Behaviour and Calculations of Concrete-Filled Double Skin Steel Tubular (CFDST) Members

Lin-Hai Han
*


Fei-Yu Liao
*
Zhong Tao
**


*
Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
**
College of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, China


Abstract
This paper briefly summarises some recent research outcomes of concrete-filled double skin steel tubes (CFDST). The
design approach and behaviour of CFDST members presented by the authors and their collaborators are briefly
introduced. The topics covered in this paper include members subjected to static and dynamic loading, effects of long-
term loading, fire performance and residual strength after exposure to fire. Future research needs are identified.

Keywords: Concrete-filled double skin steel tubes (CFDST), behaviour, design, static, long-term, cyclic, fire



1. Introduction
CFDST (Concrete-filled double skin steel tube) is a new
type of composite construction, which consists of two
concentric steel tubes with concrete sandwiched between
them. CFDST members combine the advantages of the
well-known concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) and the
conventional hollow reinforced concrete (RC) columns.
Thus, CFDST columns have a series of advantages, such
as high strength and bending stiffness, good seismic and
fire performance, and favorable construction ability.
Figure 1 (a), (b) and (c) shows three typical profiles of
the CFDST sections (designated as circular, square and
rectangular CFDST respectively in this paper), where B
o

is the width of outer square or rectangular steel tube, B
i
is
the width of inner rectangular steel tube, D
o
is the
diameter of outer circular steel tube or the depth of outer
rectangular steel tube, D
i
is the diameter of inner circular
steel tube or the depth of inner rectangular steel tube, t
o
,
and t
i
are the thicknesses of outer and inner steel hollow
sections, respectively.
CFDSTs have great potential to be used as columns or
piers in structures. In the past, the behaviour of CFDST
columns has been the subject of investigations (Wei et al.,
1995; Yagishita et al., 2000; Lin and Tsai, 2001; Zhao
and Grzebieta, 2002; Han et al.; 2004; Tao et al., 2004;
Zhao and Han, 2006; Tan and Han, 2006; Han et al.,
2006; Han et al., 2009a).



























Figure 1. CFDST cross-section configurations

This paper briefly summarises some recent research
outcomes of concrete-filled double skin steel tubes
Sandwiched
concrete
D
i

D
o
t
o
t
i
Outer steel tube
Inner steel
tube
(a) Circular
t
o
t
i
Outer steel
tube
Sandwiched
concrete
Inner steel tube
D
i

B
o
(b) Square
(c) Rectangular
t
o t
i
Outer steel
tube
Sandwiched
concrete
Inner steel
tube
D
o

B
o
B
i
D
i



(CFDST) by the authors and their collaborators. The
design approach and behaviour of CFDST members are
briefly introduced. The topics covered in this paper
include members subjected to static and dynamic loading,
fire resistance and residual strength after exposure to fire,
effects of long-term loading.

2. Members subjected to static loading
The authors performed a series of tests on the CFDST
columns subjected to static loading, including 37
specimens under axial compression, 13 specimens under
bending and 42 specimens under eccentric compression,
respectively (Han et al., 2004; Tao et al., 2004; Tao and
Han, 2006; Tao and Yu, 2006).
It was found that the behaviour of the CFDST columns
is generally similar to that of the conventional CFST
columns. This is owing to the fact that, generally, the
section slenderness ratio of an inner steel tube is
relatively small and it can provide sufficient support to
the sandwiched concrete. Otherwise, the premature local
buckling of inner steel tubes will have adverse effects on
the load-carrying and deformation capacities of CFDST
columns.
Figures 2 (a), (b) and (c) show typical failure modes of
the circular, square and rectangular CFDST stub columns,
respectively (Han et al., 2009b). Figure 3 shows the
typical failure mode of a CFDST beam (Han et al, 2004).
As can be seen, the failure modes of the inner concrete
and outer tube of CFDSTs are generally similar to those
of conventional CFSTs.


(a) Circular (b) Square (c) Rectangular

Figure 2. Failure modes of CFDST stub columns

It was found that there are two key parameters
affecting the behaviour of CFDST stub columns, i.e. the
confinement factor () and the hollow ratio (), which
are defined in Eqs. (1) and (2), respectively.
ck
nominal c,
yo so
f A
f A

= (1)
in which A
so
is the cross-sectional area of the outer steel
tube, A
c,nominal
is the nominal cross-sectional area of the
concrete, and is equal to the hollow area inside the outer
steel tube, f
yo
is the yield strength of the outer steel tube,
and f
ck
is the compressive strength of the concrete and
can be determined using 67% of the cubic compression
strength (f
cu
).
) 2 /(
o o i
t D D = (circular CFDST) (2a)
) 2 /(
o o i
t B D = (square CFDST) (2b)
) 2 )( 2 (
o o o o
t D t B
D B
i i

= (rectangular CFDST) (2c)


(a) Sandwiched concrete

(b) Inner steel tube

Figure 3. Failure mode of CFDST beam

The test results indicated the effect of the confinement
factor () on the behaviour of CFDST columns is
generally similar to that on the CFST columns (Tao and
Yu, 2006).
Figure 4 shows the effect of the hollow ratio () on the
axial load (N) versus axial strain () relations for typical
circular CFDST columns. It can be seen that, in general,
the N - curves of the CFDST columns show the same
changing trend as that of the conventional CFST column
(=0), except for that the member with a hollow ratio ()
of 0.80 shows a slightly lower ductility. Therefore, in
designing a CFDST column, may be selected to be
0.75 or smaller.

0
500
1000
1500
2000
0 10000 20000 30000
()
N
(
k
N
)

Figure 4. Effect of hollow ratio () on N- relations

Apart from the experimental investigations, theoretical
=0.28
=0.51
=0
=0.8
Outer tube
Outer tube
Sandwiched concrete
Outer tube Outer tube
Inner tube


models were also established to investigate the behaviour
of CFDSTs (Tao et al., 2004; Han et al., 2004; Tao and
Yu, 2006).
A fibre-based model, using the stress versus strain
relation of concrete core presented for conventional
CFSTs, was developed to predict the load versus
deformation responses of the CFDSTs (Tao et al., 2004;
Han et al., 2004; Tao and Yu, 2006). It assumed that the
inner tube acts as if it stands alone, but can develop its
full yielding strength for the presence of the sandwiched
concrete; and the outer tube and sandwiched concrete
exhibit the same behaviour as a fully filled CFST column
without the presence of the voids. In other words, the
confinement state of the concrete is just the same as that
in the CFST column if the hollow section ratio is not too
large. Good agreement was achieved between the
predicted and the measured results.
Finite element (FE) model employing the ABAQUS
soft package, was also developed to perform a detailed
behaviour analysis for the CFDST columns, where the
nonlinear material behaviour, nonlinear geometric
behaviour, and initial geometric imperfections were all
included. In general, the FE results are close to those
predicted by the fibre-based model. However, more
accurate predictions can be achieved using the FE
modelling when the section slenderness ratio or the
hollow ratio is relatively large. This is due to the fact that
the FE model could simulate the tube local buckling, and
give better predictions of the interaction between the
steel tubes and the sandwiched concrete.
Using the fibre-based model, parametric studies were
conducted for CFDSTs, and design approach was derived.
It was found that the design formulae for the CFDSTs
could be obtained by modifying those for the CFSTs, and
are given as following:

(1) Sectional capacity
It assumed that the section capacity (N
u
) of an CFDST
stub column is the sum of the inner tube capacity (N
i,u
)
and the strength (N
osu,u
) contributed by the outer tube
together with the concrete (Tao and Yu, 2006), i.e.:

u i, u osc, u
N N N + = (3)
in which N
i,u
=A
si
f
yi
, A
si
and f
yi
are the cross-sectional area
and yield strength of the inner steel tube respectively,
and N
osc,u
is determined similarly to that of fully concrete
filled steel tubular sections (Han, 2007):
sco scy u osc,
A f N = (4)
in which, A
sco
=A
so
+A
c
, A
so
and A
c
are cross-sectional
areas of the outer steel tube and sandwiched concrete,
respectively.
For circular CFDST:
ck 2 yo
2
1 scy
) 02 . 1 14 . 1 ( f C f C f + + = (5a)
For square CFDST:

ck 2 yo
2
1 scy
) 85 . 0 18 . 1 ( f C f C f + + = (5b)
where C
1
=/(1+), C
2
=(1+
n
)/(1+), (=A
so
/A
c
) is steel
ratio and
n
(=A
so
/A
c,nominal
) is nominal steel ratio,
respectively.

(2) Flexural strength
The flexural strength of CFDST (M
u
) can be expressed as
(Tao and Yu, 2006):
yi si m2 scy scm m1 u
f W f W M + = (6)
where W
scm
is the section modulus of the outer steel tube
and the sandwiched concrete, W
si
is the plastic section
modulus of the inner tube, and the expressions of W
scm

and W
si
are given in Tao and Yu (2006).
m1
and
m2
are
calculating parameters and can be determined as follows:
For circular CFDST:
1 . 1 ) 1 06 . 0 85 . 0 )( 1 . 0 ln( 48 . 0
2
m1
+ + + + =
67 . 0 76 . 2
m2
04 . 1 ln 02 . 0

+ =
For square CFDST:
2 2
m1
3 . 0 04 . 1 ) 1 06 . 0 85 . 0 )( 1 . 0 ln( 48 . 0 + + + + =
8 . 0 5 . 2
m2
04 . 1 ln 04 . 0

+ =

(3) Member capacity
The member capacity of CFDST columns (N
u,cr
) can be
calculated using the section capacity with a stability
reduction factor (Tao and Yu, 2006), i.e.,
u cr u,
N N = (7)
where is the stability reduction factor and can be
determined by Eq. (8).

> + +
< + +

=
) ( ) 35 /( ) 1 23 . 0 (
) (
) ( 0 . 1
p
2 2
p o
2
o

d
c b a
(8)
where i L / = is the member slenderness ratio, in
which L is the effective buckling length, i (=
sc
sc
A
I
) is
the radius of gyration, I
sc
is the moment of inertia for
CFDST cross-section;
2
o p
o p
) (
) 2 35 ( 1

+ +
=
e
a ;
p
2 a e b = ;
o
2
o
1 b a c = ;
05 . 0 n 3 . 0
ck yo
)
1 . 0
( )
5
25
)](
235
ln( 4657 13000 [

+
+ =
f f
d (circular),
05 . 0 n 3 . 0
ck yo
)
1 . 0
( )
5
25
)](
235
ln( 4810 13500 [

+
+ =
f f
d (square);
3
p
) 35 ( +

d
e .
in which,
p
and
o
can be given as follows:

square / 1811
circular) / 1743
yo
yo
p
f
f

+
+
square) / ) 450 220 ( /
circular) / ) 550 420 ( /
scy
scy
o

f
f

where the unit for f
scy
and f
ck
is N/mm
2
.



(4) Interactive curve
The interaction equation suggested by (Han, 2007) for
CFSTs can also be used for CFDST beam columns with
relevant capacities for CFDST defined in Eqs. (3) and (6).
The interaction curves were given here as (Tao and Yu,
2006):
when
o
3
u
2 / N N :
1 ) (
u u
= +
M
M
d
a
N
N

(9a)
when
o
3
u
2 / < N N :
1 ) (
1
) ( ) (
u u
2
u
= +
M
M
d N
N
c
N
N
b (9b)
where
o
2
2 1 = a ;
2
o
3
o
1


= b
,
o
o
) 1 ( 2

= c
;
) ( 4 . 0 1
E
N
N
d = (circular), ) ( 25 . 0 1
E
N
N
d = (square);
2
sc
elastic
sc
2
E

A E
N = ;
elastic
sc
E is elastic modulus of
CFDST column and can be presented as:
sc
c c si so s elastic
sc
) (
A
A E A A E
E
+ +
=
For circular CFDST:
15 . 1
o
18 . 0 1

+ =

> +

=

) 4 . 0 ( 14 . 0 1 . 0
) 4 . 0 ( 2445 . 0 5 . 0
84 . 0 o

For square CFDST:
3 . 1
o
14 . 0 1

+ =

> +

=

) 4 . 0 ( 13 . 0 1 . 0
) 4 . 0 ( 3175 . 0 5 . 0
81 . 0 o

where N
u
and M
u
are the sectional capacity and flexural
strength of CFDST column respectively, and can be
calculated by Eqs. (3) and (6), respectively. E
s
and E
c
are
the elastic modulus of steel and concrete, respectively.
The predicted stub column, beam and beam-column
strengths by the simplified models were compared with a
large amount of test results with a wide range of
parameters. A good agreement was obtained (Tao and Yu,
2006; Han et al., 2009b). The section slenderness limits
of the outer and inner steel tubes in a CFDST column
were determined as 1.5 and 1.0 times that of empty tubes
respectively, in order to prevent the premature local
buckling of them (Tao and Yu, 2006).
For rectangular CFDST shown in Figure 1 (c), it was
found that its sandwiched concrete in the gap have the
same behaviour as that in a fully in-filled steel tube (Tao
et al., 2006). Therefore, similar design philosophy can be
used for rectangular CFDSTs and the simplified formulae
for rectangular CFDSTs are basically the same as those
for square CFDSTs, except that different section modulus
of W
scm
and W
si
should be used.

3. Effect of long-term loading
Since CFDST columns under service loads in a building
or bridges will also suffer to the effects of creep and
shrinkage of the in-filled concrete, an experimental
investigation was conducted by Han et al. (2009c) to
study the effect of long-term loading. Six tests, including
two circular CFDSTs [shown in Figure 1 (a)], two square
CFDSTs [as shown in Figure 1 (b)], and two
conventional CFSTs, were carried out under axial
sustained long-term loading. These specimens were
tested under two stages, including the long-term service
testing and ultimate load testing. In addition, ten CFDST
and CFST specimens without experiencing long-term
loading were also tested to measure their ultimate loads
for comparison purposes.

0
300
600
900
1200
1500
0 300 600 900 1200
Time, t (day)
A
x
i
a
l

s
t
r
a
i
n
,

o

(

)
Measured
Predicted

(a) Circular CFDST
0
300
600
900
1200
1500
0 300 600 900 1200
Time, t (day)
A
x
i
a
l

s
t
r
a
i
n
,

o

(

)
Measured
Predicted

(b) Square CFDST
Figure 5. Time history of long-term deformation

The long-term service load tests started at 28 days
after concrete casting and lasted for 1050 days. Figures 5
(a) and (b) shows the axial strain (
o
) versus sustaining
time (t) relations for typical circular and square
specimens, respectively. It was found that, under the
long-term sustained loading, the axial deformation
increased relatively fast at the preliminary stage with the
axial strain (
o
) at 1 month attaining approximate 60% of
that at 4 months. After that,
o
developed much slower,
and the process is tending to stabilise after about one
year. This feature of the long-term deformation for
CFDST columns is generally similar to that for CFST
columns (Han et al., 2009c).
Figure 6 shows the effect of the long-term sustained
loading on the member capacity of CFDSTs, in which
the non-dimensionalized ordinate L is the ratio between


the measured ultimate strengths of the member
experiencing long-term loading or not; n=(N
L
/N
ue
) is the
long-term sustained load level, N
L
is the sustained long-
term load and N
ue
is the ultimate strength of the CFDST
column at the short-term loading condition.

0
0.25
0.5
0.75
1
1.25

Figure 6.
L
of CFDST and CFST columns
It can be seen from Figure 6 that, in general, long-term
loading tended to decrease the ultimate strength of the
square CFDST columns, while the circular CFDST
columns even had a 7.4% strength increase on average
after experiencing the long-term loading. Generally, the
influence was less significant than that on conventional
CFST columns.
Li and Tao (2007) developed a theoretical model based
on fibre element analysis to predict the long-term
deformation of CFDST columns, as well as their ultimate
strength after subjecting to long-term loading. In this
model, the time-dependent behaviour of concrete was
predicted based on a model presented in ACI (1992).
Then the obtained long-term deformation was included
in the short-term loading model to predict the ultimate
strength of the CFDST member. Figure 5 shows the
comparisons of the calculated time history of long-term
deformations and the measured results for typical
CFDSTs. A good agreement was achieved between the
predicted and tested results.
An FE model, using ABAQUS soft package, was also
established by Han et al. (2009d) to investigate the
influence of the long-term loading on the behaviour of
CFDSTs. In the FE model, a material subroutine program
(UMAT) based on a visco-elasticity constitutive model
was adopted for simulating the concrete material with the
time effect considered, and then the damage plasticity
model provided in ABAQUS 6.5 was used to define the
concrete material to predict the ultimate strength of the
CFDST columns.
Figure 7 compares the axial load (N) versus lateral
deflection (u
m
) at mid-height curves with long-term
effect considered or not (Han et al., 2009d). The curves
were calculated by finite element analysis for a typical
circular CFDST column. It was found that, long-term
loading tends to decrease the ultimate strength of the
CFDST column whilst increase the corresponding
deflection, shown in Figure 6. This is mainly owing to
the fact that, the increasing deformation caused by
concrete creep during the long-term loading tends to
generate additional second-order moment for the member,
resulting in the ultimate strength reduction and the
increased corresponding displacement (Han et al.,
2009d).















Figure 7. Axial load versus lateral deflection curves

Based on the numerical model, an extensive
parametric analysis was performed by Li and Tao (2007).
The effects of the changing concrete age time (
0
),
sustaining time (t), sustained load level (n), nominal steel
ratio (
n
), strength of the materials, diameter-to-
thickness ratio (D
i
/t
i
) of inner tube, hollow ratio (),
slenderness ratio (), and eccentricity ratio (e/r) on the
long-term deflection as well as the column strength were
discussed, and then a simplified model for design
purpose was derived. The ultimate strength of CFDST
column after experiencing long-term loading can be
obtained by revising the formula for CFSTs presented in
Han (2007), where a factor of K

can be multiplied to
consider the influence of hollow ratio (). The
expression of K

is given as following:

1 45 . 0 65 . 0
2

+ = k (10)

4. Beam columns subjected to cyclic loading
Han et al. (2006) reported a series of cyclic tests on
CFDST columns. The test parameters included the
section types (circular and square), the hollow ratio
(=0-0.77), and the axial load level (n=0-0.65). Twenty-
eight CFDST column specimens (including 16 circular
CFDSTs and 12 square CFDSTs) and five hollow steel
tubes were tested under constant axial loading and
cyclically increasing flexural loading.
Figure 8 presents the typical failure mode of a square
CFDST column. As the specimen attained its ultimate
strength, an outward bulge of the outer steel tube formed
a complete ring on each side of the rigid loading stub,
whilst an inward buckling for the inner steel tube and
crushing of the sandwiched concrete were also observed
at the same time. It seems that the failure features of the
CFDST specimens under cyclic loading were very
similar to those of CFST columns (Han et al., 2006).

L

Circular
CFDST
Square
CFDST
CFST
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
0 30 60 90 120 150
u
m
(mm)
N
(
k
N
)
With long-term effects
Without long-term effects



(a) Specimen after testing

(b) Sandwiched concrete

(c) Inner steel tube

Figure 8. Failure mode of CFDST beam columns

Figures 9 and 10 present the measured moment (M)
versus curvature () and lateral load (N) versus lateral
deflection () hysteretic responses for typical CFDST
specimens. It was found that, the hysteretic curves of the
CFDSTs generally show a plump shape and no notable
pinching effect was observed, indicating good energy
dissipation ability of the specimens.

-18
-9
0
9
18
-0.12 -0.06 0 0.06 0.12
(1/m)
M
(
k
N

m
)
Measured
Predicted

Figure 9. Typical M- hysteretic curve

-60
-30
0
30
60
-120 -60 0 60 120
(mm)
P
(
k
N
)
Measured
Predicted

(a) Circular CFDST
-80
-40
0
40
80
-60 -30 0 30 60
(mm)
P
(
k
N
)
Measured
Predicted

(b) Square CFDST

Figure 10. Typical P- hysteretic curves of
CFDST columns

From the test results, it was also found that, under a
same axial load level, the shape and the changing trend
of the hysteretic curves of the CFDSTs are generally
similar to those of the CFSTs, regardless of the influence
of the hollow ratio () for the CFDST columns.
Figure 11 shows the effect of the hollow ratio () on
the P- envelope curves (Han et al., 2009b). For
convenience of comparison, normalized lateral load
P/P
ue
was used in Figure 11, where P
ue
is the ultimate
load.

0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
0 25 50 75 100
(mm)
P
/
P
u
e

Figure 11. Effect of hollow ratio () on
P- envelope curves

It can be seen from Figure 11 that, hollow ratio () has
a moderate influence on the P- envelope curves, and the
P- envelope curves of the CFDSTs and the CFST (=0)
are generally similar. Compared with the composite
members, the hollow steel tube shows a comparatively
lower ductility due to the absence of the in-filled
concrete.
A numerical model was developed to predict the
hysteretic curves of the CFDST columns, and a good
agreement was achieved between the predicted and the
measured results (Han et al., 2006). Figures 9 and 10
show the comparisons between the calculated hysteretic
curves and the test results for typical CFDST columns.
Based on the theoretical model, influence of the
Crushed concrete
Outward buckling
Inward buckling
Hollow
steel tube
=0
=0.54
=0.30


changing axial load level (n), nominal steel ratio (a
n
),
strength of outer steel tube (f
yo
), strength of inner steel
tube (f
yi
), strength of concrete (f
cu
), width to thickness
ratio of inner steel tube (D
i
/t
i
) and hollow ratio () on the
moment (M) versus curvature () responses were
discussed, and simplified models for the M- hysteretic
relations were provided.
Figure 12(a) gives the M- hysteretic model for
circular columns (Han et al., 2009a). Parameters shown
in this figure are described as follows:
(1) The stiffness in the elastic stage (K
e
) is given by Han
et al. (2006) and EC4 (2005)
si s c c so s e
6 . 0 I E I E I E K + + = (11)
in which I
so
, I
si
, and I
c
are the moment of inertia for the
outer steel tube, the inner steel tube and the core concrete,
respectively.
(2) Yielding moment (M
y
) corresponding to point B. M
y

can be calculated by
yu
1 1
1 1
y
) , (
) )( (
M n f
q pn B A
B c A
M
+ +
+
= (12)
where M
yu
is the ultimate moment of the composite beam
columns under constant axial load level (n), and can be
determined by using Eq. (9), the expressions of A
1,
B
1
, p,
q, c and ) , ( n f are given by Han et al. (2009a).
(3) The bending moment (M
s
) corresponding to point A
in Figure 12(a) can be calculated by
y s
6 . 0 M M = (13)
(4) The curvature (
y
) corresponding to yielding moment
(M
y
) can be calculated by
) 51 . 1 )( 1 60 / ( 0135 . 0
cu y
n f + = (14)
(5) The stiffness in the descending stage (K
p
) can be
calculated by
e d0 p
K K = (15)
where 1000 /
d d0
= and C Bn An + + =
2
d
,
the expressions of A, B and C are presented in Han et al.
(2009a).















(a) Circular CFDST
















(b) Square CFDST
Figure 12. M- hysteretic models

Figure 12 (b) shows the M- hysteretic model for
square columns (Han et al., 2009). Parameters used in
this model are as follows:
(1) The stiffness in the elastic stage (K
e
) is given by Han
et al. (2006) and AIJ (1997):
si s c c so s e
2 . 0 I E I E I E K + + = (16)
(2) The yielding moment (M
y
) corresponding to point A
can be calculated by:
) , (
1 yu y
n f M M = (17)
(3) Bending moment (M
B
) and curvature (
B
)
corresponding to point B.
) , ( ) 1 (
2 y B
n f n M M
o
k
= (18)
) 217 . 0 1 )( 2 ( 20
e B
= n (19)
where
2
o
) 4 . 0 (

+ = k , ) /( 544 . 0
o s yo e
B E f = , and the
expressions of ) , (
1
n f and ) , (
2
n f are provided in Han
et al. (2009a).
Based on theoretical analysis, influence of the
changing axial load level (n), nominal steel ratio (a
n
),
strength of outer steel tube (f
yo
), strength of inner steel
tube (f
yi
), strength of concrete (f
cu
), width to thickness
ratio of inner steel tube (D
i
/t
i
) and hollow ratio () on the
lateral load (P) versus lateral deflection () responses
were analysed.
Figure 13 presents the simplified P- hysteretic model
which can be used for both circular and square CFDST
beam-columns.
Parameters as follows used in this model were
described in Han et al.(2009a), i. e. 1) Stiffness in the
elastic stage (K
a
) ; 2) The ultimate strength (P
y
) and
corresponding displacement (
p
); And 3) The stiffness in
the descending stage (K
T
).
In Figure 13, the lateral loads at points 2 and 2 are
given by 0.2P
1
and -0.2P
1
, respectively. The lateral loads
at points 5 and 5 are given by 0.2P
4
and -0.2P
4
,
respectively.
K
e

M
y

M

A
C
O
11
2
4
1
A
C
B
5
5
4
2
B
3
3
K
p

D
D

y

M
s

K
e

M
y
M

M
B
A
C
O
B

-0.2M
y
0.2M
y

2
3
1
A
C
B
4
4
2
B
1
D
D

















Figure 13. A schematic view of a lateral load (P) versus
lateral deflection () relationship


5. Fire performance
A series of fire tests on CFDST columns were reported
by Lu et al. (2007). It was found that the fire resistance
of a CFDST is generally better than that of its CFST
counterpart. This is mainly due to the fact that the inner
steel tube is protected by the sandwiched concrete and its
temperature rise is postponed, therefore the inner steel
tube can undertake more redistributed internal force
during the fire exposure (Yang and Han, 2008).
Figure 14 shows the appearances of a circular CFDST
column before and after subjected to ISO-834 standard
fire (Lu et al., 2007). It was found that the failure mode
of the CFDST is generally similar to that of a CFST (Han
et al., 2009b).



(a) Before testing (b) After testing
Figure 14.CFDST column before and after fire testing

Yang and Han (2008) successfully established a
theoretical model to predict the fire performance of
CFDST columns. This model was modified from a
model which was previously used to study the fire
resistance of conventional CFST columns. The proposed
model was used to examine the effects of several key
parameters on the fire resistance of CFDST columns.
Then, a design approach for evaluating the fire resistance
and calculating the fire protection material thickness of
CFDST columns were put forward.

To evaluate the fire resistance of CFDST columns, a
strength index (k
s
) is defined to quantify the strength of a
CFDST column subjected to an ISO-834 standard fire on
all sides. It is expressed as
u
u
s
) (
N
t N
k = (20)
where N
u
(t) is the ultimate strength of the column at the
fire duration time (t), N
u
is the ultimate strength of the
column at ambient temperature and can be determined by
using the formulae presented in Section 2 of this paper.
Obviously, k
s
decreases with an increase in fire duration
time. By using regression analysis, the following
expression was obtained:
t o
2
o s
) 1 ( k Bt At k + + = (21)
where t
o
=t/100, t is in min; A and B are the coefficients
related to the hollow ratio (), and
03 . 0 13 . 0
2
+ = A
,
4 . 0 4 . 0
2
= B
(circular),
13 . 0 41 . 0
2
= B
(square);
k
t
is a coefficient depending on the sectional type, the
outside dimension (C), the slenderness ratio () and the
fire duration time (t), and can be expressed as follows
(Yang and Han, 2008):
For circular CFDST:

> +
<
+

+
=
2 o o
2 o 1
o
1 o
5 . 2
o
t
1
1
1
t t d kt
t t t
c bt
t t
at
k (22a)

For square CFDST:

> +
<
+

+
=
2 o o
2 o 1
2
o
1 o
2
o
t
1
1
1
t t d kt
t t t
c bt
t t
at
k (22b)

in which, the expressions of a, b, c, d, k, t
1
and t
2
are
presented by Yang and Han (2008).
The simplified model can predict the fire resistance of
CFDST columns with reasonable accuracy, and in
general, the predictions are somewhat conservative.
When the design load (N) applied to a CFDST column
is taken as 0.77N
u
(i.e. n
f
=N/N
u
=0.77), the column filled
with plain concrete without any fire protection usually
cannot achieve the desired fire resistance. The most
economical solution is to apply a layer of fire protection
material on the composite column. Based on numerical
analysis, the fire insulation thickness () of CFDST
columns subjected to ISO-834 standard fire on all sides
was determined by five main parameters, i.e. the fire
load level (n
f
), the sectional type, the outside dimension
K
a

P
y

P

A
C
O

p

1
2
4
1
A
C
B
5
5
4
2
B
3
3
K
T

D
D

u



(C), the slenderness ratio (), the fire resistance (R), and
the hollow ratio (). By a regression analysis, the
following expression was obtained:
For circular CFDST:
) 0019 . 0 28 . 0 (
LR ho
) 6 . 9 2 . 19 (

+ = C R k k (23a)
For square CFDST:
)
2 5
10 2 0017 . 0 42 . 0 (
LR ho
) 22 6 . 149 (

+
+ = C R k k (23b)
in which R is in hour, k
ho
and k
LR
can be expressed as:
] ) exp[(
2
o
2
o ho
+ + = k ;

<

< <
=
) 77 . 0 ( ) 1 /( ) (
) 77 . 0 (
) 77 . 0 ( ) 5 . 3 695 . 3 /( 1
) 77 . 0 ( ) 77 . 0 /( ) (
s s s f
s
f f
f s s s f
LR
k k k n
k
n n
n k k k n
k

where k
s
is the strength index of the CFDST columns
subjected to fire on all sides [Eq. (20)] and is equal to
zero when it is less than zero; n
f
is the fire load level, ,
, and are the coefficients related to the fire
resistance (R) and can be determined according to Yang
and Han (2008).

6. Behaviour after exposure to fire
If a CFDST column was damaged by fire, it would be
necessary to evaluate its residual strength and find the
best solution for post-fire repair. In this regard, Yu et al.
(2009) carried out a series of tests to investigate the post-
fire behaviour of CFDST stub columns.
Figure 15 compares two typical CFDST stub columns
with fire exposure or not. It was found that the fire
exposure had no apparent influence on the failure modes
(Yu et al., 2009).



(a) Without fire exposure (b) With fire exposure
Figure 15. CFDST columns with fire exposure or not

Figure 16 shows the effect of fire exposure on N-
relations. As can be seen, both the ultimate strength and
the stiffness of the CFDST specimens decrease
significantly owing to the fire exposure. However, the
post-peak curves of the undamaged specimens are much
steeper compared with those of the damaged specimens
(Yu et al., 2009). As expected, this effect of fire
exposure is the same as that observed in conventional
CFST columns.

0
500
1000
1500
2000
0 10000 20000 30000 40000
()
N
(
k
N
)
Without fire exposure
With fire exposure

(a) Circular CFDST
0
500
1000
1500
2000
0 5000 10000 15000 20000
()
N
(
k
N
)
Without fire exposure
With fire exposure

(b) Square CFDST
Figure 16. Effect of fire exposure on N- relations

7. Concluding remarks
This paper briefly summarises some recent research
outcomes of CFDST members presented by the authors
and their collaborators.
From the experimental and numerical results, it can be
concluded that, when the hollow ratio () of a CFDST is
within the normal range of 0-0.5, the CFDST generally
demonstrates a similar behaviour as that of a CFST,
whilst the fire resistance of the CFDST is superior to that
of the latter.
Apart from the research results reported in this paper,
ongoing numerical study is being carried out to analyse
the post-fire behaviour of CFDST columns. Repair
approach will be further recommended. The authors also
believe that there is immediate research need to put
forward suitable beam-to-column connections for
CFDST columns, in which the load can be transferred
and shared by the three components simultaneously.
Durability is also a key issue need to be studied further
for this type of composite construction.

8. Acknowledgments
The study is financially supported by the Research
Foundation of the Ministry of Railways and Tsinghua
UniversityRFMOR & THU(NO.J2008G011) and
the National Basic Research Program of China (973
Program) (Grant No. 2009CB623200).



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