Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Constructional Steel Research

Modelling and slenderness design of high-capacity hybrid

beam–columns under lateral cyclic loading
Fatemeh Javidan ⁎
School of Science, Engineering and Information Technology, Federation University, Mt Helen Campus, Ballarat, VIC 3350, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The ‘dual-steel’ concept involves combining High-Strength Steel (HSS) and mild steel to control the energy
Received 3 July 2020 dissipation and overall failure of structures under seismic loads. In this study, the performance and design
Received in revised form 17 December 2020 of a hybrid hollow beam–column were investigated with a focus on the seismic resistance. The hollow section
Accepted 8 February 2021
was fabricated with mild steel plates (grade 250) and HSS tubes (grade 750) and can be used as a lightweight
Available online 25 February 2021
replacement for conventional composite members. A finite-element (FE) model was developed and validated
Keywords:
against available experimental data. To consider the cyclic softening of HSS tubes, a combined kinematic and
High-strength steel tubes isotropic plasticity model was incorporated into the FE model. The cyclic performance of the hybrid hollow
Lateral cyclic loading sections was compared with that of equivalent concrete-filled square composite members, and the strength
Combined plasticity model and weight reduction benefits were assessed. Furthermore, considering the current and modified slenderness
Cyclic softening limits, a sensitivity study was performed on the section geometry. An optimum design for the section geom-
Slenderness limit etry was proposed, in which the HSS tube elements significantly increase the axial and lateral capacities of the
Ductile failure hybrid section and the mild steel plates provide the required ductility to mitigate seismic deformations. The
overall failure mechanism of this design is governed by mild steel plate elements, rather than a sudden failure
initiated in the HSS tubes.
© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction
High-strength steel (HSS) is a cost-effective material in structural
engineering applications owing to its high strength and weight reduc-
tion benefits. In the design of structures in earthquake-prone areas,
reducing the overall structural mass reduces the shear force distribution
at different heights of the structure, which reduces the amount of
structural damage. While the use of HSS in structures reduces the over-
all mass of the structure compared with mild steel, it has a lower
ultimate-to-yield stress ratio, which limits its ductility. Hybrid fabri-
cated sections have been developed and proposed as load-bearing
elements in moment-resisting frames [1,2], which overcome the limita-
tions regarding the ductility and energy dissipation. The fabricated sec-
tion consists of a combination of HSS tubes and mild steel plates welded
together to form a hollow thin-walled steel section. While the HSS tubes
contribute to the load-bearing capacity of the fabricated sections, the
overall weight is significantly lower than that of the conventional
sections.
Hybrid fabricated sections have been investigated under various
structural loading conditions. For example, the axial compression per-
formance of geometries such as flat plates [3] and corrugated plates
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: f.javidan@federation.edu.au.
[4] in hybrid sections have been studied because of their ability to re-
duce local and global buckling. Additionally, hybrid sections have been
tested under pure bending, and combined axial-bending actions and in-
teraction diagrams have been generated for beam–column design pur-
poses [5]. In these studies, the load-bearing capacity was increased by
the incorporation of HSS, which improved the local buckling perfor-
mance, increased the effective width of the section, and increased
the ductility. Furthermore, high-temperature fire tests and plastic-
mechanism modelling have been conducted to evaluate the perfor-
mance of high-strength hybrid sections [6,7].
The seismic resistance of dual-steel building frames was reported by
the European Commission, introducing the idea of a combination of dif-
ferent grades of steel material in the design of structures [8]. HSS sec-
tions are generally recommended as axial load-bearing members of
the frame (columns) that are connected to mild steel beams to provide
an overall ductile failure mechanism [9]. Lian et al. examined the cyclic
performance of a Y-shaped eccentrically braced frame in which all the
members were made of HSS except the link, which was made of
conventional steel. Under applied seismic loads, the link elements dissi-
pated energy through shear deformations, while no plastic deformation
occurred in the HSS members [10]. Studies on moment-resisting frames
using HSS with sacrificial beams made of mild steel were conducted to
investigate and demonstrate the potential of HSS for seismic applica-
tions [11]. In all studies on dual-phase steel, the material has been

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2021.106573
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F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

limited to a yield strength of <700 MPa, whereas in the present study,
grade 750 HSS was used for the hybrid members.
This study borrows the idea of ‘dual-steel’ structures incorporating
HSS and mild steel and introduces hybrid sections as a replacement
for conventional sections. These hybrid fabricated sections are com-
posed of grade 750 steel tubes welded to grade 250 mild steel plates
to form a thin-walled hollow section. A nonlinear finite-element (FE)
model was developed to simulate the proposed beam–column. The
combined hardening steel plasticity model allowed accurate simulation
of the cyclic performance. This model was developed from low-cycle
material tests to capture the cyclic softening of HSS tubes. Using the nu-
merical model, further investigations were performed to compare the
cyclic performance of the hybrid sections with that of common compos-
ite beam–columns and investigate the load capacity and weight bene-
fits. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to investigate
the effects of the tube and plate slenderness geometries on the strength,
displacement ductility, energy absorption, and failure mechanism of the
hybrid fabricated sections. Finally, an optimum geometric design was
proposed for improving the seismic performance and obtaining the duc-
tile failure mode in the hybrid sections.
2. Section properties and test specifications
The section geometry of the hybrid fabricated specimens and the
properties of the constituting plate and tube elements are presented
in Table 1. The mechanical properties were obtained from standard cou-
pon tensile tests. The geometric specifications were identical to those in
the experiments used for the FE model verification. The experimental
sections were fabricated by connecting the outer surfaces of plates
and tubes using fillet welds with the gas tungsten arc welding method
[12]. A high-tensile wire was used, and welding was performed in a
low heat input range. The welding procedure was in compliance with
AS/NZS 1554.7:2006 [13]. The 2-m-long hybrid member was tested
under combined axial and cyclic lateral loads. The lateral displacement
cycles were applied according to the FEMA461 testing protocol [14].
Each amplitude was applied twice, being equal to 1.4 times the ampli-
tude of the previous step. The initial displacement was chosen such
that damage initiation would occur after at least 6 cycles. The cyclic
loading continued until major failure occurred in the specimen and
exceeded the recommended maximum storey drift of 0.03, as defined
by FEMA461. The applied axial force in the Z-direction was equal to
709 kN, which was 25% of the compression capacity of the beam–
column obtained from an experimental test. This percentage of axial
force provided a balance between the axial force and bending-
moment actions on the member. The section profile and geometric
properties are presented in Table 1. Fig. 1(a) shows a graphical repre-
sentation of the axial loads and lateral cyclic displacements applied to
the member, and Fig. 1(b) shows the cycle amplitudes and correspond-
ing cycle numbers.
3. Numerical modelling
3.1. Nonlinear combined hardening plasticity material model
To investigate the cyclic performance of the hybrid sections, a model
was developed in the FE package ABAQUS/standard [15]. Nonlinear ma-
terial models obtained from material tests were used to simulate the
elastic and plastic properties of the mild and high-strength steel. Classic
elastic–plastic models were obtained via standard coupon tensile tests,
whereby the true stress and logarithmic plastic strain values were de-
rived for the mild steel and HSS tube. Previous experimental studies
[16,17] on HSS with an ultimate tensile strength of ≥850 MPa indicated
the occurrence of cyclic softening in this material under reversed cyclic
loads. To capture this behaviour of the HSS material in the modelling of
the cyclically loaded beam–columns, combined plasticity models, in-
cluding cyclic softening, were incorporated into the simulations. This
model is based on Lemaitre's nonlinear plasticity model [18] and can
be incorporated into the software. The kinematic hardening data are
calculated using the stress and plastic strain values obtained from a sin-
gle stabilised cycle and the backstress (αk) as a function of the plastic
strain (ε pl).
Ck



αk ¼ 1− exp −γ k εpl þ α 1 exp −γ k εpl ð1Þ
γk
To model the isotropic flow, the yield surface σ 0 is obtained as a sim-
ple exponential function of the equivalent plastic strain (εpl ) from a

Table 1
Specimen specifications for the FE model validation.

Specimen geometry Specimen properties

plate tube
Steel grade 250 750
Width (mm) Wp = 210 Dt = 76.1
Thickness (mm) tp = 3 tt = 3.2
Yield strength (MPa) 265 772
Ultimate strength (MPa) 376 847
Specimen length (mm) 2000

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F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

Z compression
Cyclic displacement paern
250
25% of axial capacity
200

Cycle amplitude (mm)

150
100
50
Y-direcon mplitude

0
-50
-100
-150
-200
-250

1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
min max Cycle number
X-direcon amplitude
(a) (b)

Fig. 1. a) Forces/displacements in the x (lateral), y, and z (axial) directions; b) cyclic amplitudes and corresponding cycle numbers.

symmetrical strain-controlled experiment (Fig. 2(a)) and defined as material, which was fitted against Eq. (2) using the calibrated
tabular data in the FE software. parameters. Owing to the cyclic softening phenomenon, the sign of Q∞


 was negative, which captured the reduction in the size of the yield sur-

σ 0 ¼ σ 0 þ Q ∞ 1− exp −bεpl ð2Þ face with the increase in the plastic strain. For kinematic hardening, tab-
ular stress and plastic strain data from a single stabilised cycle (see Fig. 2
(a)) of a constant-amplitude experiment were incorporated into
The equivalent stress σi0 and corresponding equivalent strain for the
ABAQUS. Additionally, the combined plasticity model for mild steel
isotropic softening of the ith cycle are obtained as follows:
was implemented in the numerical model. The cyclic softening values
  were taken as +36.89 (MPa) and 32.20 for mild steel, and the kinematic
σ 0i ¼ σ it þ σ ci =2 ð3Þ
hardening data were taken as tabulated data obtained from a constant-
amplitude cycle [17].
1
εpl
i ¼ ð4i−3ÞΔεpl ð4Þ
2
3.2. ABAQUS model validation
Ck and γk in Eq. (1) are the kinematic hardening parameters, and Q∞
and b in Eq. (2) are the isotropic hardening/softening parameters. Low- In this section, details of the simulation and validation for three test
cycle experiments on HSS [16] and mild steel [17] coupons were used to types are presented. Two monotonic experiments were used to verify
derive the parameters. To model the isotropic flow in the software, the the numerical model under axial compression and lateral pushover
yield surface σ 0 can be defined either as direct tabular data or using the loads. Both types of loading were essential for the validation of the
calibrated parameters Q∞ and b. These parameters were obtained as third experiment, which included combined axial compression and lat-
−198.1 (MPa) and 15.8, respectively, for HSS and were previously val- eral cyclic pushover loads. Load–displacement curves for the monotonic
idated against standard tensile experiments [16]. Fig. 2(b) shows the axial and lateral tests obtained from the FE model are presented in
equivalent plastic stress with respect to the plastic strain for the HSS Figs. 3(a) and (b) and compared with the available experimental results

1200
800
HSS
800
Equivalent stress (MPa)

750 Fied curve

400
Stress (MPa)

700
0

650
-400

-800 600

-1200 550
-3% -2% -1% 0% 1% 2% 3% 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Plasc strain Equivalent plasc strain
(a) (b)

Fig. 2. High-strength steel: (a) constant strain amplitudes [16]; (b) isotropic softening parameter calibration.

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F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

3500 300
Experiment Experiment
3000 250
FE model FE model
2500

Axial load (kN)

Lateral load (kN)

200
2000
150
1500
100
1000

500 50

0 0
0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 80 100
Axial displacement (mm) Lateral displacement (mm)
(a) (b)
300 300
Experiment Experiment
250 Classic plascity 200 FE model
Combined Plascity
200 100
Lateral load (kN)

Lateral load (kN)

150 0

100 -100 pinching

mechanism
50 -200

0 -300
0 50 100 150 200 250 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Lateral displacement (mm) Lateral displacement (mm)
(c) (d)

Fig. 3. FE model validation results.

[3,5]. Both models accurately predicted the elastic phase, peak load, and
softening performance.
Using the developed nonlinear material behaviour for mild steel and
HSS tubes, a predictive FE model was generated for the cyclically loaded
hybrid beam–column and validated against the available experimental
results [19]. The boundary conditions of the FE model were simulated
to replicate the test conditions. Additionally, an axial force of 25% of
the capacity was applied to the model.
The resultant lateral load reaction at the end of the beam–column
was obtained, and its cycle envelopes were plotted against the applied
lateral displacements at the top end of the member (Fig. 3(c)). Accord-
ing to the testing protocol defined in Section 2, each displacement cycle
was applied twice. Fig. 3(c) shows the lateral cyclic performance of the
beam–column obtained using two FE models, one based on the classic
elastic–plastic model and the other based on the combined plasticity
model described in Section 3.1. The classic elastic–plastic model was ob-
tained from standard tensile tests without the implementation of cyclic
plasticity. The FE model including the combined cyclic plasticity accu-
rately predicted the initial stiffness, lateral-strength increase, and
post-peak degradation. It also accurately predicted the peak lateral
load, with approximately 1% error relative to the 269.7-kN cap lateral
load observed in the experiments. The FE model also closely predicted
the slight pinching mechanism of the steel elements. Fig. 3(d) shows a
repeated displacement amplitude of 42 mm in experimental cycles 18
and 19. Slight softening—referred to as a pinching mechanism—was ob-
served at a point where the negative lateral displacement amplitude
transitioned to positive values and vice versa. This pinching mechanism
was initiated at displacement values higher than the cap (peak)
strength and was caused by the local shear buckling of the mild steel
plate elements. In the final three cycles, the experimental results exhib-
ited a reduced lateral load capacity compared with the FE prediction
(Fig. 3(c)), which is attributed to the extensive local plastic deformation
at some points of the buckled plate and reaching ductile failure. This
fracture occurred beyond the maximum storey drift of 0.03, as
recommended by FEMA461. The combined plasticity model accurately
predicted the overall cyclic behaviour. Furthermore, the numerical
model correctly predicted the state of overall collapse of the beam–
column member at a displacement amplitude of 238 mm, which was
reached after the second application of the final cycle.
In addition to load and displacement, the strain values of the FE
model were compared against the experiments, in which strain mea-
surements of the bottom half (1 m) of the specimen were performed
using a three-dimensional digital image correlation system (VIC-3D)
[19]. Given that displacement measurements can be converted into
strain measurements on any selected plane, the surfaces parallel to
the lateral displacement axis (X) were studied to capture the main
local and global strain contours in the plate and tubes. The longitudinal
strain distribution was plotted from the FE model at a cycle with
+62 mm amplitude (Fig. 4(a)) and compared against the experimental
measurements (Fig. 4(b)). The model accurately predicted the failure
mode as well as the strain distribution on the plate and tube elements.
The maximum strains occurred at locations with excessive shear defor-
mation (close to the mid-height of the column), and the predicted value
matched the strain of 4.7% recorded in the test. The tubes reached strain
values of approximately 1%, which were recorded in the vicinity of the
bottom end connection of the column in Fig. 4.
4. Comparison with concrete-filled tubular (CFT) members
CFT members have been widely used in earthquake-prone areas be-
cause of their high strength and energy-absorption capacities. The pro-
posed high-capacity cross section is a type of hybrid or composite
section where the two constituent elements structurally interact to pro-
vide sufficient strength and ductility. The HSS tubes in these sections
serve as the axial load-bearing element, which is comparable to the
function of the concrete component in composite concrete-filled

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F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

ɛyy strain (%)

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. Longitudinal strain contours: (a) FE model; (b) experiment.

sections. While the concrete and HSS tubes individually have low ductil- the CFT member. The compression strength of the CFT member was ob-
ity, their combined actions with the steel plates in each of these sections tained from the experiments conducted by Duarte et al. [20]. The com-
increase their deformation limits to satisfy the ductility requirements. pressive capacity of the equivalent hybrid section (N) was obtained via
Despite these similarities, prefabricated hybrid sections are lightweight, the design formulas presented in Eqs. (5)–(7), which were derived
which reduces the overall weight of the structure and the related onsite using the superposition of the plate (Np) and tube (Nt) capacities [2].
labour costs.
An experiment on a 500-mm-long square CFT member conducted N ¼ Nt þ Np ð5Þ
by Duarte et al. was used for comparison (see Table 2, comparison h i
case 1) [20]. The boundary conditions and location of the applied cyclic N t ¼ 4  ðAt −AHAZ Þ  f yt þ AHAZ  f yHAZ ð6Þ
displacement used in this experiment were similar to the experimental
test and verified FE model. Equivalent members were selected to com- N p ¼ 4  Dt  t t  f yp ð7Þ
pare the cyclic performance of the proposed hybrid sections with that
of the CFT sections. The geometry of the equivalent hybrid member
Here, At represents the cross-sectional area of the tube member;
was designed to have a compression section capacity equal to that of
AHAZ represents the heat-affected area of the tubes; Dt and tt represent
the effective width and thickness of the plates, respectively; and fyp
Table 2 and fyt represent the yield strengths of the plates and tubes, respec-
Comparison of case 1 and 2 CFT member specifications with the hybrid member tively. The hybrid and CFT members had equal lengths and were
Element property CFT section Hybrid analysed under similar cyclic loading scenarios. The geometric and
section mechanical properties of both sections are presented in the top part
Comparison First Steel thickness 3 mm 1.4 mm
of Table 2. An FE model of the equivalent hybrid section was gener-
case 1 component plates yield 275 MPa 265 MPa ated and analysed under lateral cyclic loads with increasing horizontal
[20] strength displacements, according to the loading protocol described in this
Second Concrete strength 49.5 ± 3.7 MPa – paper [20].
component HSS tube – 1.5 mm
In addition to the basic geometries, Table 2 compares the structural
tubes thickness
yield – 772 MPa properties of the two sections. According to the calculations, the hybrid
strength section was 14 mm wider than the CFT section. While the two sections
Applied axial force (10%) 49.9 kN 51 kN had similar compressive capacities, their total weights differed signifi-
Specimen length 500 mm 500 mm cantly. The thin-walled hybrid section, which weighed 3.4 kg, was ap-
Total specimen width 100 mm 114 mm
Comparison First Steel thickness 6 mm 6 mm
proximately 4.5 times lighter than the concrete-filled section. The
case 2 component plates yield 256 MPa 265 MPa lateral load versus displacement envelopes of the cycles applied to
[21] strength both specimens are compared in Fig. 5(a). Considering the weight ben-
Second Concrete strength 40 MPa – efits, the cap lateral load resisted by the hybrid section was almost 70
component HSS tube – 8 mm
kN, which was larger than the 52-kN force resisted by the CFT section.
tubes thickness
yield – 772 MPa The lateral cyclic resistance and the energy absorption of the hybrid sec-
strength tion were superior to those of the CFT section.
Applied axial force 2000 kN 2000 kN A second comparison study was conducted on a longer beam–
Specimen length 1500 mm 1500 mm column with higher strength capacities to investigate and compare
Total specimen width 360 352.2
the performance of the hybrid section under larger drift values. A cyclic

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F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

80 1000
CFT-Duarte et.al. CFT-Mao et. al.
60 800
Hybrid Secon Hybrid Secon
600
40
400

Lateral load (kN)

Lateral load (kN)
20 200
0 0

-20 -200
-400
-40
-600
-60 -800
-80 -1000
-40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12
Lateral displacement (mm) Lateral dri (%)
(a) (b)

Fig. 5. Cyclic lateral performance of the hybrid section in comparison with concrete-filled tubes: (a) case 1, i.e. CFT–Duarte et al. [20]; (b) case 2, i.e. CFT–Mao et al. [21].

member was designed such that it had an equal compression section ca-
Table 3
pacity to the comparable CFT member. An axial force of 2000 kN was ap-
Slenderness limits for the plate and tube elements of the hybrid section
plied to both members, along with lateral cyclic displacements.
Section shape Specification Loading Width or The overall widths of the two sections were kept similar. The weight
condition diameter/thickness
of the hybrid section was 25% of that of the square CFT section; thus, the
limit
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi hybrid section provided a significant weight-reduction advantage. The
Rectangular hollow AISC360 flexure 1:4 E=f y ; 1:12 E= f y lateral force versus drift ratio curves for the two beam–column speci-
section qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
compression 1:4 E= f y mens are compared in Fig. 5(b). The lateral cyclic resistance and the en-
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ergy absorption of the hybrid section were superior to those of the CFT
AISC341 flexure 0:64 E= f y
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi section. This indicates the capacity of the hybrid section to mitigate the
compression 0:64 E= f y seismic deformations in the elastic region and beyond the yield limit. In
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
AS4100 flexure 115 250= f y cases where higher axial-strength capacities are required, higher-grade
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi steel tubes can be used in the design of hybrid sections [22]. The dis-
compression 35 250= f y
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi placement ductility (μ) [1,2] which is the ratio of the lateral displace-
EN-1993-1-12 compression 42 235= f y ment corresponding to the ultimate lateral load to that of the yield
Circular hollow section AISC360 flexure 0.07(E/fy), 0.31(E/fy) point was also compared in the hybrid and CFT members. This value
compression 0.11(E/fy) was reported 4.03 in the CFT member [21] and 4.7 in the hybrid section
AISC341 flexure 0.044(E/fy)
showing 16.6% improvement.
compression 0.044(E/fy)
AS4100 flexure 120(250/fy)
compression 82(E/fy) 5. Design of geometry for optimum cyclic performance
EN-1993-1-12 compression 42(235/fy)

5.1. Original and modified slenderness limits

experimental study conducted by Mao et al. [21] on a 1.9-m-long square
CFT specimen was considered for this purpose. The geometrical proper- To obtain a design perspective on the seismic performance of hybrid
ties are compared in the second part of Table 2 (case 2). Similar to case sections and to understand the effects of the geometrical properties on
1, for a valid comparison, the geometry of the equivalent hybrid the lateral cyclic load capacity and energy absorption, a comprehensive

140.0

120.0
D=76.1, W=210 (mm)
100.0 compact round secon
Plate width/thickness

seismically compact round secon

80.0
compact rectangular secon

60.0 seismically compact rectangular secon

modified plate slenderness limit (Eq. 8)

40.0
modified HSS tube slenderness limit (Eq. 9)

modified HSS tube slenderness limit (Eq. 10)

20.0

0.0
0.0 30.0 60.0 90.0
Tube diameter/thickness

Fig. 6. Section geometries for the sensitivity analysis.

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F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

1400 1400

1200 1200

lateral peak load

lateral peak load

1000 1000

800 800

600 600

400 400

200 200

0 0
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0
tube diameter/thickness plate width/thickness
(a) (b)
35 35

30 30
Cycle number of peak

Cycle number of peak

25 25

20 20

15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0
tube diameter/thickness plate width/thickness

(c) (d)

Fig. 7. Effects of the plate and tube slenderness on the (a, b) peak lateral load and (c, d) corresponding cycle number for specimens with a constant width (Dt = 76.1 mm and
Wp = 210 mm).

study was conducted on hybrid sections with various geometries. The
basis of the sensitivity analysis was the slenderness of the tube and
plate elements. The current design specifications AISC360 [23],
AS4100 [24], and EuroCode3 [25] were initially considered for the slen-
derness limits of the two structural elements used in the built-up hybrid
section (Table 3). Owing to the closed square geometry of the fabricated
sections, the limits for the plate members were selected in accordance
with the rectangular hollow sections and box sections of uniform thick-
ness. In some cases, the width-to-thickness ratios were selected such
that they complied with the seismically compact slenderness limits
[26]. Given the variety of geometric parameters, the analysis was per-
formed on a group of hybrid sections with similar plate width and
tube diameter values. Within this category, the thicknesses of the
plate and tube elements were changed to investigate their effects on
the cyclic performance.
Previous studies on single HSS tubes and hybrid fabricated sections
consisting of HSS tubes revealed that the slenderness limits proposed
in the code specifications are conservative. Experiments on square and
triangular hybrid sections have indicated that the slenderness limit of
flat plates welded to HSS tubes on both sides is different from that of
simple plates in box sections owing to the additional restraint [2]. This
modification is expressed as follows:
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
W p =t p < 123 250=f y
The slenderness limit of the HSS tube is higher than that proposed
for lower grades of steel in the current design specifications. Jiao et al.
[27] reported that the slenderness limits are affected by the residual
stresses, geometric imperfections, and yield stress of circular tubes.
This conclusion is based on a comparison between the ratio of the stan-
dard and modified slenderness limits and the yield-strength values.
Taking 772 MPa as the yield strength of the tubes, a modified slender-
ness limit for HSS tubes is considered as follows:


Dt =t t < 148 250= f y ð9Þ
A relaxed slenderness limit for cold-formed carbon steel circular hol-
low sections was generated according to experimental compression
tests [28]. The modified slenderness formula is


Dt =t t < 185 235= f y ð10Þ
The section geometries considered in the sensitivity study were de-
signed according to the modified slenderness limits for both the tube
and plate elements.
5.2. Sensitivity analysis and lateral peak load
A total of 22 sections with constant tube-diameter and plate-
ð8Þ thickness values and varying slenderness combinations were analysed,
as shown in Fig. 6. All the sections were within the modified slenderness
limits for plates and high-strength tubes, and some sections were
within the seismic compact-geometry requirements. The compressive
strength of each section was calculated using Eq. (5). 25% of the total

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F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

100
axial compression capacity and a superimposed lateral cyclic load, as
described in Section 2, were applied to each member. 90
The effects of the plate width-to-thickness ratio (Wp/tp) and
tube diameter-to-thickness ratio (Dt/tt) on the peak lateral load and 80
the cycle in which the peak lateral load occurred were examined,
70
as shown in Fig. 7. The slopes of the trendlines in Figs. 7(a) and

Plate width/thickness
(b) indicate that the maximum lateral load was three times more sensi- 60
tive to the increase in tube slenderness than plate slenderness. This ratio
was close to the tube-to-plate yield-strength ratio. With a 4-fold in- 50
crease in the Dt/tt of the tube, the maximum lateral load decreased to
40
25%. When the plate Wp/tp increased by a factor of five, the peak lateral
load decreased to 25%. The cycle at which the peak lateral load occurred 30
was more sensitive to the increasing tube slenderness than to the in-
20 Axial failure
creasing plate slenderness. Increasing the tube Dt/tt from 7.6 to 34.6 re-
duced the cycle number of the peak lateral load from 29 to 13. In the Shear failure
10
case of the plate slenderness, this reduction did not follow a trend. Shear/Axial failure line
0
5.3. Failure mechanism and stress values 0 20 40 60 80
Tube diameter/thickness
The fabricated hybrid sections failed via two distinct mechanisms (a)
depending on the geometry and slenderness of the plates and tubes. 100
The first mechanism was axial failure, which was initiated in the com-
pression direction in the plate and tube elements and progressed in 90

80

70
Plate width/thickness

60

50

40

30
μ≥4
20
2<μ<4
10 μ≤2

0
0 20 40 60 80
Tube diameter/thickness
(b)

Fig. 9. (a) Failure analysis; (b) displacement ductility in specimens with Dt = 76.1 mm and
Wp = 210 mm.

the form of axial squash. The second mechanism was shear failure,
which was initiated in the plates under the applied lateral drift. These
two mechanisms are compared in Fig. 8. The failure mechanism was di-
rectly correlated with the stress status of the plate and tube specimens,
which was governed by their geometries. To study this correlation, the
maximum von Mises stress value was determined using the FE model
at different phases of the cyclic loading (see Fig. 1 for cycle information).
With a reduction in the tube slenderness values and an increase in
the plate slenderness, the failure mode changed from axial compression
squash to lateral shear failure of the plates. With the change in the fail-
ure mode, the maximum stresses in both elements and the cycle in
which failure occurred changed. For example, in the specimens with
high tube slenderness values such as Dt/tt = 24, the tube elements
reached both the yield stress and failure stress values at earlier cycles
than the plate elements. For these specimens, the plate elements
reached the yield stress in cycle 12, and the ultimate stress was not
(a) (b) reached until the final cycle of the test. The failure mechanism for this
section geometry was axial compression (Fig. 8(a)). In contrast, for
Fig. 8. (a) Axial compression failure mechanism; (b) lateral shear failure mechanism. the specimens with low tube slenderness values, the plate elements

8
F. Javidan Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573

1000 1000
800 800
600 600

lateral load (kN)

lateral load (kN)

400 400
200 200
0 0
-200 -200
-400 -400
-600 -600
-800 -800
-1000 -1000
-15% -5% 5% 15% -15% -5% 5% 15%
Dri Dri
(a) = 7.6 (b) = 9.5
1000 1000
800 800
600 600
lateral load (kN)

lateral load (kN)

400 400
200 200
0 0
-200 -200
-400 -400
-600 -600
-800 -800
-1000 -1000
-15% -5% 5% 15% -15% -5% 5% 15%
Dri Dri
(c) = 11.7 (d) = 15.2
/
1000 1000
800 800
600 600
lateral load (kN)

lateral load (kN)

400 400
200 200
0 0
-200 -200
-400 -400
-600 -600
-800 -800
-1000 -1000
-15% -5% 5% 15% -15% -5% 5% 15%
Dri Dri
(e) = 23.8 (f) = 34.6

Fig. 10. Hysteresis responses of hybrid elements with Wp/tp= 35 and different values of Dt/tt.

reached the yield and ultimate stress values either sooner than the plate
elements or in the same cycle. For example, for the specimen with Dt/tt
= 7.6 and Wp/tp = 35, the tube element reached the yield stress in cycle
12 and reached the ultimate stress in cycle 22—later than the yield and
ultimate failure, respectively, in the plates. The failure mechanism of
this member was shear failure (Fig. 8(b)).
To quantitatively investigate the failure mechanism, the failure
modes for different plate width/thickness ratios versus tube diameter/
thickness ratios were examined, as shown in Fig. 9(a). With higher
Wp/tp and lower Dt/tt ratios, the failure mode transitioned from axial
to shear. A line was fitted through the boundary points to identify this
failure-mode transition, as shown in Fig. 9(a). It was concluded that
the slenderness design of the section governed the failure mechanism.
If the plate elements buckled in shear, failure occurred in a ductile man-
ner. This was due to the large difference in the strain at which the yield
and ultimate stresses were reached in the mild steel material. However,
for the HSS tube, this difference was approximately 10 times smaller.
When the plate slenderness and tube slenderness were designed ac-
cording to the failure line, the stresses at which the yield and ultimate
strain in HSS tubes occur were delayed, and the shear failure of the
plates governed the global ductile failure mechanism of the beam–
column.
The effects of geometric parameters on the ductility and failure
mode of the members were investigated on the basis of the sensitivity
study. Various ranges of the displacement ductility (defined in
Section 4) are specified in Fig. 9(b) for different Wp/tp and Dt/tt ratios.

9
F. Javidan
100
90
80
70
Plate width/thickness
60
50
40
30 300 < Cum. E. < 600
600 < Cum. E. < 1000
20
1000 < Cum. E. < 1500
10
Cum. E. > 1500
0
0 20 40 60
Tube diameter/thickness
Fig. 11. Cumulative energy dissipation in specimens with Dt = 76.1 mm and Wp =
210 mm
As shown, slenderness limits lower than 70 for plates and 35 for tubes
yielded moderate ductility (between 2 and 4), and slenderness limits
lower than 40 for plates and 15.2 for tubes yielded high ductility (>4).
5.4. Hysteresis curves and energy dissipation
The lateral energy dissipation of the beam–column members was in-
vestigated using the hysteresis responses obtained from the sensitivity
analysis. The hysteresis curves for a selected group of sections with a
constant plate thickness of 35 and tube thickness varying between 7.6
and 34.6 are presented in Fig. 10. With the increasing tube slenderness,
the compression capacity (and thus the applied axial load) was reduced.
As expected, with the increasing tube slenderness, the peak lateral load
capacity was reduced. At each step of the analysis, the lateral energy dis-
sipation was calculated by multiplying the lateral displacement by the
average lateral load [29]. The cumulative energy dissipation was then
calculated using the sum of the energy of each analysis step of the cyclic
loading up to a lateral displacement of 121 mm (6.1% drift). The energy
dissipation of specimens with Dt = 76.1 mm and Wp = 210 mm is plot-
ted in Fig. 11. While reductions in the tube and plate slenderness re-
sulted in greater energy absorption, the trend was not linear.
In sections with tube slenderness values of >11.5, the reduction in
the energy dissipation changed significantly. The main reason for this
reduction is indicated by the hysteresis curves, where the lateral energy
dissipation decreased notably for sections with slender tube elements
(Fig. 10(d)–(f)). For sections with a tube slenderness of <11.5, the re-
duction in the tube thickness did not result in a significant increase in
the amount of energy dissipated by the member. The reason for this dif-
ference in energy dissipation was that the shear buckling of the plates
governed the hysteresis performance, particularly after cycles with dis-
placement amplitudes of >61 mm. As the slenderness decreased, the
lateral load curve indicated greater strength degradation from cycle 20
to cycle 30. As an example, the section with a tube slenderness of 9.5
and a plate slenderness of 35 had optimum performance with regard
to the energy dissipation, weight, lateral and axial load bearing capaci-
ties, ductility, and failure mechanism. This optimum section had a
plate slenderness within the compact limits, while the tube slenderness
was within the seismically compact limits. The tube thickness for the
optimum section corresponded to the largest slenderness at which lat-
eral shear failure occurred (Fig. 9(a)). This geometry also had the opti-
mum energy dissipation.
Journal of Constructional Steel Research 180 (2021) 106573
6. Conclusions
A hybrid fabricated section exploiting the ductility of mild steel
plates and the capacity of high-strength tube elements was proposed
and investigated. Slenderness properties were proposed for the opti-
mum design and ductile failure. The key findings of this study are as
follows.
• An FE model including a combined kinematic and isotropic cyclic plas-
ticity model was developed and validated against available experi-
mental data. The model provides accurate predictions of the lateral
cyclic strength, post-peak degradation, slight pinching mechanism oc-
curring in the specimen, local and overall failure modes, and strain
distributions in both the plate and tube elements.
• The lateral cyclic performance of the hybrid section was compared
with that of equivalent composite concrete-filled square tube
sections. Similar to concrete, the HSS tubes function as the main
load-bearing elements, while mild steel plates function as the ductile
80
components, compensating for the brittle behaviour of the load-
bearing elements. The hybrid section exhibited improvements in the
lateral load-bearing strength and energy absorption compared with
the concrete-filled sections, and depending on the geometry design,
it can be up to 75% lighter.
• A sensitivity analysis of various element slenderness ratios of the hy-
brid sections indicated that the lateral peak load was three times more
sensitive to the tube slenderness than to the plate slenderness, which
was close to the ratio of the plate slenderness to the tube slenderness.
Additionally, reducing the tube slenderness delayed the occurrence of
the peak lateral load, whereas this was not observed when the plate
slenderness was reduced.
• The global failure mechanism was governed by the slenderness limits
of the steel plates and tubes. A line defining the failure change from
axial squash initiating in the HSS tubes to the shear mechanism of
the mild steel plates was proposed. This line defines the transition
from brittle to ductile failure. The optimum design of the hybrid sec-
tion corresponds to the left side of the failure line, where the failure
is ductile. Smaller slenderness values for the tube correspond to a
higher lateral load strength and greater energy dissipation.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the Geotechnical and Hydrogeological En-
gineering Research Group (GHERG) at Federation University Australia
for providing support in the use of software licenses and SSAB steel
companies for providing HSS materials. The experimental tests used to
verify the numerical model in this study were conducted with the sup-
port of the Australian Research Council through Discovery Project
DP150100442 at Monash University.
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