Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Stress paths of confined concrete in axially loaded circular concrete-filled T

steel tube stub columns
⁎
Siqi Lina, Yan-Gang Zhaoa, , Liusheng Heb
a
Dept. of Architecture and Building Engineering, Kanagawa Univ., Kanagawa 2218686, Japan
b
Research Institute of Structural Engineering and Disaster Reduction, Tongji Univ., Shanghai 200092, China

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

Keywords: Previous study has suggested that the stress paths of confined concrete in concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) stub
Whole-section-loaded CFT column columns influence the compressive strengths of the concrete, which, however, is based on the test of concrete-
Stress path loaded CFT columns. In this paper, to fully understand the compressive strength of confined concrete in CFT
Stress path effect column, the stress paths of confined concrete in the whole-section-loaded CFT columns are investigated. A
Compressive strength
detailed parametric study is conducted on the stress paths and their corresponding effects on compressive
strength. Test results suggest that the lateral stress of the concrete in a whole-section-loaded CFT column gen-
erally occurred in a later stage and less significant than that in a concrete-loaded CFT column. The compressive
strength of confined concrete in the whole-section-loaded CFT column with a small confinement coefficient is
path-dependent, and the confinement effect of the concrete is generally weaker than that in concrete-loaded CFT
column. With the increase of the confinement coefficient, the compressive strengths of confined concrete in
whole-section-loaded CFT columns become path-independent. Based on the test results, a compressive strength
model incorporating the stress path effect is developed for confined concrete in both whole-section-loaded and
the concrete-loaded CFT columns. Good agreement between the experimental results and the ones predicted by
the model is found, indicating a high performance of the proposed model.

1. Introduction The relationship between the lateral and compressive stresses of

Circular concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) columns are widely used in
many modern structures for their excellent performance of high
strength, stiffness and ductility arising from the good confinement ef-
fect. Researches on circular CFT columns have been ongoing worldwide
for decades, and various researchers [1–12] have made significant
contributions to determining the ultimate capacity and load–deforma-
tion relationships of CFT columns, which are two primary concerns in
practical engineering. It has been realized that a well-established
compressive strength model of confined concrete is important for ac-
curately predicting the ultimate capacity of the column and plays an
essential role in establishing its load–deformation relationship [13].
Compressive strength models of confined concrete developed based
on the experimental tests of actively confined concrete, e.g., the models
of Richard [14] and Mander [15], are widely used in the researches of
CFT columns [2–5]. For the tests of actively confined concrete, speci-
mens are subjected to a constant hydrostatic lateral pressure. However,
when a CFT column is compressed axially, the lateral stress of the
concrete is not constant but increases with compressive stress.
confined concrete is known as the loading path [16,22,23]. It should be
noted that the term “loading path” is slightly different from that gen-
erally used in structural engineering, to avoid potential mis-
understanding, in this paper the term “stress path” will be used instead.
The effects of the stress path upon the compressive strength of confined
concrete were investigated in previous studies, and two different opi-
nions are generally held, i.e., (1) the compressive strength of confined
concrete is path-independent [16,17]; (2) the compressive strength of
confined concrete is path-dependent [18–20]. Recently, to clarify the
stress path effect, Zhao et al. [21] investigated the stress paths of
confined concrete in CFT columns and discussed the corresponding
effects on their compressive strengths. It was found that the compres-
sive strength of confined concrete cannot be simply considered to be
path-dependent or path-independent but depended on the stress path
under which the concrete was confined. A compressive strength model
incorporating the stress path effect was developed for the confined
concrete in CFT stub columns. However, it should be noted that the
model of Zhao et al. was established based on the compressive tests of
CFT columns with only the concrete loaded. In practical engineering,

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhao@kanagawa-u.ac.jp (Y.-G. Zhao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.06.112
Received 12 January 2018; Received in revised form 23 May 2018; Accepted 28 June 2018
Available online 20 July 2018
0141-0296/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Lin et al. Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

the axial load is generally applied to the concrete and the steel tube 12
400-36-31WL D
simultaneously. As for the two different loading conditions, the stress
path of the confined concrete and the corresponding stress path effect 10
may differ. For a full understanding of the compressive strength of
confined concrete in a CFT column, the stress path of the whole-section- 8
loaded CFT column and the corresponding effect should be in-

σr (Mpa)
vestigated, which, however, have not been studied till now.
6
In this paper, compressive experimental tests of the whole-section-
loaded CFT stub columns are conducted, based on which the stress
4
paths of confined concrete are investigated and then the corresponding
stress path effects on the compressive strength of confined concrete are
discussed. This paper is organized as follows: In section two, determi- 2 C
nation of the stress path, the evaluation methods of stress path and
O A B
stress path effect, and the experimental details are briefly introduced. 0
The test results are also discussed; In section three, the stress paths and 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
corresponding stress path effects upon the compressive strength of fcz/fc
confined concrete in CFT columns under the different loading condi-
Fig. 1. Stress path of confined concrete in a whole-section-loaded CFT column.
tions are investigated; In Section 4, conclusions are drawn.

2. Experimental test to investigate stress paths tests; G is the shear modulus; E is the elastic modulus of the steel.
The axial and hoop stresses can be determined by Eqs. (3)-(7) based
2.1. Determination of stress paths on the measured axial/hoop strain at each loading step. Substituting the
axial stress σz and hoop stress σθ of the steel tube at each loading step
The stress path of confined concrete is generally defined as the re- for Eq. (1) and (2), the lateral stress and the compressive stress of the
lationship between the lateral stress (σr) against normalized compres- concrete could be determined. The compressive stress at each loading
sive stress of the concrete with respect to the unconfined concrete step was normalized with the unconfined concrete strength. The stress
strength (fcz/fc). The lateral stress (σr) and the compressive stress (fcz) of path was then expressed as a relationship between the lateral stress (σr)
the concrete can be calculated by: and the normalized compressive stress of the concrete (fcz/fc). It should
be noted that the stresses of steel tube determined by Eq. (3)–(7) are
2t average stresses through the perimeter of the steel tube for that the
σr = σθ
D−2t (1)
stresses are determined based on the average strains measured by two
N −σz As pairs of electrical strain gauges.
fcz = One of the stress paths of confined concretes in the whole-section-
Ac (2)
loaded CFT columns is shown in Fig. 1 (taken from specimen 400-36-
where D is the diameter of the column, t is the thickness of the steel 31WL), which can be divided into four stages. In the OA stage, because
tube, N is the axial load of the column obtained from the testing ma- the Poisson ratio of the concrete is smaller than that of the steel tube in
chine, As and Ac are the section areas of the steel tube and the concrete, the initial phase, no confining stress occured for the core concrete.
respectively, and σz and σθ are the axial stress and the hoop stress of the When the compressive stress exceeds point A, microcracks develop ra-
steel tube, respectively. The determinations of the axial and hoop pidly in the concrete, and its lateral expansion becomes larger than that
stresses of the steel tube are explained below. of the steel tube, causing the lateral stress to develop smoothly. A
The von Mises stress σe is used to indicate the stress state of the steel sudden lateral expansion due to the fracture of concrete at point B leads
tube: to a sharp increase in lateral stress. As the loading increases, the steel
tube yields at point C. After exhibiting a short plateau, the lateral stress
σe = σz2−σz σθ + σθ2 (3)
continues to increase because of strain hardening of the steel tube, until
In the elastic stage (σe < fy), the stress of the steel tube is calculated by reaching the ultimate state at point D. As discussed above, stages OB
the generalized Hooke law: and BD respectively indicate the pre-fracture and post-fracture stages of
the concrete in a CFT column.
⎧ dσz ⎫ = Es ⎡ 1 υ ⎤ ⎧ dεz ⎫
⎩ dσθ ⎬
⎨ ⎭ 1−υ2 ⎣ υ 1 ⎦ ⎩
⎨ dεθ ⎬
⎭ (4)
where dεz and dεθ are the incremental axial strain and hoop strain, 2.2. Evaluation methods of the stress path and the stress path effect
respectively; υ is the Poisson ratio and Es is the tangent modulus [21].
In the plastic stage (σe ≥ fy), the stress of the steel tube is calculated To investigate the stress path of confined concrete and its effect
by the incremental Prandtl-Reuss equation: upon the compressive strength, two evaluation indices are used [21].
Considering the typical stress paths of confined concrete in Fig. 2, the
⎧ dσz ⎫ = E ⎡ 1 υ ⎤ ⎧ dεz ⎫− Edγ ⎡ 2−υ 2υ−1⎤ σz
⎩ dσθ ⎬
⎨ ⎭ 1−υ2 ⎣ υ 1 ⎦ ⎩
⎨ dεθ ⎬ σ
⎭ 3(1−υ ) ⎣ 2υ−1 2−υ ⎦ θ
2 { } (5)
stress path of confined concrete in a whole-section-loaded CFT column
could be indicated by path Pi (OBD), the upper and lower boundary
path of which are denoted by path Pa (OAD) and P0 (OCD), respectively.
The scalar dγ is given by:
From the figure, it can be known that the lateral stress for path Pa is
9G (sz dez + sr der + sθ deθ) significant during the whole loading process, which for path P0 is on the
dγ =
2σe2 (H + 3G ) (6) contrary. Therefore, when path Pi gets closer to path Pa, the lateral
stress for path Pi becomes more significant and will be in a more
E dominant state.
G=
2(1 + υ) (7) Firstly, the dominance degree of the lateral stress in a stress path Pi
where ei and si are the deviatoric strain and stress, respectively; H is the is characterized by a lateral stress domination index, which was defined
slope of equivalent stress–equivalent plastic strain curve, which is taken as:
as the slope of the stress–plastic strain curve of the steel from tensile

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S. Lin et al. Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

concrete is path-dependent. The greater the deviation between the ef-

fect index and unity, the more significant the stress path effect; on the
contrary, λ=1.0 means that the compressive strength of the confined
concrete is independent of the stress path.

2.3. Experimental program

In order to investigate the stress paths and discuss the corresponding

Fig. 2. Typic stress path of confined concrete.
S (Pi )
SI (Pi ) =
S (Pa)
where S(Pi) is the area enclosed by paths Pi and P0. The two boundary
conditions of the lateral stress domination index are SI(P0) = 0 and SI
(Pa) = 1.
In Eq. (8), a higher value of SI means the area enclosed by path Pi
and P0 is larger, which means path Pi is closer to path Pa, thus leading to
a more significant lateral stress. That is, the lateral stress will play a
more dominant role in the confined concrete for the stress path with a
higher value of SI.
Secondly, to predict the effect of stress path upon the compressive
strength of confined concrete in a CFT column, an effect index λ was
defined as:
Δf (Pi, σru)
λ (Pi ) =
Δf (Pa , σru)
where Δf(Pi,σru) is the increased strength of the concrete under stress
path Pi, namely Δf(Pi,σru) = fcc − fc, where fcc is the compressive
strength of confined concrete; Δf(Pa,σru), based on regression of the test
of confined concrete under stress path Pa in previous studies[21], is
given as 2.2fc0.3σru0.81. It should be noted that the stress path Pa is one
of the typic paths adopted in the test of actively confined concrete,
which can be achieved by using a triaxial cell. The cell was hy-
draulically operated, details of which can be seen in Ref. [16].
In Eq. (9), λ≠1.0 means that the compressive strength of confined
stress path effects upon the compressive strength of confined concrete
in whole-section-loaded CFT stub columns, experimental tests with a
total of 18 specimens are conducted in this paper. The column para-
meters varied in the experimental tests are the same as those of con-
crete-loaded CFT columns in the previous study [21] for comparison.
The specimens can be divided into three batches. Different types of
concretes (design strengths are 24, 36 and 48 Mpa) and structural steels
(STK400 and STK490) are used for the specimens of batch 1 and 2 to
discuss the influence of material strengths on the stress paths and cor-
responding effects on the compressive strength of confined concrete,
while the influence of different ratios of column diameter to steel
thickness D/t (D/t = 26, 36 and 48) is investigated based on the results
(8)
of the specimens in batch 3. The strengths for the three types of con-
crete were 28, 41 and 52 Mpa, respectively, which were measured on
the test day based on tests of 100 × 200 mm concrete cylinders. The
mechanical properties of the steel were obtained from tensile tests of
coupons taken from each steel plate before manufacturing. The lengths
of the columns (L) are three times the diameters (D). All the details of
the specimens can be seen in Table 1.
The experimental test setup is shown in Fig. 3. The axial load is
applied to the concrete and the steel tube simultaneously. All specimens
were subjected to axial monotonic compression under a universal
testing machine with a maximum capacity of 5000 kN. Two pairs of
electrical strain gauges were placed at the mid-height of the exterior of
the steel tube to measure its axial and lateral strains. The longitudinal
deformation of the column was read directly from the test machine.
(9) Two specimens were tested for each type of column. For convenience,
the columns are identified as: type of steel + design strength of con-
crete + D/t ratio + loading condition (WL/CL). WL stands for that the
axial load is applied to the whole section of the column, while CL stands
for that the axial load is applied to the concrete section only. The
loading conditions are followed by the specimen number.
2.4. Experimental results
The columns after tests are given in Fig. 4. It was found that all the

Table 1
Specimen details and test results.
Batch Specimens D (mm) t (mm) D/t fy (MPa) fc (MPa) η Nu (kN) CI SI λ

Batch 1 400-24-31WL-1 140 4.5 31 374.2 28 0.92 1275.3 1.23 0.24 0.42
400-24-31WL-2 140 4.5 31 374.2 28 0.92 1294.5 1.25 0.20 0.47
400-36-31WL-1 140 4.5 31 374.2 39 0.66 1406.4 1.21 0.18 0.40
400-36-31WL-2 140 4.5 31 374.2 39 0.66 1405.0 1.21 0.17 0.40
400-48-31WL-1 140 4.5 31 374.2 52 0.49 1524.3 1.16 0.13 0.30
400-48-31WL-2 140 4.5 31 374.2 52 0.49 1530.4 1.17 0.14 0.30

Batch 2 490-24-31WL-1 140 4.5 31 462.9 28 1.14 1646.7 1.36 0.34 0.70
490-24-31WL-2 140 4.5 31 462.9 28 1.14 1662.3 1.38 0.38 0.80
490-36-31WL-1 140 4.5 31 462.9 39 0.82 1763.9 1.32 0.30 0.64
490-36-31WL-2 140 4.5 31 462.9 39 0.82 1753.8 1.32 0.35 0.72
490-48-31WL-1 140 4.5 31 462.9 52 0.61 1865.2 1.26 0.24 0.55
490-48-31WL-2 140 4.5 31 462.9 52 0.61 1871.6 1.26 0.25 0.54

Batch 3 400-36-26WL-1 216.3 8.2 26 381.1 41 0.76 3788.4 1.21 0.23 0.47
400-36-26WL-2 216.3 8.2 26 381.1 41 0.76 3800.3 1.21 0.20 0.46
400-36-36WL-1 190.7 5.3 36 382.5 41 0.55 2530.3 1.22 0.16 0.48
400-36-36WL-2 190.7 5.3 36 382.5 41 0.55 2544.8 1.23 0.23 0.49
400-36-48WL-1 216.3 4.5 48 371.9 41 0.39 2740.4 1.20 0.19 0.41
400-36-48WL-2 216.3 4.5 48 371.9 41 0.39 2751.2 1.20 0.17 0.40

1021
S. Lin et al.
(a). Photograph
Fig. 3. Experimental test setup.
specimens failed due to the local buckling of the steel tube occurred in
the column, especially at the end of the columns. To investigate the
behaviors of the columns, the load-deflection relationships will be
studied. For that the section areas of the specimens of batch 3 are dif-
ferent, the axial loads of all the columns are normalized with respect to
the whole section areas. The relationship between the normalized axial
stress and axial/hoop strain for specimens of batches 1 and 2 are shown
in Fig. 5, while those for specimens of batch 3 are shown in Fig. 6. For
the sake of clarity, only one curve of the two specimens is given in the
figures. The normalized ultimate axial stresses of all the columns are
marked in the figures. From Fig. 5, it was observed that, with the in-
crease of the concrete strength, the normalized ultimate axial stress of
the column increases, while the corresponding ultimate strain de-
creases, which suggests that specimens with higher-strength concrete
are more brittle. Additionally, adopting higher-strength steel was found
to increase the normalized ultimate axial stress and improve the ductile
behavior of the column. Fig. 6 suggests that specimen with a smaller D/t
ratio generally tends to achieve a higher normalized ultimate stress and
more ductile behavior. That may be because specimen with a smaller
D/t ratio has a higher percentage of steel, and steel generally has a
higher strength and experiences more ductile behaviour than concrete.
The composite effects between the steel tube and the concrete on
the ultimate load of the columns are investigated via a capacity index
(CI) proposed by Han et al. [24]:
Nu
CI =
N0 (10)
where N0 = fyAs + 0.85fcAc is the nominal squash load given in ACI
[25].
The capacity index indicates an increase of section capacity of the
columns. The capacity indices for all the specimens are given in Table 1.
Relationship between the capacity index and column parameters are
shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 7(a) suggests that the capacity index decreases
with the concrete strength, but increases with the steel strength, which
suggests that the specimen with a higher-strength concrete and/or a
lower-strength steel achieves a less increase of section capacity. From
Fig. 7(b), it was found that the capacity index seems hardly to be in-
fluenced by the D/t ratio. That is, increase of section capacity may be
insignificant by increasing the D/t ratio.
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Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028
Loading ram
Steel tube
Concrete
L=3D
Strain gauge
(b). Schematic diagram
3. Investigation of stress paths and stress path effects
3.1. Parametric study on the stress paths
The stress paths of confined concrete in whole-section-loaded CFT
columns with different column parameters, such as concrete strength fc,
steel strength fy and D/t ratio, are investigated in this section. As two
specimens are tested for each type of column, the stress path is their
average.
Stress paths for specimens with concretes of different strengths are
shown in Fig. 8. The parts of the stress paths before steel tube yielded
(part OABC) are found similar to each other. From the figure, it can be
seen that significant differences are observed only in the CD part of the
stress path. The influence of concrete strength upon the stress paths of
confined concrete in the whole-section-loaded CFT columns seems to be
similar to that in the concrete-loaded CFT columns [21]. That is, con-
crete strength only significantly affects the part of the stress path in the
strain hardening stage of the steel tube (part CD). A shorter and steeper
CD part was found for the specimen with a higher-strength concrete,
which suggests that, under the same confinement condition, higher-
strength concrete experiences a worse confinement effect. This may be
because the concrete with a higher strength is generally more brittle.
Stress paths for specimens with steels of different strengths are
shown in Fig. 9. It appears that the steel strength significantly influ-
ences the parts of the stress path in both the pre-fracture (OB) and post-
fracture (BD) stages of the core concrete. The lateral stress of confined
concrete in a CFT column with higher-strength steel seems to occur in
an earlier stage, thus leading to a shorter OA part and a higher AB part.
Moreover, the stress path in the specimen with a higher-strength steel
tends to exhibit a higher BC part with a longer plateau, and a longer and
gentler CD part, which indicates more ductile failure of the specimen.
Stress paths for specimens with different D/t ratios are shown in
Fig. 10. The D/t ratio seems to hardly affect the stress paths of confined
concrete in the whole-section-loaded CFT columns. Differences are
observed only in the part of the stress path in the strain-hardening stage
of the steel tube (part CD). Specimens with smaller D/t ratios tend to
yield longer CD parts. The results indicate that steel tubes with smaller
D/t ratios offer a better confinement effect for the core concrete. It
should be noted that, the observation in previous study [21] showed
that all parts of the stress paths of confined concrete in concrete-loaded
CFT columns were significantly affected by the D/t ratio. This indicates
that the influence of the D/t ratio on the stress path differs between the
S. Lin et al. Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

(1).400-24-31WL-1 (2).400-36-31WL-1 (3).400-48-31WL-1

(4).490-24-31WL-1 (5).490-36-31WL-1 (6).490-48-31WL-1

(7).400-36-26WL-1 (8).400-36-36WL-1 (9).400-36-48WL-1

Fig. 4. Failure mode of the columns.

two loading conditions.
Based on the discussion above, the influences of the column para-
meters upon the stress paths of confined concretes in the whole-section-
loaded CFT columns are found different from those in concrete-loaded
CFT columns [21]. Part OB of the stress path (pre-fracture stage of the
core concrete) seems to be influenced more by the steel strength than by
the concrete strengths and the D/t ratio, whereas part BD of the stress
path (post-fracture stage of the core concrete) is affected by all the
parameters. The strength of the concrete and the steel tube influences
the slope of stage BD, the length of which, however, is affected by the
D/t ratio.
3.2. The stress paths under the different loading conditions
In this section, the stress paths of confined concrete in whole-
section-loaded CFT columns are compared with those in concrete-
loaded CFT columns, as investigated by Zhao et al. [21]. All stress paths
of the specimens under two loading conditions are shown in Fig. 11,
and the corresponding laterally dominant indices are also given in the
figures.
In the pre-fracture stage of the core concrete, point A indicates the
activation of the confinement effect. Because the lateral expansion of
the steel tube is larger than that of the core concrete due to the different
Poisson ratios, the lateral stress of the confined concrete in the whole-
section-loaded CFT column was generally found to emerge in a later
loading stage, thus leading to a longer OA part than that in the con-
crete-loaded CFT columns. Point B is where the core concrete fractures.
Because the lateral stresses in concrete-loaded CFT columns generally
occurred from the initial loading stage, the fracture of the core concrete
is delayed due to a good confinement effect. For the whole-section-

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S. Lin et al. Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

140 significantly. The lateral stress seems to develop significantly only after
the steel tube yielded at point C. The large deformation of the steel tube
120 and the core concrete at this stage leads to full contact of the two
materials, thus achieving an increased column performance. For the
100
concrete-loaded CFT columns, because the steel tube is used only for
Axial stress (Mpa)

80 confinement, the lateral stresses of the core concrete increased sharply

and significantly at point B, which, after exhibiting a plateau, continued
60 to increase because of the strain hardening of the steel tube. Generally,
400-24-31WL the stress paths of the confined concrete in whole-section-loaded CFT
40 400-36-31WL columns yielded a lower BC part with a shorter plateau, and a shorter
400-48-31WL CD part with a larger slope than those in concrete-loaded CFT columns.
20 490-24-31WL
490-36-31WL
As discussed above, it is known that the lateral stress of the concrete
490-48-31WL in a whole-section-loaded CFT column generally occurred in a later
0 4 4 4 4 4 4 stage and is less significant than that in a concrete-loaded CFT column.
-6x10 -4x10 -2x10 0 2x10 4x10 6x10
Hoop strain Axial strain The stress path is characterized by the lateral stress domination
index SI. The average SI of the two specimens can be seen in Fig. 11 for
Fig. 5. Axial stress-strain curve for specimens of batch 1 and batch 2. each stress path. The influences of the strength ratio fy/fc and the D/t
ratio upon the index SI are presented in Fig. 12 and Fig. 13, respec-
120 tively.
The lateral stress domination index is found to increase with the
100 strength ratio fy/fc but decreases with the D/t ratio, suggesting that the
lateral stress plays a more dominant role in the stress path for a spe-
Axial stress (Mpa)

cimen with a higher strength ratio fy/fc and/or a smaller D/t ratio. The
80
laterally dominant indices for the concrete-loaded CFT columns [21]
are also given in the figures. From the figure, the influences of the
60 column parameters upon the laterally dominant indices of whole-sec-
tion-loaded CFT columns are found similar to those of concrete-loaded
40 CFT columns. However, the D/t ratio affects the laterally dominant
indices of the whole-section-loaded CFT columns less significantly than
20 400-36-26WL those of the concrete-loaded CFT columns, which is consistent with the
400-36-36WL observation of the stress paths in Section 3.1. Additionally, the laterally
400-36-48WL dominant indices for the whole-section-loaded CFT columns are gen-
0
4 4 4 4 erally smaller than those for the concrete-loaded CFT columns. This
-2x10 -1x10 0 1x10 2x10
means the lateral stresses of the confined concrete in the whole-section-
Hoop strain Axial strain
loaded CFT columns generally play less significant roles than those in
Fig. 6. Axial stress-strain curve for specimens of batch 3. concrete-loaded CFT columns, which agrees with the observation of the
stress paths in Fig. 11.
loaded CFT columns, small lateral stresses are generated, and no frac-
ture delay of the core concrete is observed due to poor confinement 3.3. Stress path effect upon compressive strength
effect. Therefore, the AB parts of the stress paths in whole-section-
loaded CFT columns are generally shorter and lower than those in In this section, the stress path effects upon the compressive strength
concrete-loaded CFT columns. of confined concrete are discussed. The effect indices of the stress paths
In the post-fracture stage of the core concrete, for the whole-section- for the whole-section-loaded CFT specimens are all given in Table 1.
loaded CFT columns, the lateral expansion of concrete at point B be- The average effect indices of two specimens are also shown in
comes larger than that of the steel tube due to the fracture of the Figs. 8–10.
concrete, causing the lateral stress to increase sharply but not The relationship between the effect index and the lateral stress
domination index in the present study is given in Fig. 14. The effect

1.4 1.4
STK400 400-36-D/tWL
1.35 STK490 1.35

1.3 1.3

1.25
CI
CI

1.25

1.2 1.2

1.15 1.15

1.1 1.1
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
fc
D/t
(a). Specimens with different material strengths (b). Specimens with different D/t ratios
Fig. 7. Capacity indices of the columns.

1024
S. Lin et al. Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

12 16
400-24-31WL D D D 490-24-31WL D D
400-36-31WL 14 490-36-31WL
10 400-48-31WL 490-48-31WL D
12
400-36-31WL 490-36-31WL
8
λ=0.40, SI=0.17 10 λ=0.68, SI=0.32
σr (Mpa)

σr (Mpa)
6 8
490-48-31WL
4 400-48-31WL 6 λ=0.55, SI=0.25 490-24-31WL
400-24-31WL C
λ=0.30, SI=0.13 λ=0.75, SI=0.36
λ=0.44, SI=0.22 4
2 C
2 B
AB B A
O
0 0 O
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
fcz/fc fcz/fc

(a) batch 1 (b). batch 2

Fig. 8. Stress paths for batch 1 and 2.

index was found to increase with the lateral stress domination index. 15
D
The results of Zhao et al. [21] are also shown in the figure. It should be 400-36-26WL
noted that although the effect index of the present study is a little 400-36-36WL
400-36-48WL D
smaller than that of Zhao et al. under the same lateral stress domination
index, their relationship generally follows the observation of Zhao et al. 400-36-26WL
10
Based on the results, the model of Zhao et al. is modified as: λ=0.46, SI=0.22 D
σr (Mpa)
1.65SI 0.72 , 0 ⩽ SI < 0.5
λ=⎧
⎩ 1.0
⎨ , SI ⩾ 0.5 (11)
5 400-36-48WL 400-36-36WL
The lateral stress domination index SI should be known to de-
termine the effect index λ. Section 3.1 suggests that the stress path is
λ=0.41, SI=0.18 λ=0.48, SI=0.20
influenced by column parameters, which suggests the lateral stress
domination index could be determined by the column parameters. C
O A B B
Based on the experimental test results of this study, a model of the 0 A
lateral stress domination index for the whole-section-loaded CFT col- 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
umns is then proposed as: fcz/fc
SI = 0.28η0.72 (12) Fig. 10. Stress paths for specimens with different D/t ratios.

where η is confinement coefficient and was defined as:

are compared with those of the concrete-loaded CFT columns in Fig. 15,
2t fy where λc is the effect index of concrete-loaded CFT column.
η=
D−2t fc (13) To determine λc, the model of lateral stress domination index for
concrete-loaded CFT column proposed by Zhao et al. [21] is adopted:
Substituting Eq. (12) for Eq. (11), the effect index of the stress path
for the whole-section-loaded CFT column can be given by: SI = 0.44η (15)

0.66η 0.52 , 0 ⩽ η < 2.223 Substituting Eq. (15) for Eq. (11), the effect index of concrete-loaded
λw = ⎧ CFT column λc is given as:
⎩ 1.0
⎨ , η ⩾ 2.223 (14)
0.92η 0.72 , 0 ⩽ η < 1.123
For a full understanding of the confinement effect of concrete in CFT λc = ⎧
columns, the effect indices of the whole-section-loaded CFT columns ⎩ 1.0
⎨ , η ⩾ 1.123 (16)

16 14 16
D 400-36-31WL 400-48-31WL
400-24-31WL 490-24-31WL D
D 14
14 490-24-31WL 12 490-36-31WL 490-48-31WL
λ =0.75, SI=0.36 D
12 12
D
10 400-36-31WL D
10 400-24-31WL λ =0.40, SI=0.17 10 400-48-31WL
σr (Mpa)

σr (Mpa)

8
σr (Mpa)

λ =0.44, SI=0.22 λ=0.30, SI=0.13

8 8
6
6 C 6 490-48-31WL
C 4 490-36-31WL C λ=0.55, SI=0.25
4 λ =0.68, SI=0.32 4
2 2 B
2 B
B
C A C
O A A O A B A C
0 B 0 0 O A B
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
fcz/fc fcz/f c fcz/f c

(a). fc=28 (b). fc=39 (c). fc=52

Fig. 9. Stress paths for specimens with different steel strength.

1025
S. Lin et al. Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

25 25 25
D 400-48-31WL
400-24-31WL D 400-36-31WL
400-24-31CL 400-36-31CL 400-36-31CL 400-48-31CL
D
20 20 20
λ =0.68, SI=0.29 400-48-31CL
λ =0.56, SI=0.21
15 15

σr (Mpa)

σr (Mpa)
15
σr (Mpa)

400-24-31CL 400-36-31WL
400-24-31WL
D λ =0.81, SI=0.39 λ =0.40, SI=0.17 D 400-48-31WL D
λ =0.44, SI=0.22 C
10
C
10 λ =0.30, SI=0.13 C
10

5 5 5 B
B
B
C
A A A
A C AA B C
O 0 O
O B
0 B 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
fcz/fc fcz/fc fcz/fc

(a).400-24-31 (b).400-36-31 (c).400-48-31

40 40 35
490-24-31WL 490-36-31WL 490-36-31CL 490-48-31WL D
35 D 35 490-36-31CL 490-48-31CL
490-24-31CL D 30 490-48-31CL
λ =0.88, SI=0.40 λ =0.76, SI=0.35
30 30
25
25 25
σr (Mpa)

σr (Mpa)
490-24-31CL
σr (Mpa)

20
20 λ =1.05, SI=0.50 20 C
C 490-36-31WL 15
15 490-48-31WL D
15 D λ =0.68, SI=0.32 C
490-24-31WL D 10 λ =0.55, SI=0.25
10 10
λ =0.75, SI=0.36
B C 5 C
5 5 B B
C B B
A A
O A B 0 O
0 O
0 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
fcz/fc fcz/fc fcz/fc

(e).490-24-31 (f).490-36-31 (g).490-48-31

30 20 10
D D D
400-36-26WL 400-36-26CL 400-36-36WL 400-36-36CL 400-36-48WL
25 400-36-26CL 400-36-36CL 400-36-48CL
λ =0.72, SI=0.29 λ =0.65, SI=0.22 8 400-36-48CL D
15 λ =0.62, SI=0.15
20 C
D 6
σr (Mpa)

σr (Mpa)
σr (Mpa)

400-36-26WL C 400-36-48WL
15 10 400-36-36WL
λ =0.46, SI=0.22 D C
λ =0.48, SI=0.20 λ =0.41, SI=0.18
4
10
B 5 B
B 2 C
5
C
C B
O
A B A B A
0 A 0 O 0 O A
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
fcz/fc f cz/f c fcz/fc

(h).400-36-26 (i).400-36-36 (j).400-36-48

Fig. 11. Stress paths of confined concrete in CFT columns under different loading conditions.

0.6 0.3
WL-CFT WL-CFT
CL-CFT CL-CFT
0.5
0.25

0.4
0.2
SI

SI

0.3

0.15
0.2

0.1 0.1
5 10 15 20 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
f /f D/t
y c

Fig. 12. Relation between laterally dominant index and fy/fc ratio. Fig. 13. Relation between laterally dominant index and D/t ratio.

1026
S. Lin et al. Engineering Structures 173 (2018) 1019–1028

1.2 160
2
140 f =fc+2.2 λfc0.3σru0.81 ,R =0.9708
1 cc
0.72
λ =1.65SI 120
0.8 λ=1.0 100

cc exp
(f )
0.6 80
λ

60
0.4
40
0.2 Zhao etc. WL-CFT
This study 20
The proposed CL-CFT
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
SI (f )
cc cal

Fig. 14. Effect index versus lateral stress domination index. Fig. 16. Performance of the proposed model.

1.2
concrete in a CFT column incorporating the effect of the stress path
can be predicted by:
1
fcc = fc + 2.2λf c0.3 σru
0.81
(17)
0.8 λc where λ is the effect index of the stress path. For the whole-section-
λw loaded CFT columns, λ equals λw, whereas for the concrete-loaded CFT
0.6 columns, λ equals λc.
λ

Fig. 16 shows the performance of the proposed model by compar-

0.4
0.2
CL-CFT
WL-CFT
0 It should be noted that the specimens tested in this paper to develop
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
η the model are with common combination of column parameters. The
Fig. 15. The effect indices under the two loading conditions.
From Fig. 15, it can be seen that:
(1) The effect indices for both the whole-section-loaded and concrete-
loaded CFT columns with small confinement coefficients are less
than unity. That is, the compressive strength of confined concrete in
CFT columns with small confinement coefficients are path-depen-
dent under the two loading conditions.
(2) The effect indices of the whole-section-loaded CFT columns (λw) are
generally less than those of the concrete-loaded CFT columns (λc),
which indicates that the confinement effect of the concrete in the
whole-section-loaded CFT column is generally weaker than that in
the concrete-loaded CFT column. However, it should be noted that
when the confinement coefficient η is less than about 0.2, the
confinement effect of the concrete in the whole-section-loaded CFT
column is nearly the same as that in concrete-loaded CFT column.
This may be because specimens with a smaller confinement coef-
ficient (i.e., higher D/t ratio or smaller strength ratio fy/fc) gen-
erally experience a lower axial stress of the steel tube (e.g., local
buckling of the steel tube, which tends to appear in the specimen
with a higher D/t ratio, generally results in a loss of the axial stress
of the steel tube), which, based on the von Mises yielding criteria,
will lead to a higher hoop stress of the steel tube.
(3) With the increase of the confinement coefficient, the effect indices
of both the whole-section-loaded and concrete-loaded CFT columns
are equal to unity, which means the compressive strengths of con-
fined concrete in CFT columns under the two loading conditions are
path-independent and the confinement effects are the same.
(4) According to Eq. (9), the compressive strength model of confined
ison with the experimental results. The R-squared value for the pro-
posed model is 0.9708. The mean and coefficient of variance (CoV) of
the ratio of the results calculated by Eq. (17) to experimental results are
1.007, 0.073, respectively, indicating the proposed model performs
well.
3
stress paths and corresponding effects on the compressive strength for
the extreme cases of CFT columns, e.g., high strength concrete filled
thin-walled low strength steel tube column, low strength concrete filled
thick-walled high strength steel tube column needs to be further in-
vestigated. Besides, the specimens tested in this paper are all small
sizes. It is important to study the stress paths and their effects on the
compressive strength of confined concrete in large-diameter CFT col-
umns, which may provide a new understanding of the size effect in CFT
columns.
4. Conclusions
Based on the experimental tests, the stress paths and the stress path
effects on the compressive strength of confined concrete in the whole-
section-loaded CFT columns were studied in this paper. From the in-
vestigation, the following conclusions could be drawn:
• The influences of the column parameters, such as unconfined con-
crete strength, steel strength and D/t ratio upon the stress paths of
confined concrete in the whole-section-loaded CFT columns are
different from those in concrete-loaded CFT columns. The stress
path in the pre-fracture stage of the core concrete seems to be in-
fluenced more by the steel strength than by the concrete strength
and the D/t ratio, whereas the stress path in the post-fracture stage
of the core concrete is affected by all the parameters. The strengths
of the concrete and the steel tube influence the slope of the stress
path in the post-fracture stage of concrete, the length of which,
however, is affected by the D/t ratio.
• The stress path in the whole-section-loaded CFT column generally
yielded a longer OA part, a shorter and lower AB part, a lower BC
part with a shorter plateau, and a shorter CD part with a larger

1027
S. Lin et al.
slope, leading to a smaller lateral stress domination index than that
in the concrete-loaded CFT column, which indicates that the lateral
stress plays a less dominant role in the confined concrete of whole-
section loaded CFT columns.
• The compressive strength of confined concrete in both the whole-
section-loaded and the concrete-loaded CFT columns with small
confinement coefficients were path-dependent. The effect indices of
the whole-section-loaded CFT columns are generally smaller than
those of the concrete-loaded CFT columns, which indicates that the
confinement effects of the concrete in the former are worse than
those in the latter. For the confinement coefficient η less than about
0.2, the confinement effects of the concrete under the two loading
conditions are nearly the same.
• With the increase of the confinement coefficient, the effect indices of
both the whole-section-loaded and the concrete-loaded CFT columns
are equal to unity, which means the compressive strengths of con-
fined concrete are path-independent for the CFT columns under the
two loading conditions.
•
A compressive strength model incorporating the stress path effect
was developed for the confined concrete in CFT columns under the
two loading conditions. Good performance was verified in com-
parison with the experimental results.
Acknowledgements
This research is partially supported by the National Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 51738001). The support is gratefully
acknowledged. Our sincere thanks also go to the reviewers for their
constructional comments and suggestions which are quite beneficial for
improving this paper.
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