Confining effect of concrete in double-skinned composite tubular columns

Abstract

A double-skinned composite tubular (DSCT) column, which consists of concrete and inner and outer tubes, was finally developed to overcome the weaknesses of concrete filled tube columns by reducing the self-weight of the column and confining the concrete triaxially. Research pertaining to the stiffness and strength of the column and the confining effect in a DSCT column has been carried out. However, detailed studies on the confining stress, especially the internal confining stress in a DSCT column, have not been carried out. Internal and external confining stresses should be evaluated to determine the effective confining stress in a DSCT column. In this paper, the confining stresses of concrete before and after insertion of an inner tube were studied using finite element analysis. The relationship between the internal or external confining stresses and the theoretical confining stress was investigated by parametric studies. New modified formulae for the yield and buckling failure conditions based on the formulae suggested by former researchers were proposed. Through analytical studies, the modified formulae were verified to be effective for economic and reasonable design of the inner tubes in a DSCT column under the same confining stress.