Composite Structures 229 (2019) 111479

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Composite Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Compressive behavior of CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns T

under axial loading
⁎
Jiong-Feng Lianga,c, Wan-Jie Zoub, , Zeng-Liang Wanga, Da-wei Liuc
a
State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Nuclear Resources and Environment, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, China
b
College of Civil and Architecture Engineering, Guangxi University of Science and Technology, Liuzhou, China
c
College of Architecture Engineering, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper reports the compressive behavior of CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns under axial
Partially encased concrete loading. Nine CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns and three partially encased concrete columns
Column are axially tested. The failure modes, load versus displacement relationship, axial bearing capacity, ductility and
CFRP sheet initial stiffness are presented and analyzed. The results show that CFRP-confined partially encased concrete
Axial loading
columns present a better mechanical performance than those without CFRP sheets confining (i.e. partially en-
Design formula
cased concrete columns). CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns are eventually failed due to the
local buckling of steel flange with rupture of CFRP sheet or without rupture of CFRP sheet. The ductility and
axial bearing capacity of columns can be improved with increasing number of CFRP sheet layers. A simplified
design formula of CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns is proposed, which can satisfactorily agree
with the test results.

1. Introduction (CFSST) columns strengthened by CFRP wrap, and a formula of axial

Nowadays, composite columns are popularly applied for highway
bridges, offshore structures and high-rise buildings thanks to their ex-
cellent carrying capacity and seismic behavior. Steel reinforced con-
crete (SRC) columns, concrete filled steel tubes (CFST) columns and
partially encased composite (PEC) columns are currently common types
of composite column. This type of PEC column consists of H-shaped
steel section with concrete being poured between the flanges of the
steel section. One of the advantages for PEC column is that it requires
formwork on only two sides of the column. And numerous research
studies have also been conducted on PEC columns [1–7].
Recently, CFRP has been widely applied in new construction as well
as for the retrofit of existing structures [8–15]. However, only a few
researches on the application of FRP in steel and concrete composite
structures has been reported. For example, Wang et al. [16] presented
an experimental result of CFRP strips partially-wrapped circular CFST
stub columns under eccentric axial compression, and developed a
nonlinear finite element model. Khan et al. [17] tested twelve speci-
mens to study axial-flexural interactions of concrete filled carbon FRP
tube (CFRP-CFFT) columns with and without CFRP reinforcing bars.
Sharif et al. [18] experimentally, numerically and analytically studied
the axial compression behavior of concrete-filled stainless steel tubular
bearing capacity was also put forward. Prabhu and Sundarraja [19]
experimentally and analytically studied compressive behavior of CFRP
strips strengthened CFST short columns. It is concluded that the lateral
deformation of CFST is provided restraint against effectively by external
wrapping of CFRP strips and the local buckling of steel tube is also
delayed.
Here, a new CFRP- confined partially encased composite column,
including a steel column partially encased in concrete and wrapped
with FRP sheet, is proposed, as shown in Fig. 1. The axial compressive
behavior of this composite column may be enhanced in that the ex-
ternal FRP sheet prevents outward lateral buckling of the steel flanges
and provides confinement to the concrete cores of column. To realize
the axial compressive behavior of CFRP- confined partially encased
composite columns, an experimental study is conducted. The effect of
the number of CFRP sheet layers and slenderness ratio on axial load-
displacement relationship, peak load is also analyzed. The simplified
design formula of CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns is
proposed.

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wjz5678@126.com (W.-J. Zou).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2019.111479
Received 22 May 2019; Received in revised form 14 September 2019; Accepted 18 September 2019
Available online 19 September 2019
0263-8223/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
J.-F. Liang, et al. Composite Structures 229 (2019) 111479

Fig. 1. Cross-section of CFRP confined partially encased composite column.

2. Experimental programme
Fig. 2. Fabrication process of specimens.
2.1. Material properties

Table 2
The hot-rolled profile steels conforming to Chinese Standard Q235
Design parameters of the specimens.
steel are applied in this study. The height and width of the steel sections
are both 125 mm, whilst the web and flange thicknesses are 6.5 mm and Specimen Number of Slenderness ratio Column height Profile Steel
9 mm, respectively. The mechanical properties of profile steel are given CFRP layers l0/b H (mm) width b (mm)

in Table 1. According to Specification for Mix Proportion of Ordinary C4F0 0 4.8 600 125
Concrete (JGJ55-2011) [20], the concrete mix proportion is designed to C4F1 1 4.8 600 125
achieve a target strength of 20 MPa. Thus the mix ratio is water:- C4F2 2 4.8 600 125
cement:sand:sand:stone = 0.38:1:0.96:2.46 by weight. According to the C4F3 3 4.8 600 125
C6F0 0 6.4 800 125
Code for Design of Concrete Structures (GB50010-2010) [21], the
C6F1 1 6.4 800 125
compressive strength of concrete is determined, and the average cubic C6F2 2 6.4 800 125
compressive strength value is 24.5 MPa. The nominal width and C6F3 3 6.4 800 125
thickness of each layer of CFRP sheet are 100 mm and 0.167 mm, re- C8F0 0 8.0 1000 125
C8F1 1 8.0 1000 125
spectively. The ultimate tensile strength, tensile strain at fracture and
C8F2 2 8.0 1000 125
elastic modulus of CFRP sheet are 3471 MPa, 0.45% and 255GPa, re- C8F3 3 8.0 1000 125
spectively.
Note: l0 is the length of specimens.
2.2. Specimens design
displacement controlled mode. To monitor the axial deformation of the
The twelve specimens, including nine CFRP-confined partially en- columns, two linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) are
cased concrete columns and three partially encased concrete columns, placed on the loading plate at the bottom of the test machine. The test
are prepared for test under concentric compression. The specimens setup and instrumentation are shown in Fig. 3. In addition, strain
have a height of 600 mm, 800 mm and 1000 mm, respectively. The gauges are installed transversely and longitudinally to measure the
fabrication process of specimens is described in Fig. 2. And Table 2 strains at the mid-height of each specimen.
shows the design parameters of the specimens.
3. Experimental results
2.3. Experimental set-up
3.1. Failure mode
The specimens are tested under monotonic increasing axial com-
pressive loading using a testing machine YAW-3000 with 3000 kN with 3.1.1. Partially encased concrete columns
These observations are similar to the failure process, failure modes
Table 1 of partially encased concrete columns (specimen C4F0, C6F0 and
Mechanical properties of profile steel.
C8F0). Taking for instance specimen C4F0, the failure process of par-
Profile steel fy (MPa) fu (MPa) Es (GPa) εy tially encased concrete columns is stated as follows: the strain of profile
steel web and profile steel flange are very small and the axial dis-
Steel flange 248 282 203 1222
Steel web 247 288 201 1229
placement linearly grows at initial loading stage. As the load increases,
the strain of profile steel web and profile steel flange steadily raises.
Note: fy is the tensile yield stress; fu is the ultimate tensile stress; Es is the elastic Fig. 4 shows the strain of profile steel web and profile steel flange.
modulus; εy is the tensile yield strain. Similarly, the axial displacement also grows. When the load arrives

2
J.-F. Liang, et al. Composite Structures 229 (2019) 111479

Fig. 3. Test loading set-up of columns.

Fig. 5. Typical failure mode of partially encased concrete columns.

Fig. 4. The strain of profile steel web and profile steel flange.

about 65% of the maximum load, concrete crack is observed. And then
it spreads towards the top and bottom ends of the column. Meanwhile,
the axial deformation of column increases rapidly. When the load ar-
rives about 85% of the maximum load, the columns approach the yield
stage yet. In this stage, the cracking width of concrete is wider and the
axial load- displacement relationship of column is nonlinear. When the
load arrives to the maximum load, it appears the local buckling of
profile steel flange. After the peak load, concrete crushed is observed
and local buckling of profile steel flange is serious. When the whole test
is finished, the typical failure mode-concrete crushing combined with
local buckling of the steel flanges is observed, as shown in Fig. 5.

3.1.2. CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns Fig. 6. Typical failure mode of CFRP-confined partially encased concrete col-
Fig. 6 displays the typical failure modes of CFRP-confined partially umns.
encased concrete columns. Observations of early stage, it is similar
behavior between CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns
and partially encased concrete columns. With the axial load increases,
the sound of resin cracking can be heard. And then, the local buckling

3
J.-F. Liang, et al.
of profile steel flange begins. When the axial load attains about 90% of
the maximum load, the CFRP sheets start to rupture as local buckling of
profile steel flange extends in the specimens with a slenderness ratio of
4.8 or 6.4. However, the local buckling of profile steel flange in the
specimens with a slenderness ratio of 8.0 does not appear. For speci-
mens with a slenderness ratio of 4.8 or 6.4, the rupture zone of CFRP
sheets extended as local buckling of profile steel flange constantly ex-
tends. And then those specimens finally failed belong to the rupture of
CFRP sheets along with local buckling of steel flange. However, it is
worth noting that there is no rupture of CFRP sheets observed in the
specimens with a slenderness ratio of 8.0, even if the test is finished.
The reason is more likely to be these specimens with higher slenderness
ratio. These specimens are bent laterally, causing local buckling of steel
flange and finally failed.
In general, the CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns
finally failed owing to the local buckling of steel flange with rupture of
CFRP sheet or without rupture of CFRP sheet. The CFRP sheet delays
the local bucking of profile steel. Therefore, CFRP-confined partially
encased concrete columns have good mechanical properties.
3.2. Axial load-displacement relationship
The axial load-displacement curves of test specimens are shown in
Figs. 7 and 8. Fig. 7 describes the effect of the number of CFRP sheet
layers on the axial load-displacement relationship of composite col-
umns. In the initial stage, the load-displacement curve of the test spe-
cimens is linear, that is, the test specimens are undergoing the elastic
stage. When the axial load continues to increase, the axial load-dis-
placement relationship demonstrates a gradual difference. With
Fig. 7. Effect of the number of CFRP sheet layers on axial load-displacement curves of columns.
4
Composite Structures 229 (2019) 111479
increasing number of CFRP sheet layers, there is an increase in bearing
capacity and stiffness of columns. Compared to unconfined columns,
the CFRP-confined columns have higher stiffness. In a word, the CFRP-
confined columns have better deformation capacity and ductility.
Fig. 8 describes the effect of slenderness ratio on the axial load-
displacement curves of composite columns. As the slenderness ratio
increases, the slope of arising part of curves between axial load and
displacement declines. That is, the stiffness declines with increasing
slenderness ratio. After the peak load, the axial load of columns with a
larger slenderness ratio drops rapidly by comparison to columns with a
smaller slenderness ratio. It also demonstrates that it has better de-
formation capability for the columns with a smaller slenderness ratio.
And the axial bearing capability increases with the decrease in slen-
derness ratio.
3.3. Peak loads and ductility
Fig. 9 gives the effect of different factors on the axial bearing ca-
pacity of columns. And the peak loads, ductility factors for the tested
specimens are present in Table 3. To observe the strengthening effect of
CFRP sheets, we define the strength enhancement index (SEI), as shown
in Eq. (1). And the ductility index (DI) is defined as shown in Eq. (2),
which is used to evaluate ductility of test specimens.
PFRP,max − PPEC,max
SEI =
PPEC ,max (1)
where PFRP,max and PPEC,max is the peak load of CFRP-confined PEC
columns and that of PEC columns, respectively.
J.-F. Liang, et al. Composite Structures 229 (2019) 111479

Fig. 8. Effect of slenderness ratio on axial load-displacement curves of columns.

Fig. 9. Effect of different factors on the axial bearing capacity.

△u 3.3.1. The number of CFRP sheet layers

DI =
△y
where △u is the ultimate displacement corresponding to the failure
load, which is 85% of the peak load at descending part of curves be-
tween axial load and displacement; △y stands for the yield displace-
ment.
As can be seen from Table 3 and Fig. 9, the effect of different factors
on the axial bearing capacity and ductility for specimens can be de-
monstrated:
(2) It can be seen that values of SEI range from 24.9% to 52.5%.
Compared to the column with zero layer of CFRP sheet (specimen
C4F0), in other word, the specimen is a bare PEC column, the axial
bearing capacity of columns with one, two and three layer of CFRP
sheet are enhanced by 25.2%, 41.5% and 52.5%, respectively. The re-
sult illustrates that the number of CFRP sheet layers can improve the
load capacity of PEC columns. That is, the axial bearing capacity of
columns increases with increasing number of CFRP sheet layers. The
reason may be that CFRP sheet can provide the additional confinement
effect. And it can be seen that the DI values of the CFRP-confined col-
umns are larger by comparison to unconfined columns. Compared with

5
J.-F. Liang, et al. Composite Structures 229 (2019) 111479

Table 3
Peak load and ductility factor of test specimens.
Index Peak load Yield displacement Ultimate displacement SEI (%) DI DI improvement
Pmax (kN) Δy (mm) Δu (mm)

C4F0 852 21.3 45.5 – 2.1 1.00

C4F1 1067 11.8 35.5 25.2 3.0 1.43
C4F2 1206 11.6 36.1 41.5 3.1 1.48
C4F3 1299 11.9 36.3 52.5 3.4 1.62
C6F0 827 12.5 35.9 – 2.9 1.00
C6F1 1048 11.3 34.1 26.7 3.0 1.03
C6F2 1141 12.1 37.6 38.0 3.1 1.06
C6F3 1152 13.8 45.6 39.3 3.3 1.14
C8F0 795 15.2 36.1 – 2.4 1.00
C8F1 993 9.5 30.3 24.9 3.2 1.33
C8F2 1094 12.4 40.9 37.6 3.3 1.38
C8F3 1127 13.1 44.6 41.8 3.5 1.46

that of specimen C8F0, the DI improvement of specimen C8F1, C8F2
and C8F3 are 133%, 138% and 146%, respectively. It shows that the
ductility of column can be enhanced as the number of CFRP sheet layers
increases.
3.3.2. Slenderness ratio
Compared to one-layer CFRP sheet confined column with a slen-
derness ratio of 4.8, the axial bearing capacity of one-layer CFRP sheet
confined columns with a slenderness ratio of 6.4 and 8.0 reduce re-
spectively by 1.8% and 7.2%. Compared to two-layer CFRP sheet con-
fined columns with a slenderness ratio of 4.8, the axial bearing capacity
of two-layer CFRP sheet confined columns with a slenderness ratio of
6.4 and 8.0 decrease by 3.3% and 9.3%. It is similar to the columns with
one or two layers of CFRP sheet, the axial bearing capacity of columns
of with three layers of CFRP sheet declines with increasing slenderness
ratio. In other word, the axial bearing capacity of CFRP sheet confined
columns is reduce as slenderness ratio increases.
3.4. Initial stiffness
To evaluate the initial stiffness of test specimens, the initial stiffness
index (ISI) is used and defined as follow:
Py
ISI =
△y (3)
where Py is the yield load of columns, △y is the yield displacement
corresponding to yield load.
Fig. 10 shows the initial stiffness values of columns. Like CFRP
confining can enhance the axial bearing capacity of column, it also can
enhance the initial stiffness. Compared to the column with zero layer of
CFRP sheet and slenderness ratio of 6.4 (specimen C6F0), the initial
stiffness of columns with 1, 2 and 3 layer of CFRP sheet are increased by
58.4%, 64.3% and 36.9%, respectively. The initial stiffness of columns
with one, two and three layer of CFRP sheet and slenderness ratio of 8.0
are 122.2% higher, 67.8% higher and 67.9% higher, respectively. The
result indicated that the initial stiffness of columns does not always
increase with increasing number of CFRP sheet layers.
4. Simplified formulate
To evaluate the compressive strength ( fcc′ ) of FRP confined concrete,
Lam and Teng [24] propose an equation as follows
fcc′ = fco′ + 2.0flu (4)
2f frp t frp
flu =
h2 + b2 (5)
where fco′ stands for compressive strength of unconfined concrete, flu
means lateral confinement pressure of confined concrete, f frp is the
tensile strength of FRP sheets, t frp is the thickness of FRP sheets; h and b
are height and width of section for FRP confined concrete specimen,
respectively.
And an equation of the axial load capacity (Nu ) of partially encased
concrete columns can be provided by EC4 (2004) [22]:
Nu = Aa fa + 0.85Ac fc + As fs (6)
where Aa , Ac and As are the cross-sectional area of profile steel, con-
crete and longitudinal reinforcing steel of column, respectively. fa and
fs are the yield strength of profile steel and longitudinal reinforcing
steel, respectively. fc is the compressive strength of concrete.
Based on the above analysis of the test data, we propose a method,
considering the difference between CFRP–confined partially encased
concrete column and partially encased concrete column, an calculate
the axial bearing capacity of CFRP–confined partially encased concrete
columns. The formula of the axial bearing capacity (Nu, FRP ) of
CFRP–confined partially encased concrete columns is expressed as
Nu, FRP = φ (Aa fa + 0.85Ac fcc′ + As fs ) (7)

where φ is the buckling factor of column, which can be determined by

Fig. 10. Effect of CFRP sheet layers on initial stiffness.
Chinese Standard GB50017-2017 (2017) [23]; fcc′ notes the compressive
strength of FRP confined concrete.
A comparison between the test results and the calculated results
provided by Eq. (7) for axial bearing capacity of columns are shown in
Table 4. Good agreements between the calculated results as well as the
test results are observed. Hence, the proposed equation may be used for
estimating the axial bearing capacity of CFRP–confined partially en-
cased concrete columns.

6
J.-F. Liang, et al. Composite Structures 229 (2019) 111479

Table 4 Foundation (No. 51868001), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi

Comparison between tested results and calculated results. Province for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 20162BCB23051), the
Index Test results (kN) Calculated results (kN) Error (%) Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (No.
20171BAB206053) and the Hundred People Voyage Project of Jiangxi
C4F0 852 900 5.6 Province, which are gratefully acknowledged.
C4F1 1067 997 6.5
C4F2 1206 1094 9.3
C4F3 1299 1287 0.9
References
C6F0 827 879 6.3
C6F1 1048 974 7.1 [1] Begum M, Driver RG, Elwi AE. Parametric study on eccentrically-loaded partially
C6F2 1141 1068 6.3 encased composite columns under major axis bending. Steel Compos Struct
C6F3 1152 1257 9.1 2018;19(5):1299–319.
C8F0 795 858 7.9 [2] Fellouh A, Benlakehal N, Piloto P, Ramos A, Mesquita L. Load carrying capacity of
C8F1 993 950 4.3 partially encased columns for different fire ratings. Fire Res 2017;1:380–90.
C8F2 1094 1042 4.7 [3] Hunaiti YM, Abdel Fattah B. Design considerations of partially encased composite
C8F3 1127 1227 8.9 columns. Proc Instn Civ Eng Struct Bldgs 1994;106:75–82.
[4] Chen YY, Wang T, Yang J, Zhao XZ. Test and numerical simulation of partially
encased composite columns subject to axial and cyclic horizontal loads. Int J Steel
Struct 2010;4:385–93.
5. Conclusions [5] Song YC, Wang RP, Li J. Local and post-local buckling behavior of welded steel
shapes in partially encased composite columns. Thin-Walled Struct
2015;108:93–108.
This paper investigates the axial compressive behavior of CFRP- [6] Chicoine T, Tremblay R, Massicotte B, Ricles JL. Behavior and strength of partially
confined partially encased concrete columns. From the experimental encased composite columns with built-up shapes. ASCE-J Struct Eng
results, the following conclusions can be drawn: 2002;128(3):279–88.
[7] Elnashai AS, Elghazouli AY. Performance of composite steel/concrete members
under earthquake loading.Part 1: analytical model. Earthquake Eng Struct Dyn
(1) The experimental results indicate that the compressive behavior of 1993;22(4):315–45.
partially encased concrete columns can be improved due to CFRP [8] Park JW, Choi SM. Structural behavior of CFRP strengthened concrete-filled steel
tubes columns under axial compression loads. Steel Compos Struct
sheet confining in the lateral direction. Besides, the development of 2013;14(5):453–72.
local buckling of steel flange is also delayed effectively by the CFRP [9] Wang QL, Zhao Z, Shao YB, Li QL. Static behavior of axially compressed square
sheet. Thus, CFRP–confined partially encased concrete columns concrete filled CFRP-steel tubular (S-CF-CFRP-ST) columns with moderate slen-
derness. Thin-Walled Struct 2017;110:106–22.
have good mechanical performance.
[10] Zhong T, Han LH, Zhuang JP. Axial loading behavior of CFRP strengthened con-
(2) Failure modes of CFRP-confined partially encased concrete columns crete-filled steel tubular stub columns. Adv Struct Eng 2007;10(1):37–46.
are the local buckling of steel flange with rupture of CFRP sheet or [11] Lu YY, Li N, Li S. Behavior of FRP-confined concrete-filled steel tube columns.
Polymer 2014;6(9):1333–49.
without rupture of CFRP sheet. CFRP-confined columns have better
[12] Huang L, Gao C, Yan L, Yu T, Kasal B. Experimental and numerical studies of CFRP
deformation capacity and ductility than that of partially encased tube and steel spiral dual-confined concrete composite columns under axial impact
concrete columns. loading. Compos B Eng 2018;152:193–208.
(3) The axial bearing capacity of columns increases with increasing [13] Liu J, Xu T, Guo Y, Wang X, Frank Chen Y. Behavior of circular CFRP-steel com-
posite tubed high-strength concrete columns under axial compression. Compos
number of CFRP sheet layers but decreases with increasing slen- Struct 2019;211:596–609.
derness ratio. CFRP confining enhances the axial bearing capacity [14] Choi KK, Xiao Y. Analytical model of circular CFRP confined concrete-filled steel
of column. However, the initial stiffness of columns does not always tubular columns under axial compression. J Compos Constr 2010;14(1):125–33.
[15] Sundarraja MC, Prabha GG. Experimental study on CFST members strengthened by
increase with increasing number of CFRP sheet layers. CFRP composites under compression. J Constr Steel Res 2012;72(5):75–83.
(4) A simplified formula is put forward to estimate the axial bearing [16] Wang JF, Shen QH, Wang FQ, Wang W. Experimental and analytical studies on
capacity of CFRP–confined partially encased concrete columns. CFRP strengthened circular thin-walled CFST stub columns under eccentric com-
pression. Thin-Walled Struct 2018;127:102–19.
Generally, results indicate good agreement between the prediction [17] Khan QS, Sheikh MN, Hadi MNS. Concrete Filled Carbon FRP Tube (CFRP-CFFT)
values and the experimental results. columns with and without CFRP reinforcing bars: Axial-flexural interactions.
Compos B Eng 2018;133:42–52.
[18] Sharif AM, Al-Mekhlafi GM, Al-Osta MA. Structural performance of CFRP-
The study on this paper also helps provide information for further
strengthened concrete-filled stainless steel tubular short columns. Eng Struct
efforts in the future to take into account the effects of other parameters, 2019;183:94–109.
such as material strength. [19] Prabhu GG, Sundarraja MC. Behaviour of concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) short
columns externally reinforced using CFRP strips composite. Constr Build Mater
2013;47:1362–71.
Declaration of Competing Interest [20] JGJ 55-2011. Specification for Mix Proportion Design of Ordinary Concrete. Beijing,
China: China Architecture and Building Press; 2011. [in Chinese].
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial [21] GB 50010-2010. Code for Design of Concrete Structures. Beijing, China: China
Architecture and Building Press; 2010. [in Chinese].
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ- [22] Eurocode 4 (EC4). Design of steel and concrete structures.Part1 1: General rules and
ence the work reported in this paper. rules for building. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization; 2004.
[23] GB 50017-2017. Code for design of steel structures. Beijing, China: China Planning
Press; 2017. [in Chinese].
Acknowledgments [24] Lam L, Teng JG. Strength models for fiber-reinforced plastic-confined concrete.
ASCE-J Struct Eng 2002;128(5):612–23.
This work was supported by the Chinese National Natural Science