Effects of Concentrical Partial (Local) Compression on the Structural Behavior of Concrete Filled Steel Tubular Column

The objective of this present paper is to investigate the structural behavior of square and circular Concrete Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) stub columns subjected to axial partial/local compression. The experimental parameters were local compression area and section type. Among the twelve specimens, six specimens were tested under full compression and the remaining six specimens were tested under local compression. The experimental observation indicated that the failure pattern of the CFST column with partial compression is fairly different from the CFST column subjected to full compression. The confinement provided by the circular section is quite different than the confinement provided by the square section, when the CFST column is subjected to axially local compression. It was found that the elastic modulus (stiffness) and the ultimate bearing capacity of the CFST column decreased with the increase in local compression ratio. The circular and square CFST columns subjected to partial/local compression achieved an ultimate strength of 4.45% and 14.15%, respectively, less than that of the columns subjected to full compression. From the above observation, it can be inferred that the structural performance of the CFST column is significantly influenced by the local area compression ratio and this effect should be taken into account in design models