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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL

In residential systems where land cost is at a premium, any savings

in floor area will be of considerable advantage both in terms of cost of the
construction of floor and better utilization of materials. With this in view,
some of the innovations which are prevalent in the basement floors for
parking purpose in order to overcome land / space scarcity, are use of steel in
columns for reduction in area compared to concrete and use of steel-concrete
composites offsetting some of the costs in using steel completely. Generally
columns in high rise buildings are larger in size when concrete is used and
occupy more space cutting into the floor / carpet area of the apartment
resulting in more cost. Concrete Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) composite
columns represent a class of structural systems, where the best properties of
steel and concrete are used to their maximum advantage. When employed
under favourable conditions the steel casing confines the core tri-axially
creating a confinement for better seismic resistance and the in-filled concrete
inhibits the local buckling of the tubular shell.

Tubular columns have an advantage over spirally reinforced

concrete columns in which the core and the cover behave as two different
layers. In reinforced concrete columns, the cover is inferior to the core and the
spiral reinforcement come into action until the cover spalls. Whereas in the
concrete filled steel tubular columns the core forms one continuous
homogeneous medium. Also in slender tubular columns, where buckling
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occurs before the concrete is confined, the shell adds to the strength. Tubular
columns, when considered as reinforced concrete columns, represent columns
with a well dispersed reinforcement. Ties and spirals could be avoided and
tubes themselves form the shuttering.

The compressive strength per unit cost of concrete is higher than

that of structural steel and so, it seemed to be the most suitable material for
use in columns. Until the 1950s, it was normal practice to use a wet mix of
low strength concrete and to neglect the contribution of the good quality
concrete to the strength of the column. Tests by Faber (1956), Stevens (1959)
and others then showed that savings could be made by using better-quality
concrete and designing the column as a composite member. This empirical
method was developed by stages from earlier design procedures for steel
columns, and is not based on fundamental research on composite columns.

In the mid 1980s several buildings constructed at Seattle in USA

became well known for their use of concrete filled steel tubes. Many
developed countries like USA, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Australia,
Canada, Belgium etc., adopt this kind of composite sections to facilitate
speedy construction. Because of the increased use of composite columns,
many experimental and theoretical research works have been carried out to
study the strength and behaviour of the CFST columns. Rational methods of
designing CFST columns have also been developed.

1.2 COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION

In composite construction, the bare steel sections support the initial

construction loads, including the weight of structure during construction.
Concrete is later cast around the steel sections, or filled inside the tubular
sections. The concrete and steel are combined in such a combination that the
advantages of both the materials are utilized effectively in composite column.
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The lighter weight and higher strength of steel permit the use of smaller and
lighter foundations. The subsequent concrete addition enables the building
frame to easily limit the sway and lateral deflections.

No additional reinforcing steel is required for CFST columns

except for requirements of fire protection to stanchions in steel framed
buildings. Since the columns are subjected mainly to axial loads, the
transverse shear (change in bending moment along the length) is much lower.
Therefore the mechanical shear connectors are normally not required to
develop complete interaction in composite columns. The use of round, square
and rectangular steel tubular columns is becoming popular for high-rise
structures and they are also of special interest to the architects from an
aesthetic view point and to the engineers from a structural effectiveness view
point.

The general term ‘Composite Column’ refers to any compression

member in which a steel element acts compositely with the concrete element,
so that both elements resist compressive forces. In other words by definition a
steel-concrete column is a member with a cross section consisting of a steel
section (or sections) and concrete which act together to resist axial
compression. There is a wide variety of column types of various cross-
sections, but only two common types of composite column are in use. A steel-
concrete composite column is a compression member comprising either of a
concrete encased steel section or a concrete filled steel tubular section (CFST)
and is generally used as a load-bearing member in a composite framed
structure. Figure 1.1 shows two typical cross-sections of concrete filled steel
tubular sections. Note that there is no requirement to provide additional
reinforcing steel for composite concrete filled steel tubular sections, except
for requirements of fire resistance where appropriate.
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Figure 1.1 Typical cross-sections of concrete filled steel tubular sections

In a composite column, both the steel and concrete would resist the
external loading by interacting together by bond and friction. Supplementary
reinforcement in the concrete encasement prevents excessive spalling of
concrete both under normal load and fire conditions. The steel tube provides
tri-axial confinement which is same as that provided by stirrups in reinforced
concrete columns. Hence, CFST columns reduce the amount of expensive
steel required to support the given load substantially, while the dimensions of
the column are smaller than those of a reinforced cement concrete column of
the same strength there by increasing the available floor space.

1.3 APPLICATIONS OF COMPOSITE COLUMNS

The concrete filled steel tube column has a long history. In China,
concrete filled steel tubes as columns, were first used in the construction of
the Beijing Underground Railway Station in 1963. Later, they were used in
some other projects as columns under heavy loading such as bridges and
viaducts. Large arch bridges of this type have been constructed over rivers
with the through span of 140 m and a rise of 22 m. In the refractory materials
factory at Semiluka, pipes of diameter 114 x 4 mm filled with concrete were
used as stanchions.
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Since 1970, extensive investigations have verified that framing

systems consisting of CFST columns and H-shaped beams have more benefits
than ordinary reinforced concrete and steel systems, and as a result, this
system has very frequently been utilized in the construction of middle and
high-rise buildings in Japan. In 1985, five general contractors and a steel
manufacturer won the Japan’s Ministry of Construction proposal competition
for the construction of urban apartment houses in the 21st century. Since then,
these industries and the Building Research Institute (BRI) of the Ministry of
Construction started a five-year experimental research project called New
Urban Housing Project (NUHP), which accelerated the investigation of this
system. Another five-year research project on composite and hybrid structures
started in 1993 as the fifth phase of the U.S.- Japan Cooperative Earthquake
Research Program, and the investigation of the CFST column system was
included in the program. Research findings obtained from this project formed
present design recommendations for the CFST column system.

Composite columns of steel and concrete, especially in steel hollow

sections filled with concrete, manifest a number of major architectural,
structural and economic advantages, which are very much appreciated by
modern designers and building engineers. They have been used in the
structural buildings for quite a few decades, although their application has
increased substantially in recent times. Some of these qualitative aspects
leading to special preferences by the architects and structural people are listed
below:

 The concrete filling lends to the steel hollow sections a still

higher rigidity and load bearing strength, so that the aesthetic
slender columns can bear higher loads without any increase in
their external dimensions. This can be further enhanced by
means of reinforcing bars.
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 Steel allows a pretentious architectural design with various

colourings. The painting costs as well as the costs for
corrosion protection, eg. spray, paints, etc., are low due to
small external surface area of the columns.

 There is seldom any problem with respect to the joints due to

the highly developed assembly technique in structural
engineering today. This permits prefabrication in workshop
and a quick and dry assembly on site.

The composite column has higher ductility than the concrete

column and connections may be constructed following the experience of steel
constructions. The concrete filling not only leads to a bearing capacity which
is much higher than that of steel columns but it also promotes resistance
against fire. As far as ductility and rotation capacity are concerned, concrete
filled steel tubular columns show the best seismic behaviour compared to
other types of composite columns. The concrete is held by the steel profile
and cannot split away even if the ultimate concrete strength is reached. The
research work in the field of composite columns with concrete filled hollow
sections has a long tradition in various parts of the world.

In ancient times, structures were built with stone, timber and brick
masonry. The use of reinforced concrete, modern structural steel, pre stressed
concrete and recently developed composite (CFST) sections give the
opportunity for construction and development of long span sections. In long
span bridges the natural vibration response of the arch bridge plays an
important role in the seismic design of arch bridge, which may include natural
frequencies of vibration and mode shape of arch bridges in structural dynamic
analysis. For longer span bridges the lateral direction vibration is more and
hence the arch rib is required to be stiffer, stronger and durable. This is
satisfied by the concrete filled steel tubular circular sections.
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CFST columns have become the preferred of heavy loading

conditions, seismic resistant structures that are subjected to severe flexural
load, bridge piers that are subjected to impact from traffic, columns to support
large sized storage tanks, decks of railways and columns in multi-storey office
buildings. The CFST composite section provides more stiffness during an
earthquake because of the composite action between the steel tube and core
concrete. In a composite structure, the concrete filled steel tubular circular
section is increasingly popular in structural application. This is due to their
excellent earthquake resisting property such as high strength, high ductility
and large energy dissipation capacity. As a result of the combined effect of
the rolled steel tube and the core concrete, the CFST structure can effectively
take advantage of these two materials to improve the compressive strength
and the ductility of the structure during an earthquake. The CFST structure is
being widely used in high rise building projects, viaduct and bridges in Japan,
Brazil and several other countries.

1.4 ADVANTAGES

The main advantage in deploying concrete filled tubes, however, is

the advantage that the system has in the construction sequence. The
advantages of CFST columns are as follows:

 Increased strength for a given cross sectional dimension.

 Increased stiffness, leading to reduced slenderness and

increased buckling resistance.

 Identical cross sections with different load and moment

resistances can be produced by varying steel thickness, the
concrete strength and reinforcement. This allows the outer
dimensions of a column to be held constant over a number of
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floors in a building, thus simplifying the construction and

architectural detailing.

 Local buckling of the steel tube is delayed, and the strength

deterioration after the local buckling is moderated, both due to
the restraining effect of concrete.

 The strength of concrete is increased due to confining effect

provided by the steel tube, and the strength deterioration is not
very severe, since the tube prevents the spalling of concrete.

 Drying shrinkage and creep of the concrete are much smaller

than in ordinary reinforced concrete columns.

 The steel ratio (steel area / gross area) in the CFST cross
section is much larger than those in the reinforced concrete
cross sections.

 In structures that are subjected to seismic loadings, the

composite column can provide a better ductility and load
retention even after extensive concrete damage. The damages
can be repaired if the overall structure survives.

 CFST column is very useful for rehabilitation of structures

such as bridge piers, high-rise buildings etc.

 Forms and reinforcing bars are not required and concrete

casting is done by pump-up method, which leads to savings of
man power and constructional cost and time.

 As the technique involves no formwork, the site is clear and

more space is available for movement of men and machinery.
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1.5 UTILIZATION OF WASTE MATERIALS IN CONCRETE

After the Second World War, a number of European countries

(notably Germany, England and Netherlands) and Japan have made attempts
to study and reuse demolition materials in the construction of Civil
Engineering works. Some studies performed recently showed that the
application of recycled aggregates might improve the characteristics of
concrete. However, with small portion of aggregates replaced (Wang 2000),
the loss in compressive strength was not significant.

Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris is waste material that

is produced in the process of construction, renovation, or demolition of
structural buildings. Characterizing the quantity and composition of building-
related C&D debris generated and summarizing the waste management
practices for this waste stream are becoming increasingly necessary in the
present day societal generation of waste. Recycled aggregate concrete can
utilize demolition material from concrete and masonry constructions. In
general, it has been concluded that recycled aggregate concrete possess
relatively lower density and higher water absorption characteristics as
compared to those of fresh concrete.

Rubber: More than 250 million scrap tyres weighing more than 3
million tons are generated each year in the United States (Wang 2000). This is
considered as one of the major environmental challenges facing
municipalities around the world because waste rubber is not easily
biodegradable even after a long period of landfill treatment. One of the
solutions suggested is the use of tyre rubber particles as additives in cement-
based materials. Although concrete is the most popular construction material,
it has some limited properties: low tensile strength, low ductility, low energy
absorption, shrinkage and cracking associated with hardening and curing.
Several studies performed recently showed application of recycled tyre rubber
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that might improve these weak characteristics of concrete (Wang 2000).

Many experiments were done to find out appropriate methods of rubber
application. In general use, fully replacing coarse aggregate (gravel) or fine
aggregate (sand) with rubber is not appropriate because the loss of strength is
too severe. However, with small portion of aggregates replaced, the loss in
compressive strength is not significant.

Granite is hard and tough igneous rock nearly always massive, and
therefore it has gained wide spread use as construction stone. It is used for
flooring becauase of its average density being 2.75 g/cm3. It is available in
various colours due to the presence of a variety of minerals. Granite on earth
forms a major part of the continental crust. Granite has been extensively used
as a dimension stone and as flooring tiles in public and commercial buildings.
Plenty of waste granite pieces that are available after cutting granite slabs it
may be utilized in concrete by partial replacement of coarse aggregate.

Fly Ash: The increased demand in the quantity of concrete used for
the construction of various civil engineering structures led to increase in the
cost of cement which in turn increased the cost of concrete. This prompted
civil engineers to use fly ash as a partial replacement material for cement and
fine aggregates. The disposal of the abundant fly ash produced from coal
based thermal plants as waste product has become a problem and it is
hazardous to the environment.

Quarry Dust: The disposal of the abundant quarry dust produced

from stone crushing units as waste product is also becoming a problem and is
also hazardous to the environment. The increased demand of concrete leads to
the depletion of the naturally available ingredients of the concrete and this in
turn increases the cost of concrete. The quarry fines can be obtained from
different crusher units. In India, many of the stone crushing plants produce
huge quantity of quarry fines as waste product. Based on the grading, the
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quarry fines are grouped as quarry dust and quarry sand. Quarry dust obtained
from the crusher units are the finer fraction collected from the crushing and
sieving equipment. Scarcity of natural sand is overcome by the usage of
quarry dust.

In order to utilize these waste materials, an investigation was taken

up to study the workability and strength characteristics of the new concrete
made with various waste materials. The fine aggregate was replaced by fly
ash & quarry dust and coarse aggregate was replaced with granite, C&D
debris and rubber. The cost of concrete was reduced by the usage of these
waste materials as partial replacement for fine and coarse aggregates.

Present day life style generates in different types of organic and

non-organic waste materials and disposing them or using them effectively has
become a major issue, particularly in the urban scenario. Most of the waste
materials produced by demolishing structures are disposed by dumping them
as land fill or for reclaiming land. But with the demand for land increasing
day by day, the locations, capacity and width of the land that can receive
waste materials are becoming limited. Added to it is the cost of transportation,
which makes disposal a major problem. Hence, reuse of demolition waste
appears to be an effective solution and the most appropriate one. Large-scale
use would be to utilize it as aggregates to produce concrete for new
construction. Hence there is a need to study the behaviour of columns using
waste and recycled materials.

1.6 OBJECTIVES, SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE

RESEARCH WORK

In order to investigate the behaviour of axially loaded CFST

columns using waste materials, tests on one hundred and forty four specimens
were conducted on L/D < 4.0 = 48 specimens and in the range 4.0 < L/D
< 12.0 = 96 specimens. The objectives of this investigation are as follows:
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1. To study the feasibility of utilizing the waste materials in

CFST columns.

 Mechanical strength properties were tested.

 Fresh concrete properties were tested.

 Structural properties in columns were tested.

2. To study the behaviour of CFST columns with respect to their

geometrical effects and slenderness effects.

 Column specimens of L/D ratio of 2.5 to 12.5 were tested

under axial load.

 Specimens with D/t ratio varying from 22 to 25 were

tested.

3. To study the effect of filler material on strength, stiffness and

local buckling of steel tubular shell.

 Different wastes such as flyash, quarry dust, granite

pieces from slab, C&D debris and rubber were used as a
partial replacement of aggregates and the ultimate
strength of CFST columns are compared and presented.

4. To compare the experimental results with the result predicted

by current design codal provisions.

 Comparisons of experimental results were made with the

results predicted by design specifications on
international codes such as ACI / AS and Eurocode4.
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5. To develop empirical equations useful for practical design and

towards their application in the formulation of codal
provision.

 Equations based on statistical analysis were proposed.

The predicted results were compared with experimental
results.

 New empirical equation were developed and suggested

for the new development of Indian code.

6. To verify the experimental results with the numerical results

with the published results.

 A Finite Element Analysis using ANSYS was carried out

and the test results are validated.

 The Eurocode4 column curve was compared.

1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THESIS

This thesis has been arranged in seven chapters. A brief description

of each chapter is given below:

Chapter 2 A detailed review of literature about composite

columns, geometrical effects, slenderness effects and influence of waste
materials in concrete are widely discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 3 This chapter provides information about the behaviour

of composite column, importance of steel tube in composite columns and
comparison of steel tubular sections in-filled with various waste materials
with hollow column is explained. The modes of failure of columns are also
presented. Also in this chapter presents the history of design codes and the
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recommendations of various codes used for composite columns. The proposed

design method suggested as EC4 and the calculations of various design
parameters are covered. The checks for structural adequacy of composite
columns under applied loads are also dealt with in this chapter.

Chapter 4 The materials and mix proportion, casting and curing

method, experimental set-up, test methods and studies of waste materials are
broadly discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 5 Analytical work such as meshing and modeling in

ANSYS are discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 6 The experimental test results are listed and discussed.

These experimental results are compared with theoretical EC4 and ACI/AS
codes in this chapter.

Chapter 7 This concluding chapter contains valuable suggestions

and presents a scope for further research.