the moment-drift hysteretic curve is influenced by
the bending direction, tube wall thickness, axial load ratio, and sec-
tion type to various extents. In general, full hysteretic responses
© ASCE 04020144-7
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with no pinching are observed for all the specimens, indicating re-
liable energy dissipation. The degradation of the hysteretic curves
beyond the peak moment resistance is mainly caused by local buck-
ling and/or propagation of the fracture of the steel section. For some
specimens, a sudden drop of the moment is observed, which results
from a more abrupt fracture behavior. As mentioned, major-axis
bending is more likely to cause the fracture type failure, so the cor-
responding hysteretic curves show more evident degradations once
the fracture occurs. For minor-axis bending, the degradation effect
is generally mild and becomes unobservable as the tube wall thick-
ness increases. The degree of degradation for the specimens under
biaxial bending falls between the cases of major-axis and minor-
axis bending. In addition, the presence of the concrete core helps
postpone the initiation of degradation and makes the degradation
process gentler.
End-Shortening
The typical end-shortening responses of the specimens with in-
creasing amplitudes are shown in Fig. 10. The end-shortening
(w) is insignificant when the loading amplitude is small, indicating
a stable vertical load resisting behavior. The time when w starts to
increase seems to be consistent with the initiation of local buckling,
which implies that local buckling is directly responsible for the
end-shortening. Afterwards, the end-shortening accumulates more
evidently until the final failure of the specimen. The correlation
between end-shortening and local buckling can be further con-
firmed by specimen C-12-M-0.2, which failed in sudden fracture
without local buckling, and as a result, almost no end-shortening
is observed for this specimen. It is also observed that the develop-
ment of end-shortening is more significant for the specimens with
hollow sections, as the concrete core helps maintain the stability of
the members. Moreover, a larger axial ratio can lead to a faster de-
velopment of end-shortening.
Skeleton Curves and Ductility
Ductility refers to the capability of a structure or component to
maintain its monotonic or cyclic deformation without displaying
a remarkable decrease in its load-carrying capacity after yielding.
The ductility performance of the beam-column specimens can be
evaluated via the ultimate drift θu , which occurs when the applied
horizontal load degrades to 85% of the peak load (Fang et al. 2014;
Tang et al. 2017; Zhao et al. 2018). In addition, the ductility ratio
(μ) can be expressed
θu
μ¼ ð2Þ
θy
where θy = yield drift. Both θu and θy can be readily obtained from
horizontal load-drift skeleton curves, which are constructed by trac-
ing the maximum loads at varying amplitudes, as shown in Fig. 11.
The ultimate drifts and ductility ratios are summarized in Table 4. It
is worth mentioning that two types of hysteretic curves can be used
for constructing the skeleton curves, i.e., horizontal load-drift (V-θ)
curves and moment-drift (M-θ) curves, recalling the moment (M)
was calculated, including both the first order and the second order
effects. From a ductility point of view, the use of the horizontal
load (instead of moment) could more reasonably (and conserva-
tively) reflect the actual behavior of the beam-column members
against the horizontal interstory shear action under seismic exci-
tations, and therefore, the V-θ curves were used consistently for
obtaining μ.
The horizontal load-drift skeleton curves generally follow
three stages, namely, the initial linear ascending stage, nonlinear
J. Struct. Eng.
 300 300
C-6-M-0.2 C-6-M-0.3

200 200
Mp Mp

Moment (kNm)
Moment (kNm)
100 100

0 0

-100 -100

-200
Mp Mp
-200

-300 -300
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
300 300
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C-8-M-0.2 C-8-M-0.3

200 200
Mp Mp
Moment (kNm)

Moment (kNm)
100 100

0 0

-100 -100

-200
Mp -200
Mp

-300 -300
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
300 300
H-8-M-0.2 H-8-M-0.3

200 200
Mp Mp
Moment (kNm)
Moment (kNm)

100 100

0 0

-100 -100
Mp Mp
-200 -200

-300 -300
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
400 400
C-12-M-0.2 C-12-M-0.3
300 300

200
Mp 200 Mp
Moment (kNm)
Moment (kNm)

100 100

0 0

-100 -100

-200 -200
Mp Mp
-300 -300

-400 -400
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10

Drift (%) Drift (%)

Fig. 6. Moment-drift responses of beam-column specimens under major-axis bending.

ascending stage, and postpeak degradation/descending stage. As
expected, increasing the tube wall thickness tends to increase
the initial stiffness and load resistance and, in addition, slows down
the degradation process before fracture (if any). Being consistent
with the hysteretic responses, the sudden drop of the skeleton curve
is caused by the fracture of the steel section. Major-axis bending
results in the largest initial stiffness and load resistance, but the
degradation is more abrupt. The skeleton curves of the specimens
under biaxial bending fall between the major-axis and minor-axis
bending responses. The axial load ratio has a moderate influence on

© ASCE 04020144-8 J. Struct. Eng.

J. Struct. Eng., 2020, 146(8): 04020144

 200 200
C-6-W-0.2 C-6-W-0.3
150 150

100 Mp 100 Mp

Moment (kNm)

Moment (kNm)
50 50

0 0

-50 -50

-100 Mp -100 Mp

-150 -150

-200 -200
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
200 200
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C-8-W-0.2 C-8-W-0.3
150 150

100 Mp 100 Mp
Moment (kNm)

Moment (kNm)
50 50

0 0

-50 -50

-100 Mp -100 Mp

-150 -150

-200 -200
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
200 200
H-8-W-0.2 H-8-W-0.3
150 150

100 100
Moment (kNm)

Moment (kNm)

Mp Mp
50 50

0 0

-50 -50

-100 Mp -100 Mp

-150 -150

-200 -200
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
250 250
C-12-W-0.2 C-12-W-0.3
200 200
150 150
Mp Mp
Moment (kNm)
Moment (kNm)

100 100
50 50
0 0
-50 -50
-100 -100
Mp Mp
-150 -150
-200 -200
-250 -250
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)

Fig. 7. Moment-drift responses of beam-column specimens under minor-axis bending.

the skeleton curves in the inelastic stage. Compared with the spec-
imens with hollow sections, the skeleton curves of the composite
ones are more stable. The difference is particularly obvious when
the specimens are under major-axis bending, in which case the con-
crete core participates more in resisting the bending moment, and
the concrete near the neutral axis is less damaged and may be
therefore more effective in delaying the local buckling at the flattest
region of the EHS.
As shown in Table 4, the ductility ratio exceeds 4.0 for most
specimens, indicating a highly ductile response. The value of μ
ranges from 5.07 to 6.92 for the specimens with t ¼ 12 mm, in com-
parison to the range of μ from 3.72 to 5.21 for those with t ¼ 6 mm.

© ASCE 04020144-9 J. Struct. Eng.

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 200 300
C-6-B-0.3 C-12-B-0.3
150 Mp
200
Mp
100

Moment (kNm)

Moment (kNm)
100
50

0 0

-50
-100
-100
-200
Mp
-150 Mp

-200 -300
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
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Fig. 8. Moment-drift responses of beam-column specimens under biaxial bending.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 9. Interaction for combined compression and bending: (a) yield stress block for calculation of Mp; and (b) typical interaction curves of specimens.

In addition, the hollow section specimens generally exhibit lower μ tube wall thickness when the specimens are under minor-axis or
values than their composite section counterparts. These reaffirm the biaxial bending because, in these cases, failure is mainly governed
positive roles played by section compactness and the concrete core in by local buckling instead of section fracture. In addition, μ is de-
controlling local buckling. It is noticed that μ is more sensitive to the creased when the axial load ratio is increased.

© ASCE 04020144-10 J. Struct. Eng.

J. Struct. Eng., 2020, 146(8): 04020144

 10 10

0 0

End-shortening (mm)

End-shortening (mm)
-10 -10

-20 -20

-30 -30

-40 -40

C-8-M-0.3 H-8-M-0.3
-50 -50
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
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10 10

0 0
End-shortening (mm)

End-shortening (mm)
-10 -10

-20 -20

-30 -30

-40 -40

C-8-W-0.3 H-8-W-0.3
-50 -50
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)

10 10

0 0
End-shortening (mm)
End-shortening (mm)

-10 -10

-20 -20

-30 -30

-40 -40

C-12-M-0.2 C-12-M-0.3
-50 -50
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)

Fig. 10. Typical end-shortening responses of specimens.

The trend of the ductility ratio is similar to but not fully con-
sistent with that of the ultimate drift (θu ), as the former is affected
by both the ultimate and yield drifts. The ultimate drift is some-
times a more practical indicator for ductility. According to AISC
(2010), special moment frames (SMFs) and intermediate moment
frames (IMFs) should provide interstory drifts of more than 4% and
2%, respectively. Eurocode 8 (CEN 2004b) requires that connec-
tions should satisfy a plastic hinge rotational capacity of at least
0.035and 0.025 rad for the ductility class high (DCH) and ductility
class medium (DCM) criteria, respectively. Based on these restric-
tions, it can be concluded that except for specimen H-8-M-0.3 with
θu being slightly less than the 4% drift, all the specimens satisfy the
SMF and DCH requirements under the considered axial load ratios.
Caution should be exercised that the conclusion may not hold true
if a higher axial load ratio exists, as θu consistently decreases with
increasing axial load ratios.
Energy Dissipation
The energy dissipation per cycle, W D , is essentially the area envel-
oped by each load-displacement hysteretic loop (Yam et al. 2015).
Fig. 12 shows the accumulated energy dissipation of the specimens
as a function of the cycle number. Negligible energy dissipation
is observed during the first 22 cycles (i.e., up to a 1% drift), during
which stage the specimens experienced limited inelastic deforma-
tion. As the hysteretic loops become recognizable, the energy
dissipation starts to accumulate. The total accumulated energy dis-
sipation at failure (or at a 10% drift), W total , largely depends on the
section size and the drift at failure. For example, W total increases as
the tube wall thickness increases, which is attributed to the in-
creases in both the load resistance and ductility. For the same rea-
son, W total is significantly increased when concrete is filled. There
is no clear correlation between W total and bending direction, as the
major-axis bending results in a larger load resistance but earlier

© ASCE 04020144-11 J. Struct. Eng.

J. Struct. Eng., 2020, 146(8): 04020144

 200 200
Composite section, t = 6 mm Composite section, t = 8 mm

Horizontal load (kN)

Horizontal load (kN)
100 100

0 0

C-6-M-0.2
-100 C-6-M-0.3 -100 C-8-M-0.2
C-6-W-0.2 C-8-M-0.3
C-6-W-0.3 C-8-W-0.2
C-6-B-0.3 C-8-W-0.3
-200 -200
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)
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200 200
Hollow section, t = 8 mm Composite section, t = 12 mm
Horizontal load (kN)

Horizontal load (kN)

100 100

0 0

C-12-M-0.2
-100 H-8-M-0.2 -100 C-12-M-0.3
H-8-M-0.3 C-12-W-0.2
H-8-W-0.2 C-12-W-0.3
H-8-W-0.3 C-12-B-0.3
-200 -200
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Drift (%) Drift (%)

Fig. 11. Skeleton curves of test specimens.

failure. Under the same bending direction, increasing the axial load
ratio, which causes earlier failure, tends to decrease W total .
An alternative indicator for energy dissipation is the equivalent
viscous damping ratio, ζ eq
WD
ζ eq ¼
4πW E
where W E = strain energy stored in a corresponding linear system.
A larger value of ζ eq indicates a fuller hysteretic loop and, thus, a
higher energy dissipation efficiency (Fang et al. 2017). The typical
ζ eq values of the specimens during the cycle where the peak load
occurs are summarized in Table 4. The tube wall thickness is found
to have the most pronounced influence on ζ eq . The value of ζ eq is
slightly increased when the hollow section specimens are filled
with concrete. The influences of the axial load ratio and bending
direction on ζ eq seem to be less clear.
Design Considerations
Moment Resistance
As previously mentioned, the calculation of the plastic moment re-
sistance (M p ) of the current specimens was aided by a mathemati-
cal computing software. The complex geometric shape of EHS
makes hand calculations for member strength very difficult, espe-
cially when concrete is involved. Another challenge is that EHSs
are yet to be included in the relevant design standards, and in par-
ticular, some shape-related design parameters for concrete-filled
EHSs are still unavailable.
A simplified method may be needed to facilitate the practical
design of concrete-filled EHS beam-column members. Zhao and
Packer (2009) suggested using an equivalent RHS to reflect the
plate-type buckling response of an EHS for the purpose of cross-
section classification. Silvestre and Gardner (2011) and McCann
ð3Þ et al. (2016) also confirmed that EHSs resemble RHSs more than
CHSs in terms of the local buckling behavior in which the latter
exhibits unstable shell buckling. In view of this, it may be reason-
able, for ease of design, to consider an equivalent concrete-filled
RHS beam-column for predicting the strength of a concrete-filled
EHS member. According to Zhao and Packer (2009), the depth of
the equivalent RHS was equal to 2a, and the equivalent RHS width
should be determined using the condition of maintaining the same
enveloped area. In addition, the tube wall thickness (t) for the EHS
and the equivalent RHS were considered to be the same. It was be-
lieved that using 2a as the equivalent depth leads to a conservative
cross-section classification. In the present study, the method pro-
posed by Zhao and Packer (2009) is slightly modified such that
the geometry of the equivalent RHS is closer to that of the EHS.
As shown in Fig. 13(a), the depth (De ) and width (Be ) of the equiv-
alent RHS can be calculated
2a þ ðAs þ Ac Þ=2b
De ¼ ð4Þ
2
As þ Ac
Be ¼ ð5Þ
De
and the wall thickness (te ) of the equivalent RHS can be taken

© ASCE 04020144-12 J. Struct. Eng.

J. Struct. Eng., 2020, 146(8): 04020144

 Accumulated energy dissipation (kJ)

Accumulated energy dissipation (kJ)

250 300
Composite section, t = 6 mm Composite section, t = 8 mm

250
200

200
150
150
100 C-6-M-0.2
C-6-M-0.3 100 C-8-M-0.2
C-6-W-0.2 C-8-M-0.3
50 C-6-W-0.3 50 C-8-W-0.2
C-6-B-0.3 C-8-W-0.3
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
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Cycle number Cycle number

Accumulated energy dissipation (kJ)

Accumulated energy dissipation (kJ)

300 500
Hollow section, t = 8 mm Composite section, t = 12 mm

250
400

200
300
150
200
100 C-12-M-0.2
H-8-M-0.2 C-12-M-0.3
H-8-M-0.3 100 C-12-W-0.2
50 H-8-W-0.2 C-12-W-0.3
H-8-W-0.3 C-12-B-0.3
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50

Cycle number Cycle number

Fig. 12. Accumulated energy dissipation of test specimens.

As
te ¼ ð6Þ
Cm

where As and Ac = steel and concrete areas of the concrete-filled

EHS, respectively; 2a and 2b = outer depth and width of the
EHS, respectively; and Cm = perimeter of the midthickness of the
equivalent RHS. Eqs. (4)–(6) ensure that the EHS and the equivalent
RHS have the same steel and concrete areas as well as close flexural
section properties.
(a) Using the RHS analogy, the moment resistance of the specimens
can be readily calculated through the current design frameworks for
composite beam-column members. Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a) uses
the following equation for predicting the moment resistance of
composite beam-columns under uniaxial bending:

MEd
≤ αM ð7Þ
Mpl;N;Rd

where MEd = design moment resistance; and M pl;N;Rd = plastic

bending resistance taking into account of the axial force, as can
be derived from the moment-axial load resistance interaction curve
stipulated in Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a). The value of M pl;N;Rd
(b) should be no larger than Mpl;Rd , i.e., the pure bending resistance
of the composite section. The coefficient αM is taken as 0.9 and 0.8
Fig. 13. Design for moment resistance: (a) equivalent RHS; and
for steel grades S235–S355 and S420–S460, respectively. For com-
(b) moment-axial load resistance interaction curve proposed by Han
bined compression and biaxial bending, the following conditions
et al. (2016).
should be satisfied:

© ASCE 04020144-13 J. Struct. Eng.

J. Struct. Eng., 2020, 146(8): 04020144

 M y;Ed M z;Ed N u ¼ ðAs þ Ac Þð1.18 þ 0.85ξÞf c ð15Þ
≤ αM;y ; ≤ αM;z ð8Þ
M pl;y;N;Rd M pl;z;N;Rd
Mu ¼ γ m W scm ð1.18 þ 0.85ξÞf c ð16Þ
M y;Ed M z;Ed where γ m = factor allowing for plastic development, i.e., γ m ¼
þ ≤ 1.0 ð9Þ 1.04 þ 0.48 lnðξ þ 0.1Þ; and W scm = plastic section modulus of
M pl;y;N;Rd M pl;z;N;Rd
the equivalent rectangle. The following equations are then used
where subscripts y and z = major-axis and minor-axis bending con- to predict the strength of composite members under combined com-
ditions, respectively. pression and bending:
AISC (2016) uses the following equations to predict the strength     
N M x 1.8 M y 1.8 1.81 N
of the beam-column members under combined compression and þ a1 þ ≤ 1.0 for ≥ 2η0 ð17Þ
bending: Nu M ux M uy Nu
   2    1.8  1.8  1
Pr 8 M rx M ry Pr N N Mx My 1.8
þ þ ≤ 1.0 for ≥ 0.2 ð10Þ −b1 − c1 þ þ
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ϕc Pn 9 ϕb M nx ϕb M ny ϕ c Pn Nu Nu M ux M uy
N
  ≤ 1.0 for < 2η0 ð18Þ
Pr M rx M ry Pr Nu
þ þ ≤ 1.0 for < 0.2 ð11Þ
2ϕc Pn ϕb M nx ϕb M ny ϕ c Pn where a1 , b1 , and c1 are

where Pr , Mrx , and M ry = applied axial compression, major-axis 1 − ζ0 2ðζ 0 − 1Þ

bending moment, and minor-axis bending moment, respectively;
Pn , M nx , and M ny = axial load, major-axis bending, and minor-axis
bending resistance, respectively; and ϕc and ϕb = resistance factors
for compression and bending, respectively. In this study, all the re-
sistance factors (partial factors) are taken as unity. For the compres-
sive strength Pn , a reduction factor of C2 ¼ 0.85 for concrete is
used because of the RHS equivalency. The definitions of the other
design parameters are similar to those in Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a).
Apart from Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a) and AISC (2016), the de-
sign method proposed by Han (2016) has also been widely adopted
for predicting the strength of concrete-filled RHS members. As
shown in Fig. 13(b), the shape of the moment-axial load resistance
interaction curve is dependent on ζ 0 and η0 , which are
ζ 0 ¼ 1 þ 0.14ξ −1.3
η0 ¼ 0.5 − 0.318ξ for ξ ≤ 0.4
η0 ¼ 0.1 þ 0.13ξ −0.81 for ξ > 0.4
where ξ ¼ As fy =Ac f c = constraining factor, based on which the
axial and flexural resistance can be obtained by
a1 ¼ 1 − 2η0 ; b1 ¼ ; and c1 ¼ ð19Þ
η20 η0
Table 5 gives the test moment resistance (M u ) as well as the
test-to-predicted ratios using the various approaches discussed
previously. In the table, M EC-RHS , M AISC-RHS , and M Han-RHS are
the moment resistances of the RHS equivalencies predicted by
Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a), AISC (2016), and Han (2016), respec-
tively. These values could be derived from hand-calculation. For a
comparison purpose, MEC-EHS and MAISC-EHS , which are the mo-
ment resistances of the unmodified concrete-filled EHS members
predicted by Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a) and AISC (2016), respec-
tively, are also included in the table. It is noted that a reduction factor
of C2 ¼ 0.85 for concrete was consistently used for M AISC-EHS.
The results show that the considered design methods always
ð12Þ provide conservative moment resistance predictions for the speci-
mens. The mean test-to-predicted ratios obtained from the different
approaches range from 1.37 to 2.12, and the associated coefficients
ð13Þ
of variation (CoVs) vary from 0.13 to 0.27. The conservatism re-
sults from the ignorance of material hardening (both monotonic and
ð14Þ cyclic hardening) and constraining effects in the design equations.
For Eurocode 4 (CEN 2004a) and AISC (2016), more conservative
predictions are observed for the specimens under biaxial bending
compared with the case of uniaxial bending. This is attributed to the

Table 5. Comparison of test and predicted moment resistance of composite specimens

Specimen M u (kN · m) M u =MEC-RHS M u =MEC-EHS Mu =M AISC-RHS M u =M AISC-EHS Mu =M Han-RHS
C-6-M-0.2 202.1 1.47 1.47 1.66 1.69 1.21
C-6-M-0.3 199.4 1.47 1.47 1.88 1.91 1.19
C-6-W-0.2 98.1 1.29 1.28 1.47 1.48 1.24
C-6-W-0.3 95.8 1.29 1.28 1.66 1.68 1.21
C-6-B-0.3 161.4 2.36 2.29 3.02 3.05 1.62
C-8-M-0.2 219.2 1.64 1.63 1.84 1.86 1.29
C-8-M-0.3 213.0 1.60 1.59 2.02 2.04 1.22
C-8-W-0.2 117.9 1.60 1.58 1.81 1.82 1.46
C-8-W-0.3 118.2 1.64 1.63 2.10 2.12 1.47
C-12-M-0.2 312.9 1.86 1.84 1.98 2.00 1.31
C-12-M-0.3 299.0 1.80 1.81 2.16 2.18 1.23
C-12-W-0.2 169.1 1.81 1.78 1.94 1.95 1.49
C-12-W-0.3 162.5 1.82 1.80 2.18 2.20 1.46
C-12-B-0.3 244.3 3.01 3.01 3.61 3.64 1.78
Mean= 1.76 1.75 2.10 2.12 1.37
CoV= 0.25 0.25 0.27 0.27 0.13
Note: The bold values indicate summaries of the results.

© ASCE 04020144-14 J. Struct. Eng.

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Fig. 14. Relationship between ultimate drift and section slenderness.
idealized linear interaction between the moment resistances with
respect to the two principal-axis. Better predictions are provided
by Han’s approach for biaxial bending because a more reasonable
nonlinear interaction is used, i.e., Eqs. (17) and (18). Another in-
teresting finding is that considering the same standard, the test-to-
predicted ratios obtained from the EHSs and the equivalent RHSs
are quite similar, and the CoVs are also the same. This demon-
strates that the accuracy of the predicted moment resistance is not
compromised by using the RHS equivalency. Generally speaking,
the Han’s approach, adopting the RHS equivalency, leads to the
best agreement with the test results and with the lowest CoV.
Ductility
Engineers are often interested in knowing the ultimate rotational
capacities of beam-to-column connections, column feet, and other
critical members under seismic loading conditions in order to check
if the codified ductility requirements (e.g., SMF and DCH criteria)
are satisfied. To this end, the authors and coworkers (Fang et al.
2018) have proposed a ductility-oriented approach that provides
a quick assessment of the available ductility supply of bare steel
EHS beam-columns under different loading conditions. Such a
method describes the relationship between the ultimate drift θu
and the section slenderness λ ¼ De =tε2 , using a simple equation
as expressed by Fang et al. (2018)
C1 C2
θu ¼ þ 2 ð20Þ
λ λ
where C1 and C2 = two constants that depend on the load ratio and
loading directions. This design concept can be well extended to
concrete-filled EHSs. Using λ as the controlling parameter is still
reasonable for composite EHSs of which the ductility depends
greatly on section slenderness, even though the concrete core de-
lays local buckling. Based on the limited test data presented in this
paper, a modified form, as given in Eq. (21), is preliminarily pro-
posed to predict the ultimate drift of concrete-filled EHS beam-
columns
a • Ductility and energy dissipation. The ductility ratio exceeded
θu ¼ ð21Þ
λb
where a and b = constants that are derived from curve fitting. A
single term is simply used in the equation because of the limited
number of θu − λ pairs available.
The θu − λ pairs obtained from the tests and the corresponding
fitted curves are shown in Fig. 14. The trend that θu decreases with
increasing λ is well captured, and the influences of the axial load
© ASCE 04020144-15
J. Struct. Eng., 2020, 146(8): 04020144
ratio and bending direction can be fully considered by tuning the
two constants. Apart from ductility prediction, engineers may al-
ternatively use the equations to restrict the section slenderness limit
if a design target, e.g., a 4% ultimate drift, is predetermined. It is
worth noting that the present equation only serves as a demonstra-
tion of the proposed methodology, and it is only applicable to the
members with parameters falling into the considered range. More
comprehensive design equations may be proposed when further
experimental and numerical data are available in the future.
Summary and Conclusions
The main focus of this study has been on the seismic behavior of
concrete-filled EHS beam-column members under combined com-
pression and cyclic bending. Tests on 18 specimens, including 14
composite ones and four bare steel ones, were conducted. The main
findings and conclusions are summarized as follow:.
• Material property. The sequential cold-working and annealing
procedure led to the basic material properties of the EHS speci-
mens being comparable to those of standard hot-rolled EHS
members. Pronounced strain hardening and good ductility were
observed, and the difference in the material properties at the cor-
ner and flattest regions was not significant.
• Failure mode. The bare steel EHS specimens mainly failed in
local buckling under combined compression and cyclic bending,
but the concrete-filled members exhibited more diverse failure
modes, including local buckling, a fracture of the steel section
following local buckling, and an abrupt fracture of the steel
section with no evident local buckling. The failure mode was
majorly governed by the bending direction.
• Hysteretic response. Full hysteretic responses with no pinching
were observed for all the specimens. The moment resistance of
the specimens was mainly affected by the tube wall thickness
and bending direction. The predicted plastic moment resistance
(Mp ) using the yield stress block assumption was consistently
smaller than the test results, as the material hardening and con-
straining effects were ignored when calculating Mp .
4.0 for most specimens, indicating a highly ductile behavior.
Either increasing the compactness of the section or adding con-
crete could effectively increase the ductility ratio. The energy
dissipation of the specimens depended significantly on the sec-
tion size and ductility performance. The typical equivalent vis-
cous damping ratio (ζ eq ) was on the order of 25%–55% when
the peak load was reached, where section slenderness was found
to have the most pronounced influence on ζ eq . The ductility and
J. Struct. Eng.
 energy dissipation characteristics of the specimens subjected to
biaxial bending fell between the major-axis and minor-axis
bending responses.
• Design aspects. The present codified design methods for pre-
dicting the moment resistance of composite beam-columns
tended to be overly conservative, especially for biaxial bending.
The Han’s approach, adopting the RHS equivalency, could pro-
vide a better agreement with the test results. The RHS equiva-
lency enabled a more convenient design of composite EHS
members. In addition, a preliminary ductility-oriented design
method was proposed, and this design concept can be readily
extended to all types of beam-columns and can be modified
when more data are available.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study
appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The financial support from the National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China (NSFC) with Grant Nos. 51778456 and 51922064 is
gratefully acknowledged. Support for this study was also provided
by a research grant from the State Key Laboratory for Disaster
Prevention in Civil Engineering (Grant No. SLDRCE19-B-07)
and the Shanghai Gaofeng Grant.
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