Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

www.elsevier.com/locate/jcsr

Experimental study of hysteretic behaviour for concrete-filled square

thin-walled steel tubular columns
Yaochun Zhang , Chao Xu, Xiaozhe Lu
School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province 150090, Peoples Republic of China
Received 9 January 2006; accepted 20 April 2006

Abstract
In this paper, the hysteretic behaviour of concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular (CFTST) columns was investigated experimentally. The
parameters in the study included the axial load level and steel tube section type. Nine CFTST columns, including six columns with a longitudinal
stiffener on each inner face of the steel tube and three columns with a longitudinal stiffener on the two opposite inner faces of the steel tube, were
tested under a constant axial load in addition to a cyclic lateral load. The effect of axial load level on the hysteretic behaviour (stiffness, ductility
and energy dissipation) was studied. Experimental results indicated that the CFTST columns under an axial load level below 0.5 exhibited plump
hysteretic loops with a slight pinching effect, better ductility and energy dissipation capacity. The displacement ductility decreases significantly
with an increase in the axial load level. Columns with two steel tube sections had almost the same load capacity, whilst the ductility and energy
dissipation capacity of columns with a longitudinal stiffener on each inner face of the steel tube was better than that of columns with two opposite
stiffeners.
c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular columns; Longitudinal stiffeners; Seismic behaviour; Cyclic loads; Ductility; Hysteretic loop; Skeleton curve

1. Introduction
The use of concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) columns has
become increasingly popular in modern buildings; they has
many structural benefits such as high strength and improved fire
resistance as well as greater perceived stiffness and ductility.
Concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular (CFTST) columns,
which consist of very thin steel tubes and concrete, is a new
type of structural member and was developed based on the
traditional CFT columns. Because of the merits of both thinwalled steel structures and reinforced concrete structures, there
has been a growing research interest in this area. In the past,
a large number of studies have been carried out on the static
performance of CFTST columns, such as Shanmugam et al. [1],
Uy and Das [2], Uy [3,4], Tao et al. [5], OShea and Bridge [6],
Bradford et al. [7], Mursi and Uy [8], Pircher et al. [9], Liang
and Uy [10], Zhang [11], etc.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 451 8628086(O), +86 451 8628350(H);

fax: +86 451 8628704.
E-mail address: xu_chao_2003@163.com (Y. Zhang).

c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

0143-974X/$ - see front matter
doi:10.1016/j.jcsr.2006.04.014

Compared with static studies, research work on the seismic

behaviour of CFTST columns seems to be lacking. So
far, only a few experimental studies have been carried
out on these columns. Hsu and Yu [12] carried out an
experimental study on 18 CFTST columns with restrained
plastic hinge zones by utilizing pairs of tie rods. Test
results show that the tie rods effectively restrained the
development of excessive plate deformations and delayed
local buckling. Varma et al. [13] also studied eight square
high-strength CFT columns in which only two columns had
very large width-to-thickness ratio. This highlights the need
for an extensive study on the seismic behaviour of CFTST
columns.
This paper provides new test data pertaining to the hysteretic
behaviour of CFTST columns, the main parameters include the
steel tube section type and axial load level (n). Nine CFTST
columns, including six columns with a longitudinal stiffener
on each inner face of the steel tube and three columns with
a longitudinal stiffener on the two opposite inner faces of the
steel tube, were tested under constant axial load and cyclically
increasing lateral loading.

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Nomenclature
Ac
As
t
B
L
f cu
f ck
fy
N
N0
n
Pu
Py
u
y

Ki

Cross-sectional area of concrete

Cross-sectional area of steel
Thickness of steel tube
Column width
Column height
Concrete cube strength
Characteristic concrete strength (=0.722 f cu )
Yield strength of steel
Applied axial load
Nominal squash load
Axial load level (=N /N0 )
Ultimate lateral load capacity
Yield lateral load capacity
Ultimate displacement
Yield displacement
Displacement ductility
Loop stiffness
Equivalent viscous coefficient

2. Experimental program
2.1. Test specimen
Nine CFTST columns were tested. Specimens were
subjected to a cyclic lateral loading to simulate seismic loading
conditions. In addition, a constant axial load was applied to the
specimens to represent the reaction from upper stories. Fig. 1
shows a schematic view of the specimens. The tubes were all
manufactured from cold rolled thin steel sheet with nominal
wall thickness 1.5 mm. The steel plates were cut from the
sheet and cold bent to the lipped angles (Fig. 2(a)) and Csections (Fig. 2(b)).The heights of the lips were all 50 mm. The
square tubes were fabricated by seam welding together four
pieces of lipped angle or two pieces of C-section. The rolled
lip in fact acted as a longitudinal stiffener for the columns,
and experimental research by Zhang [11] has shown that this
kind of CFTST column has an excellent static mechanical
performance. The longitudinal stiffeners can not only delay the
local buckling of the steel plate, but also improve the lateral
confinement on the concrete core [5]. The height of the steel
tube is 2 m. According to the four-link machine test setup in
the laboratory, two short reinforced concrete beams fixed at the
top and bottom of the column were designed. The dimensions
of the concrete beam are shown in Fig. 1. In the scope of the
concrete beam height, four rectangular holes were opened on
each face of the tube to ensure unity of the concrete inside
and outside the steel tube and the reinforcement in the beam
passing through the tube. The steel tube was anchored into the
reinforced concrete beams by reliable construction. Fig. 3(a)
and (b) show the overall view of the specimens before pumping
the concrete and the reinforcement arrangement in the concrete
beams. The insides of the tubes were wire brushed to remove
any rust and loose debris present. Deposits of grease and oil,
if any, were cleaned away. After finishing the installation of

Fig. 1. Dimensions of test specimens (unit: mm).

the forms, the concrete was filled in layers and vibrated by

a poker until the beams and column were pumped to unity.
The specimens were placed upright to air dry until testing. A
summary of the specimens is presented in Table 1. The axial
load level (n) in this paper is defined as follows:
n=

N
N0

(1)

where N is the axial load applied on the composite specimens

and N0 is the nominal squash load of composite columns
which can be calculated as the summation of the ultimate axial
capacities of both the steel and concrete and given by the
equation
N0 = As f y + Ac f ck

(2)

where As and Ac are the cross-sectional areas of the steel tube

and concrete core, respectively.
2.2. Material properties
The steel tubes used in the test program were all made from
the same sheets. The material properties of the steel tubes were
measured by conducting coupon tests and the average yield
stress was found to be 202 MPa. Since there was no apparent
yield plateau in the stressstrain relations of the steel plates,
yield stress was determined as stress corresponding to an offset
strain of 0.2%. The tensile strength was 270 MPa, the modulus
of elasticity was about 162 620 MPa and Possions ratio was
0.289.
All the specimens were filled with commercially available
concrete from the same batch. The concrete material properties
were determined by testing the concrete cube. Both the columns
and the concrete cube were left to cure at the ambient
temperature and humidity of the structures laboratory. The
concrete cube strength ( f cu ) at 28 days is 33.5 MPa. The
average cube strength at the test time is 44 MPa.
2.3. Cyclic test apparatus
Fig. 4 gives a schematic view of the beamcolumn test
setup, which is composed of four link machine and an Lshaped steel girder with very large rigidity. The L-shaped steel
girder is attached to the hydraulic actuator. The horizontal and

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Y. Zhang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

Fig. 2. Cross section of steel tube: (a) lipped angle; (b) C-section; (c), (d) steel tube by seam welding (unit: mm).

(a) Specimens before pumping concrete.

(b) Reinforcement arrangement in the concrete beam.

Fig. 3. Specimen preparation.

Fig. 4. Test setup.

Table 1
Summary of test information
Specimen

B L t (mm)

B/2t (B/t)

f ck (N/mm2 )

f y (N/mm2 )

N (kN)

Section type of steel tube

C4N3
C4N4-1
C4N4-2
C4N5-1
C4N5-2
C4N6
C2N3
C2N4
C2N5

200 1200 1.48

200 1200 1.48
200 1200 1.48
200 1200 1.48
200 1200 1.48
200 1200 1.48
200 1200 1.48
200 1200 1.48
200 1200 1.48

67.6
67.6
67.6
67.6
67.6
67.6
67.6 (135.2)
67.6 (135.2)
67.6 (135.2)

32
32
32
32
32
32
32
32
32

202
202
202
202
202
202
202
202
202

490
656
656
820
820
980
475
630
790

0.3
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.3
0.4
0.5

Fig. 2(c)
Fig. 2(c)
Fig. 2(c)
Fig. 2(c)
Fig. 2(c)
Fig. 2(c)
Fig. 2(d)
Fig. 2(d)
Fig. 2(d)

Note: B, t are the width and thickness of steel tube, respectively; N is applied axial load; n is axial load level; f ck is the characteristic concrete strength; f y is the
yield strength of steel (the yield strength was obtained by 0.2% offset). Notation example for specimen C4N3: C, column; 4, four longitudinal stiffeners; N, axial
load level; 3, axial load level n = 0.3.

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Y. Zhang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

vertical translation of the L-shaped girder is free but the inplane rotation is restrained by the four link machine. There
is also a rigid steel base girder mounted on the strong floor
which is connected to the bottom of the four link machine.
The reinforced concrete beams of specimens were rigidly
clamped to the L-shaped steel girder and rigid steel base girder,
respectively, by four steel beams with enough rigidity and eight
strong bolts to achieve nominally fixed boundaries. This can
thus simulate the effect of a rigid floor system intersecting
the beamcolumn at floor level. At test, the axial load was
applied first and maintained constant by a 2500 kN hydraulic
ram and measured using load cells. A hydraulic pump was
used to control the axial load. Precautions were taken to
avoid any eccentricity in the application of the axial load by
very careful alignment of the test setup. The lateral load was
applied by imposing cyclically varying displacements (under
displacement control) at the top of the test length by a 630 kN
capacity hydraulic actuator mounted on the reaction wall.
The in-plane displacements were measured using three linear
variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) along the specimen
test height. The longitudinal and transverse strain gauges were
bonded to the steel tubes of the specimens to measure the strain
of the steel tubes at different locations along the test length.
The lateral loading history was based on the Specification
of Testing Methods for Earthquake Resistant Building in
China [14], and consisted of elastic and inelastic cycles. The
elastic cycles were conducted under load control at the load
level of about 0.3, 0.6 and 1.0Py , where Py was the estimated
yield load capacity predicted in the progress of the experiment
by locating the inflection point on the loaddisplacement
hysteretic loops which represents the maximum rate for
the increment of lateral displacement with the load. The
corresponding displacement is the yield displacement ( y ).
Only one cycle was imposed for each load level. The inelastic
cycles were then taken to lateral displacement levels of 2 y ,
3 y , 4 y , 5 y , etc. with a displacement increment equal
to y . Three cycles were imposed at each displacement
level. Testing was conducted until the lateral load resistance
decreased below 85% of the maximum lateral load capacity
measured in the test or the test specimen was judged as
unsuitable for further loading.
3. Test results and experimental behaviour
3.1. Failure mode
All of the test specimens behaved in a ductile manner
and testing proceeded in a smooth and controlled way. Each
specimen failed with the formation of an appropriate 200 mm
long failure segment at the top and bottom of the column, whilst
the remaining portion of the test length unloaded elastically and
no tension cracking occurred at the steel tube corners. For all
specimens except C4N6 and C2N5 it was found that when the
lateral displacement attained 3.78 mm, an outward indent or
bulge formed at a distance of about 50 mm measured from the
two ends of column at the compressive flange of the steel tube.
A bulge also formed on the other face of the specimen when the

lateral displacement was reserved. The local buckling became

more severe with the increase of the displacement and half
wavelengths of buckling wave appropriately equal to 100 mm,
which is the half width of the steel tube. The higher the axial
load level, the earlier the tube buckling appears. The second
buckling wave formed on the compressive flange of the steel
tube when the lateral displacement reached 1112 mm. Local
buckling on the web of the steel tube was visually observed
at approximately the same time. When lateral displacement
reached 1416 mm the third wave on the compressive flange
of steel tube was observed. Generally no more buckling waves
formed during successive loading cycles, and when the test
was concluded there were about three waves (Fig. 5(a)) on
the flange and one or two waves (Fig. 5(c), (d)) on the web.
The crushing sound of concrete was heard at the end of the
test and was observed (Fig. 5(b)) upon removing the steel
wall of the columns after the test. The concrete failure mode
in the web zone near the the two ends was different for the
columns with different steel tube sections. Some continuing
cracks were observed for the columns without longitudinal
stiffeners in this zone (Fig. 5(f)), whilst there were only some
independent cracks formed for the columns with longitudinal
stiffeners (Fig. 5(e)). For C4N3 and C2N3, local buckling and
low cycle fatigue caused a rupture in the compressive flange of
the steel tube at a height of about 50 mm measured from the
ends of columns, as shown in Fig. 5(g).
3.2. Lateral loaddisplacement relationship
The hysteretic curves of lateral load and lateral displacement
are shown in Fig. 6 for all the test specimens. The displacement
presented in these figures is the relative displacement between
the two concrete beams. The figures show that there is
an initial elastic response for all the specimens and the
loaddisplacement relation can be roughly considered to
be linear. Then the stiffness gradually degraded and the
column entered into the inelastic stage. With increasing lateral
displacement, slight pinching effects were explicitly observed
in the hysteretic loop for the specimen under a small axial
load level, which reflect the slippage between the steel tube
and concrete core. From the comparison of the hysteretic
loops for the columns with different steel tube sections, it
was found that under the same axial load level, the column
with four longitudinal stiffeners had a plumper hysteretic loop
than the columns with two longitudinal stiffeners. Table 2
summarizes the test results. The load capacity (Pu ) was
defined as the average of the peak load in the two reversal
loading directions. The envelopes of the lateral loadlateral
displacement responses of the cyclic beamcolumn specimens
were used to determine their displacement ductility ( ).
Displacement ductility is defined as u divided by y ,
where u is the numerical average of the displacement
corresponding to 0.85Pu (postpeak capacity) in the two reversal
loading directions, y is the displacement corresponding to
Pu and K sec , and K sec is the secant stiffness of the column
corresponding to 0.6Pu [13]. It can be seen from Table 2 that
the range of displacement ductility for all specimens is from 2.5
to 6.33.

Y. Zhang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

(a) Buckling of compressive flange.

(b) Concrete crush.

(d) Buckling of web without stiffener.

(e)

321

(c) Buckling of web with stiffener.

(f)

(g)
Fig. 5. Failure mode of tested specimens.
Table 2
Test results
Specimen

Pu (kN)

Py (kN)

u (mm)

y (mm)

C4N3
C4N4-1
C4N4-2
C4N5-1
C4N5-2
C4N6
C2N3
C2N4
C2N5

105.4
103.5
109
105.6
112.7
111.2
106.5
112
114.7

82.7
85.2
86.5
84.6
90.4
96.4
85.4
88.9
94.2

32.2
23.5
24.8
18.5
18.3
13.3
35.6
21.7
15.7

5.7
5.29
5.98
5.16
5.21
5.32
5.62
6.27
5.88

5.65
4.44
4.15
3.59
3.51
2.5
6.33
3.46
2.67

4. Analysis of test results and discussion

level not only influences the ultimate lateral load (Pu ), but also
influences the ductility of the specimen. Generally, with the
increase in axial load level, the ultimate lateral load increases
slightly and the ductility of the specimen decreases rapidly.
4.2. Effect of steel tube section type
Fig. 8 shows the influence of the steel tube section type
on lateral load (P) versus lateral displacement () envelope
curves of specimens. It reveals that the specimens with different
section types share very similar P curves. But from the
last columns of Table 2, it can be concluded that the fourstiffener specimens have better ductility than the two-stiffener
specimens.

4.1. Effects of axial load level

4.3. Dissipated energy capacity and stiffness degradation
Fig. 7 shows the influence of axial load level on lateral
load (P) versus lateral displacement () envelope curves of
specimens. It can be found from this figure that the axial load

The equivalent viscous coefficient () can be used as

a symbol to reflect the energy dissipation capacity of the

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Y. Zhang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

(a) C4N3.

(b) C4N4-1.

(c) C4N4-2.

(d) C4N5-1.

(e) C4N5-2.

(f) C4N6.

(g) C2N3.

(h) C2N4.

(i) C2N5.

Fig. 6. Load (P)displacement () hysteretic curves for tested specimens.

specimen. It is defined as (Fig. 9):

=

1
S ABC D A
2 S O B E + S O D F

(3)

where S ABC D A , S O B E , S O D F is the area bounded by

corresponding points. Fig. 10 shows the curves of the equivalent
viscous coefficient () obtained from the test data versus the
lateral displacement () for different specimens under the
same axial load level. It was concluded that, generally, the
equivalent viscous coefficient increases with increasing lateral
displacement and the specimen with four stiffeners has a higher
energy dissipation capacity than that with two stiffeners.

Fig. 11 shows the loop stiffness (K i ) calculated from the test

data at different cycles of loading for the specimens with same
tube section under different axial load levels. The loop stiffness
is expressed as:
Ki =

|+Fi | + |Fi |
|+X i | + |X i |

(4)

where +Fi ; Fi is the peak load for the ith cycle in two reversal
directions and +X i ; X i is the displacement corresponding to
peak load for the ith cycle in two reversal directions.
It was found from Fig. 11 that the degradation of loop
stiffness for specimens with a large axial load level was
more serious than that of specimens with a small axial load

Y. Zhang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

Fig. 7. Influence of axial load level on the lateral load (P) versus lateral displacement () envelope curves.

(a) n = 0.3.

(b) n = 0.4.

(c) n = 0.5.
Fig. 8. Influence of steel tube section type on the lateral load (P) versus lateral displacement () envelope curves.

323

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Y. Zhang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

5. Conclusions
This study mainly presents an experimental investigation of
CFTST columns under a cyclic load. A stiffening scheme is
introduced to enhance the behaviour of square CFTST columns.
The parameters under investigation included steel tube section
type and axial load level, aiming to determine how these
factors influence the ultimate strength, stiffness and ductility.
The following conclusions can be drawn based on the limited
research reported in this paper:

Fig. 9. Calculation of equivalent viscous coefficient.

level under the same lateral displacement. The initial loop

stiffness increases with higher levels of axial load acting on
the specimen. At higher axial load levels more concrete is in
compression and thereby actively participates in resisting the
flexural load.
According to the Code for Seismic Design of Buildings in
China [15], the limit ratio of story drift to floor height for the
frameshear wall reinforced concrete structure under a severe
earthquake is 1/100. From the test data it can be seen that
the ratios of ultimate displacement to column height for all
specimens satisfy this limit.

(a) n = 0.3.

(1) All the CFTST columns failed in a ductile manner and

exhibited plump hysteretic loops with a slight pinching
effect under an axial load level below 0.5.
(2) The axial load level has a significant influence on the
hysteretic behaviour of the CFTST columns; the ductility
decreases rapidly with increase in axial load. Specimens
with a greater axial load level have lower ductility. So it is
recommended that CFTST columns should be used in midor low-rise buildings.
(3) The discrepancy of ultimate load capacity between columns
with different steel tube section is very small, but the
four-stiffener columns have better ductility and plumper
hysteretic loops than the two-stiffener columns.
(4) The work in this paper provides a basis for further
theoretical study of the seismic behaviour of CFTST
columns.

(b) n = 0.4.

(c) n = 0.5.
Fig. 10. Equivalent viscous coefficient () versus lateral displacement (mm).

Y. Zhang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 317325

(a) Four-stiffeners column.

325

(b) Two-stiffeners column.

Fig. 11. Stiffness degradation curves.

Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (Project No 50478027); the
financial support is highly appreciated. The writers also wish
to thank Mr Chen Yong for his assistance in constructing and
designing the specimens.
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