Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894

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

Experimental and numerical investigations of CFRP strengthened short SHS T

steel columns
⁎
Mohamed Imran, Mahen Mahendran , Poologanathan Keerthan
Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia

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

Keywords: This paper presents the details of experimental and numerical investigations on the behaviour and axial com-
CFRP strengthening pression capacity of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strengthened cold-formed, short Square Hollow
SHS columns Section (SHS) steel columns. Initially, an experimental investigation consisting of seven test columns was con-
Experiments ducted to investigate the influence of CFRP strengthening layout on the axial compression capacity of short SHS
Finite element modelling
steel columns. In addition, the effect of CFRP wrapping end condition was also investigated. Experimental results
Design equations
showed that CFRPs are very effective in strengthening short SHS columns, where axial compression capacity
enhancements up to 2.6 times were observed. Then a numerical simulation was implemented using ABAQUS by
which CFRP and adhesive were modelled using continuum and cohesive elements deploying Hashin and co-
hesive law criteria. The finite element models were validated using experimental results and then used in a
detailed parametric study. Using the finite element analysis results suitable improvements were proposed to the
existing design equations available in the literature. Finally, a new set of design equations based on Direct
Strength Method (DSM) is proposed in this paper to determine the axial compression capacity of CFRP
strengthened SHS columns subjected to local buckling.

1. Introduction
Cold-formed steel tubular columns are increasingly used in modern
construction due to the many advantages they possess over conven-
tional hot-rolled steel sections. They offer high strength to weight ra-
tios, economic feasibility and come in various shapes and sizes pro-
viding aesthetic appearance. However, a need may arise to externally
strengthen these columns, because of deficiency caused by corrosion,
ageing, design errors and poor maintenance, and in some cases to
support higher service loads. Under these circumstances, external
strengthening using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) has been
identified as a potential option to enhance the strength of existing
columns since they provide high strength to weigh ratios and stiffness
[1,2]. Furthermore, their durable and corrosion resistance character-
istics will enhance the long term structural performance of steel col-
umns.
Traditionally CFRPs have been used to strengthen concrete columns
and proven to be very successful [3,4]. Therefore, in recent times a
heightened interest towards the usage of CFRP in strengthening steel
columns has arisen. Shaat and Fam [5] investigated the effect of CFRP
strengthening of short Square Hollow Section (SHS) steel columns and
achieved up to 18% enhancement with respect to unstrengthened steel
columns. The effects of CFRP layer orientations were compared and the
use of transverse CFRP layers was found to be the most effective in
restricting local buckling in short columns. Bambach et al. [6] in-
vestigated the effect of CFRP strengthening in short SHS columns made
of slender cross-sections and obtained up to twice the axial compression
capacity by using a combination of transverse and longitudinal layers.
Both transverse and longitudinal CFRP layers were used to reduce the
membrane strains that would develop in both directions with local
buckling in the column. It was found that slender section columns un-
dergo larger buckling deformations and consequently larger increase in
the capacity can be achieved by CFRP usage. The use of CFRP was
found to be insignificant for compact section SHS columns. Similarly,
Haedir and Zhao [2] was able to achieve 21% enhancement for short
Circular Hollow Section (CHS) columns strengthened with a combina-
tion of transverse and longitudinal CFRP layers.
These experimental studies [2,5,6], have led to the development of
design equations to predict the axial compression capacity of CFRP
strengthened short steel tubular columns. Bambach et al. [6] developed
a design approach whereby theoretical critical elastic buckling stress of
the CFRP strengthened short SHS column is used to determine the axial
compression capacity. However, this model is based on the assumption
that the effect of both transverse and longitudinal CFRP layers is the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: m.mahendran@qut.edu.au (M. Mahendran).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.08.042
Received 13 March 2018; Received in revised form 12 July 2018; Accepted 13 August 2018
0141-0296/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Imran et al. Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894

same in restricting the local buckling failure. Previous research studies Table 1
[5,7] have shown that the effect of CFRP strengthening depends on the Test details.
CFRP layer orientation. Therefore, attempts were made in this research Test specimen CFRP configuration
to improve the proposal of Bambach et al. [6] and to propose a new set
of design equations based on the Direct Strength Method (DSM) to CC –
FC-1T 1T
predict the axial compression capacity of CFRP strengthened short SHS
FC-1L 1L
columns. FC-1T1L 1T1L
Initially, an experimental investigation was conducted to investigate FC-1T1La 1T1L
the effect of CFRP layer orientation and CFRP wrapping end conditions FC-2T2L-1a 2T2L
on the axial compression capacity of short SHS columns. Generally, FC-2T2L-2a 2T2L

CFRP strengthening is done in such a manner that only the steel column
will be intact with the loading plate to address the access restrictions
that might arise in real applications. However, a comparison was made
in this investigation by wrapping the CFRP for the full length of the
column. The experimental investigation was followed by a numerical
investigation implemented using ABAQUS/CAE Finite Element (FE)
software. The validated FE models were used to conduct a parametric
study on the effects of SHS section, CFRP orientation and steel grade on
the axial compression capacity of CFRP strengthened short SHS steel
columns. The parametric study results were finally used to propose new
design equations for the axial compression capacity of CFRP strength-
ened steel tubular members subject to local buckling.
2. Experimental investigation
An experimental investigation was undertaken to determine the
axial compressive behaviour and capacity of CFRP strengthened cold-
formed short SHS columns. It consisted of seven short SHS column tests
aimed at determining the effects of CFRP layer orientation and wrap-
ping end condition on the column capacity. This section presents the
details of the experimental investigation.
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Cold-formed SHS section
Grade 350 100 × 100 × 2 mm SHS was selected for the investiga-
tion based on an initial case study that was undertaken to determine the
most suitable commercially available section that is prone to local
buckling. This section has a form factor of 0.706 based on AS 4100 [8]
and thus it is anticipated that the CFRP will be very effective in
strengthening the given section. The column height was chosen as
300 mm to be able to observe three half wave buckling lengths. The
measured average width (outer) and thickness of the SHS section were
100.4 and 1.9 mm, respectively.
a
Special end wrapping case.
configuration. CC and FC refer to control column and CFRP strength-
ened column, respectively while ‘T’ and ‘L’ refer to transverse and
longitudinal CFRP layers. For example, FC-1T1L refers to CFRP
strengthened column consisting of single transverse and longitudinal
layers.
2.3. Fabrication of test specimens
The short SHS columns were welded to a 16 mm thick Grade 250
carbon steel end plates at both ends to achieve fixed conditions (Fig. 1).
Then the test columns’ surfaces were prepared to achieve a good bond
between steel and CFRP. Solvent cleaning, sand blasting, girt blasting
and surface grinding are commonly used for this purpose [10,11].
However, sand blasting was adopted in this research as it produces a
high energy surface, which has the ability to attract materials (CFRP
and adhesive) to the substrate surface (steel) [10,12]. Consequently
perfect bonding between steel and CFRP can be achieved. SHS columns
were sand blasted to white metal finish and were cleaned with Acetone
to remove any left-over debris (Fig. 2a).
Initial geometric imperfections of the test columns were measured
using a digital dial gauge with an accuracy of 0.001 mm. Test columns
were placed horizontally on two flat steel blocks. Imperfection mea-
surements were then taken at points 10 mm apart along horizontal lines
20 mm apart as shown in Fig. 3.
The two part tack coat was mixed with a volumetric ratio of 2:1
according to the manufacturer’s guidelines [9] and applied to the
acetone cleaned column surface using a putty knife (Fig. 2b). The tack
coat applied surface was smoothened and allowed to cure for 15 min.
Meanwhile the two part saturated resin was mixed (2:1) using an
electric mixer for about 3 min and used to impregnate the carbon fibres,
which were cut into desired lengths (Fig. 2c). Application of resin on

2.1.2. CFRP, adhesive and tack coat

High strength, high modulus unidirectional carbon fibre (termed as
TU27) produced by QuakeWrap was used along with J300SR saturated
resin (adhesive) for external strengthening purpose. It has a nominal
tensile strength and a tensile modulus of 3800 MPa and 231 GPa, re-
spectively [9]. The weight of carbon fibres is 943 g/m2. J300SR is a two
part saturated resin with a tensile strength and tensile modulus of
49.3 MPa and 1.995 GPa, and provides a long pot life and a fast cure
time [9]. According to the manufacturer, the laminated ply (CFRP)
produced by impregnating the carbon fibre and the resin offers a tensile
strength and tensile modulus of 930 MPa and 89.6 GPa. Typical thick-
ness of CFRP composite produced by a single layer of fibre wetted with
resin is 1.24 mm [9]. However, the measured average CFRP composite
thickness of the investigation was 1.3 mm. In addition, a two part epoxy
tack coat (J201TC) was used as a primer between CFRP and steel sur-
faces.

2.2. Test specimens

Table 1 provides the details of the test specimens (short SHS col-
umns), which are designated according to their strengthening Fig. 1. Test column.

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M. Imran et al.
Fig. 2. Test column preparation. (a) Sand blasted column. (b) Application of
primer. (c) Application of resin on carbon fibre. (d) CFRP wrapping.
Fig. 3. Geometric imperfection measurements.
both surfaces of the carbon fibre using a roller brush ensured that the
carbon fibres were fully saturated with resin. Then the saturated com-
posite was placed on the SHS column and the roller brush was moved
along the composite thoroughly to achieve a good finish (Fig. 2d).
Premature failures were avoided by overlapping the sheets over 40 mm
while the overlaps were placed at the round corners. CFRP strength-
ening was carried out in such a manner that only the steel column was
in contact with the loading plate by allowing a gap of 8–10 mm at the
ends of all the test columns except FC-1T1L∗ and FC-2T2L∗. This is
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Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894
Fig. 4. CFRP strengthened columns. (a) FC-1L. (b) FC-2T2L*.
because, access restrictions may apply in real world strengthening ap-
plications and strengthening the column ends will be hard to achieve.
However, FC-1T1L∗ and FC-2T2L∗ columns were strengthened to the
full length by which both CFRP and steel column were in contact with
the loading plate (Fig. 4). Hence the effect of CFRP wrapping end
condition was investigated. For multiple layer strengthening case,
strengthened column was allowed to remain for about 60 min before
the application of subsequent layers. All strengthened columns were
allowed to cure for at least 14 days at room temperature before the
testing.
2.4. Test set-up
Columns CC, FC-1 T and FC-1L, which are likely to fail at lower
loads were tested using a 300 kN capacity Instron testing machine
(Fig. 5a). Instron measures the axial displacement and load using an
inbuilt software while providing higher accuracy and precision in
output data. On the other hand, FC-1T1L, FC-1T1L∗ and FC-2T2L∗
columns, which are likely to fail at higher loads, were tested in an axial
compression crusher (Fig. 5b). The crusher uses a 500 kN load cell and
applies the compression load using a hydraulic pump. The applied load
and axial shortening were recorded using a universal data acquisition
system. Lateral displacements of test columns were measured using two
laser LVDTs or 100 mm LVDTs placed on two adjacent surfaces of the
columns. These LVDTs were placed at mid and one third height in
pursuit of capturing the local buckling initiation point.
The Instron testing machine has a fixed base with a moving cross-
head at the top while the crusher’s top cross-head is fixed and its base is
free to move upwards. Both testing machines allowed a firm attachment
to the two end plates to resist any rotation at the ends. In addition,
symmetric loading arrangement of the set-ups prevented any eccentric
loading on the test column.
Initially, the test column was pre-loaded to about 20–25% of the
expected failure load and then unloaded to remove any misalignment.
Then the tests were conducted at a displacement control rate of
0.2 mm/min until failure. This slow loading rate was adopted to clearly
examine the local buckling formation and failure progression of the
columns [2,6].
2.5. Results and discussions
2.5.1. Load versus axial and lateral displacements
The plots of load versus axial and lateral displacements are shown in
M. Imran et al. Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894

Fig. 5. Test set-up. (a) Instron testing machine. (b) Compression crusher.

Fig. 6. Fig. 6a shows these plots for columns CC, FC-1T and FC-1L,
which indicate significant strength and slight stiffness enhancements
for CFRP strengthened columns with respect to the control column
(CC). All three columns failed in local buckling, which is reflected in the
load versus axial displacement curves when the axial stiffness starts to
reduce. In addition, the load versus lateral displacement curves show a
sudden increase in lateral displacement when local buckling occurred.
Moreover, Fig. 6a shows that the CFRP is effective in restraining local
buckling failures where the buckling load has increased significantly
due to the restriction on elastic local buckling deformations.
On the other hand, Fig. 6b shows the variations of FC-1T1L, FC-
1T1L∗ and FC-2T2L∗ columns, where significant strength and stiffness
enhancements can be observed. All four test columns failed in yielding.
This is confirmed by the reduced lateral displacement at the failure
point. The sudden lateral displacements in both FC-2T2L∗ columns were
due to overall lateral movement of the test columns at such high loads
and are not due to the lateral displacement caused by local buckling.
Both CFRP configurations restricted the local buckling failures and al-
lowed the columns to fail in yielding, showing the effectiveness of CFRP
in eliminating local buckling failures. The yield load of 100 × 100 × 2
SHS section was calculated as 272.3 kN based on AS 4100 [8] and the
full length CFRP wrapping resulted in a failure load greater than the
yield load of SHS.

2.5.2. Axial compression capacity results and failure modes

Table 2 shows the failure loads of the tested columns and their

Table 2
Test results and FEA comparison.
Test specimen Failure load (kN) Capacity enhancement FEA (kN) FEA/test

CC 169.4 – 168.7 0.996

FC-1T 248.0 1.46 238.1 0.960
FC-1L 267.9 1.58 258.5 0.965
FC-1T1L 281.6 1.66 291.3 1.034
FC-1T1La 370.3 2.19 365.5 0.987
Fig. 6. Load versus axial and lateral displacement curves. (a) CC, FC-1T and FC- FC-2T2L-1a 443.2 2.62 405.9 0.916
1L. (b) FC-1T1L, FC-1T1L* and FC-2T2L*. FC-2T2L-2a 401.0 2.37 405.9 1.012

a
Special end wrapping case.

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M. Imran et al. Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894

Fig. 7. Failure modes from tests. (a) CC. (b). FC-1T. (c) FC-1L.

corresponding axial compression capacity enhancement with respect to
the control column. Control column failed at 169 kN displaying local
buckling failures, where two opposite sides of the column buckled
outward while the other two sides buckled inward (Fig. 7a). FC-1T and
FC-1L columns failed at 248.0 kN and 267.9 kN, respectively, dis-
playing capacity enhancements of 1.46 and 1.58 times, respectively.
They both failed in local buckling and the effect of CFRP in restricting
the local buckling deformations is visible in Fig. 7b and c, where the
outward/inward deformations are comparatively less in both columns.
In general it is believed that the transverse CFRP layers are more
effective than the longitudinal layers in restricting local buckling
[5,13]. However, in this test series, the longitudinal CFRP layers
slightly outperformed the transverse CFRP layers, and this effect was
attributed to the contribution of CFRP’s compressive strength. FC-1T1L
failed at 281.6 kN with 1.66 times of capacity enhancement and ex-
hibited steel yielding failure. The yielding failure mode is shown in
Fig. 8a where all four sides of the column had deformed inward at the
end. It was assumed that any additional CFRP layers beyond 1T1L
would not make any significant increase in the capacity because, FC-
1T1L failed in steel yielding and the ability of CFRP to restrain yielding

Fig. 8. Failure modes from tests. (a) FC-1T1L. (b) FC-1T1L*.

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M. Imran et al.
Fig. 9. Failure modes from tests. (a) FC-2T2L-1. (b) FC-2T2L-2.
failure is minimal.
In addition, a column with 1T1L CFRP configuration (FC-1T1L∗)
was strengthened for the whole column length and tested to investigate
the influence of end wrapping condition on the axial compression ca-
pacity. The FC-1T1L∗ column failed at 370.3 kN displaying yielding and
CFRP rupture failure (Fig. 8b). The comparison of the failure loads of
the two columns (FC-1T1L and FC-1T1L∗) shows that the axial com-
pression capacity has increased by 88.7 kN as a result of full length
wrapping. FC-2T2L∗ columns which were also strengthened for the
whole column length, failed in steel yielding at 443.2 kN and 401.0 kN,
displaying up to 2.62 times of axial compression capacity enhancement
(Fig. 9). The additional capacity gain of FC-1T1L∗, FC-1T1L∗ and FC-
2T2L∗ columns was attributed to the effect of compressive strength of
CFRP which might have acted as a composite tube due to the end
conditions. This conclusion is further strengthened by the observation
of CFRP rupture at the bottom of the column, which suggests that the
CFRP had been subjected to high compressive stresses (Fig. 8b and 9).
3. Numerical investigation
A numerical investigation was undertaken using ABAQUS CAE
Finite Element (FE) software [14] to simulate the axial compression
tests of CFRP strengthened cold-formed steel tubular columns described
in Section 2. The developed FE models were validated using the ex-
perimental results and a parametric study was then conducted to in-
vestigate the effects of different parameters such as section size, steel
grade and CFRP wrapping configuration on the axial compression ca-
pacity. Finally suitable design equations were proposed to predict the
axial compression capacity of CFRP strengthened short SHS columns.
3.1. FE model and element types
The FE model was created with three parts representing the steel
column, adhesive and CFRP. As shown in Fig. 10, tested short SHS
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Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894
columns were modelled in ABAQUS/CAE using measured dimensions.
Adhesive and CFRP were modelled for a length of 284 mm for all the
columns except FC-1T1L∗ and FC-2T2L∗ in order to simulate the test
columns. The thickness of the adhesive layer was assumed to be
0.1 mm, as several previous studies [15,16] showed that the thickness
of the generally used adhesives ranged between 0.1 and 0.3 mm. In
addition, the adhesive was modelled only in the interface between the
steel column and the first layer of CFRP because CFRP-CFRP interlayer
debonding was not observed during the test. However, delamination
between CFRP and steel surface is simulated.
Geometric modelling is one of the important aspects of FE model-
ling, which influences the accuracy of results. Thus, care should be
taken in selecting the proper element type. The steel column was
modelled using 4-node S4R shell elements with reduced integration and
hourglass control as they are more suitable to model thin features. An 8-
node three-dimensional cohesive element (COH3D8) was deployed to
model the adhesive layer as it is capable of predicting the adhesive
behaviour and failure [15,17–19]. CFRP layers were modelled using 8-
node quadrilateral in-plane general-purpose continuum shell elements
(SC8R) with reduced integration and hourglass control. Continuum
shell elements are most suitable to model CFRP composites because
they are capable of predicting the composite failure accurately
[15,17–21]. Both cohesive and continuum elements were modelled by
means of solid offsetting an orphan mesh, which is assigned with out-
ward stacking direction. Material orientations were assigned for each
CFRP layer by creating two different sections for longitudinal and
transverse layers. In addition, element deletion option was enabled for
both cohesive and continuum elements with a maximum degradation of
95%.
4 mm mesh density with five integration points were adopted for all
the parts and the interacting surfaces were connected by sharing the
nodes of the base surface in the FE model.
M. Imran et al. Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894

Fig. 10. FE model of CFRP strengthened SHS column.

3.2. Material model and properties

Table 3
3.2.1. Steel Material properties of adhesive.
The steel column was modelled as an elastic-plastic material with Parameter Value
strain hardening. Experimentally measured stress-strain curve along
with the yield strength and elastic modulus of 359 MPa and 207 GPa, Ea 1.995 GPaa
σmax 49.3 MPaa
respectively, were used in the FE model [22].
τmax 44.4 MPa
knn 1.995 × 1013 N/m3
3.2.2. Adhesive kss = ktt 1.0 × 1013 N/m3
The adhesive layer between the steel and the CFRP was modelled GI 3900 N/m
using coupled cohesive zone model based on traction separation law. It GII 11,000 N/m
considers the tractions and separations in all three directions: normal a
Properties given by the manufacturer.
direction and two parallel (shear) directions to the interface. Normal
and shear tractions are denoted by tn , ts and tt whereas the corre-
sponding separations are represented by δn , δs and δt , respectively.
The initial response of the adhesive (cohesive elements) is assumed In the current investigation, damage initiation is defined based on
to be linear until the damage initiation [23,24]. Therefore, the interface mixed mode failure criteria (QUADS), which considers both mode-I and
behaviour until the damage initiation is represented by, mode-II loading effects (Eq. (4)). Damage is assumed to be initiated
when the function reaches a value of one [14]. The symbol 〈〉 signifies
t k 0 0 ⎤ ⎡ δn ⎤ that the compressive stresses do not lead to damage and thus tn is
⎡ n ⎤ ⎡ nn
⎢ ts ⎥ = ⎢ 0 kss 0 ⎥ ⎢ δs ⎥ considered to be zero if it is under compressive stress.
⎢ ⎢ ⎥⎢ ⎥
⎣ tt ⎥
⎦ ⎣ 0 0 ktt ⎦ ⎣ δt ⎦ (1) 2 2 2
⎧ 〈tn 〉 ⎫ + ⎧ ts ⎫ + ⎧ tt ⎫ = 1
where knn , kss and ktt are elastic stiffness of normal and shear directions, ⎨
⎩ σmax ⎬⎭ ⎨ τmax ⎬
⎩ ⎭ ⎨ τmax ⎬
⎩ ⎭ (4)
respectively. Normal direction is governed by the mode-I failure and
shear directions are governed by the mode-II failure. knn is given by the where σmax is the tensile strength while τmax is shear strength, which is
initial slope of the bond separation model for mode-I loading. determined based on Eq. (5) [17],
Ea τmax = 0.9σmax (5)
knn =
T0 (2)
Once the damage initiation criterion is met, material stiffness starts
where the elastic modulus and the thickness of the adhesive are denoted to degrade and damage evolution initiates. The damage evolution
by Ea and T0 , respectively. Teng et al. [17] assumes kss and ktt to be phenomenon was modelled using energy based linear softening ap-
equal to the initial slope of the mode-II loading and they are given by, proach in ABAQUS using Benzeggah-Kenane (BK) fracture energy based
0.65
mixed mode law (Eq. (6)) [27].
G
kss = ktt = 3 ⎛ a ⎞
⎜ ⎟ η
⎝ T0 ⎠ (3) G
GI + (GII −GI ) ⎛ s ⎞ = Gn
⎜ ⎟

where Ga is the shear modulus of the adhesive. The stiffness values of
the adhesive should be sufficiently large to provide reasonable stiffness
but not too large to cause oscillations in the interface [25]. Therefore in
this investigation, Eq. (1) was used to determine knn while kss and ktt are
assumed by comparing the experimental results [26] (Table 3).
⎝ Gt ⎠ (6)
where Gn , Gs and Gt are work done in normal and shear directions while
GI and GII are corresponding maximum fracture energies, which cause
failures in normal and shear directions, respectively. Both GI and GII
values are obtained from Alam et al. [15] and material properties of

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M. Imran et al. Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894

Fig. 11. CFRP tensile coupons.

adhesive used in the current FE model are given in Table 3. The η was Table 4 shows the average tensile strength (T L ) and elastic modulus
taken as 1.55 [27]. (E1C ) obtained from these tests.
In addition, Table 4 provides the fracture energies for each failure
3.2.3. CFRP criterion, which were obtained from Faggiani and Falzon [20]. G refers
The CFRP composite was modelled using lamina type elastic ma- to the fracture energy and subscripts f, m, t and c refer to fibre, matrix,
terial and the damage of the composite was simulated using Hashin tension and compression, respectively. The compressive strength (CL ) of
failure criteria [28,29]. CFRPs display elastic-brittle damage behaviour the commonly used CFRP varies from 9 to 60% of the tensile strength
(damage is initiated without significant plastic deformation) and Ha- [21,32] and hence the longitudinal compressive strength of CFRP was
shin damage model has the ability to successfully predict the damage of assumed as 20% of the tensile strength. The transverse tensile/com-
these materials [30]. In this model, four different CFRP failure modes pressive and longitudinal/transverse shear strengths were assumed to
are considered: i. F ft - fibre rupture in tension, ii. F fc - fibre buckling in be 10% of the tensile strength as many research studies show that these
compression, iii. Fmt - matrix cracking under transverse tension and values fall within the assumed range [20,30]. Poisson’s ratio of the
shearing, and iv. Fmc - matrix crushing under transverse compression CFRP was taken as 0.33 [33]. In addition, viscosity coefficient of 0.0001
and shearing. Following equations are used to determine the above was used in the FE model for damage stabilization purposes as sug-
criteria and a value of one or higher indicates that the damage initiation gested in [21].
criterion has been met for a particular failure mode.
3.3. Boundary conditions and analysis procedure
σ 2 σ 2
F ft = ⎛ 11L ⎞ + α ⎛ 12L ⎞
⎝T ⎠ ⎝S ⎠ (7) An independent reference node was created at the centre of the
2 cross-section at each end of the column, and all the peripheral nodes of
σ
F fc = ⎛ 11L ⎞ the column were constrained to these reference nodes via beam type
⎝C ⎠ (8)
Multiple Point Constraints (MPC). All the translational and rotational
σ 2 σ 2 degrees of freedom were made fixed at the top and bottom reference
Fmt = ⎛ 22 ⎞ + ⎛ 12 ⎞ points except the loading directional movement at the top reference
⎝ TT ⎠ ⎝ SL ⎠ (9)
point (Fig. 13).
2 Elastic buckling analysis was performed initially to determine the
σ 2 T
⎛ C ⎞ −1⎤ σ22 + ⎛ σ12 ⎞
2
Fmc = ⎛ 22T ⎞ + ⎡
⎢
⎜
T ⎥
⎟
T L buckling load and mode of the column. This step was followed by
⎝ 2S ⎠ ⎣ ⎝ 2S ⎠ ⎦C ⎝S ⎠ (10)
nonlinear analysis using Riks method to determine the load-displace-
where T, C and S refer to tensile, compressive and shear strength, re- ment characteristics and the failure load of the column. Initial geo-
spectively, whereas superscripts T and L indicate transverse and long- metric imperfection measurements of the column suggested that the
itudinal directions. σ11, σ22 and σ12 are components of the stress tensor maximum measured imperfection is less than 0.006B; where B is the
while ‘α ’ is a coefficient that determines the contribution of shear stress clear plate width [34]. Therefore, geometric imperfections were in-
and was taken as 1.0 [29]. cluded in the nonlinear analysis step by offsetting the primary co-
Damage evolution initiates once the damage criterion is met for a ordinates of the model with an amplitude of 0.006B in relation to the
given failure mode and the damage is achieved when the amount of first buckling mode. The axial compression load was incrementally
energy dissipated is equal to the critical fracture energy of a given applied to the top reference point.
failure mode. Hence, the critical fracture energies for each failure mode
has to be provided in the FE model. 3.4. Validation
The tensile strength and elastic modulus of CFRP were determined
by conducting tensile tests according to ASTM D3039/D3039M [31]. As The results obtained from Finite Element Analysis (FEA) were
shown in Fig. 11, five CFRP tensile coupons were prepared in the fibre compared with the experimental results for validation purposes. Fig. 14
direction and attached with 1.5 mm steel tabs at the ends for gripping show the comparison of load-axial displacement curves obtained from
purposes. Tests were conducted using an Instron testing machine with both experiments and FEA. Experimental load-axial displacement
two strain gauges attached on either side of the coupon (Fig. 12). curves of columns CC, FC-1 T and FC-1L show slight variations in the

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Fig. 12. Tensile test set-up.

Table 4
Material properties of CFRP.
Parameter Value

E1C 88.6 GPa

E2C 22.2 GPa
TL 903 MPa
Gft 91,600 N/m
Gfc 79,900 N/m
Gmt 220 N/m
Gmc 1100 N/m

Fig. 14. Comparison of experimental and FEA load-displacement curves. (a)

CC, FC-1T & FC-1L. (b) FC-1T1L & FC 2T2L.

Fig. 13. Boundary conditions.

initial stiffness compared to the corresponding FEA curves. These tests
were conducted using a calibrated Instron testing machine, which re-
corded the applied load accurately. However, there appears to be some

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M. Imran et al.
instrumental errors in measuring the small axial displacements that
have contributed to the deviations between the load-axial displacement
curves from experiment and FEA. On the other hand, the load-axial
displacement curves of columns FC-1T1L, FC-1T1L∗, FC-2T2L-1∗ and
FC-2T2L-2∗ show very good agreement with FEA load-axial displace-
ment curves. Load-axial displacement curve of FC-2T2L∗ obtained using
FEA shows a slight stiffness reduction around 300 kN which can be
attributed to the effect of steel yielding. However, the column exhibits
strength increase even after steel yielding because of the effective load
sharing by CFRP to the end plate. This phenomenon was followed by a
sudden brittle failure.
Fig. 15. Failure modes from FEA. (a) CC. (b). FC-1T. (c) FC-1L.
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Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894
Interestingly, FEA were able to predict the post-failure behaviour
reasonably well, where similar load-axial displacement behaviour after
failure is observed in FEA of all the five columns. Furthermore, FEA
predicted failure modes were similar to those observed in experiments,
which indicated the accuracy of FE models. Local buckling failures were
predicted for CC, FC-1T and FC-1L columns, which displayed outward
and inward deformations on two opposite sides of the column (Fig. 15).
FC-1T column showed damage initiation in Hashin matrix crushing
under transverse compression (HSNMCCRT) and damage was evolved
up to 65% in inward deformed regions at the failure load (Fig. 15b). On
the other hand, FC-1L column showed damage initiation in Hashin fibre
M. Imran et al. Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894

Fig. 16. Failure modes from FEA. (a) FC-1T1L. (b). FC-1T1L*.

compression failure criterion (HSNFCCRT) and up to 73% of damage

evolution was observed at the failure load (Fig. 15c). In addition, FEA
showed that adhesive has not reached the quadratic nominal stress
criterion (QUADSCRT) and no delamination was predicted as observed
in the experiment.
Steel yielding failures were predicted for FC-1T1L, FC-1T1L∗ and
FC-2T2L∗ columns, where the columns failed after reaching the steel
yield strength at the top and bottom of the column with no lateral
deformation. The yielding failure predictions for both columns at the
top and bottom ends are identical to the experimental failure mode
observations (Figs. 8 and 9). In addition, Figs. 16 and 17 show that
these columns have reached the Hashin fibre compression failure cri-
terion (HSNFCCRT) at the failure load. However, a larger area of CFRP
has reached the HSNFCCRT damage initiation criterion with greater
damage evolution percentage in FC-1T1L∗ column compared to FC-
1T1L column. The significantly high axial compression capacity of FC-
1T1L∗ column was attributed to this phenomenon and CFRP is con-
sidered to be more effective when they are wrapped to the full length of
the column. In addition, similar to the experimental observations, CFRP
rupture was predicted in FC-1T1L∗ column at one third of its height,
where damage evolution with respect to fibre compression failure
(DAMAGEFC) had reached 89% at failure (Figs. 8b and 15b). FEA
predicts CFRP rupture at the top and bottom ends of FC-2T2L∗ column,
which is also similar to the experimental observations (Figs. 9 and 17).
Table 2 compares the experimental failure loads with those pre-
dicted using FEA. A very good agreement is observed between the ex- Fig. 17. Failure modes from FEA of FC-2T2L*
perimental and FEA failure loads, where the overall mean ratio and
COV of failure loads are 0.981 and 0.040, respectively. Therefore, the
comparison of load-displacement curves, failure modes and failure 3.5. Parametric study
loads suggest that the developed FE models are capable of predicting
the axial compressive behaviour and capacities of CFRP strengthened The validated FE models were used to conduct a detailed parametric
SHS columns with good accuracy. study to investigate the effects of SHS section dimensions, steel grade
and CFRP wrapping configuration on the axial compression capacity.

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Table 5
Comparison of FEA and theoretical results of Grade 450 small SHS sections.
Specimen Pcr Py Pu Pu /Pu, s λ Pu /Py Pcr , th Pcr / Pcr , th Pu, th Pu/ Pu, th

a
65 × 65 × 1.6 (49.1) Control 217 180 145.6 1.00 0.911 0.809 226 0.96 153 0.95
1T 404 180 194.8 1.34 0.667 1.082 405 1.00 181 1.08
1L 436 180 205.6 1.41 0.643 1.142 458 0.95 186 1.11
1T1L 892 180 212.6 1.46 0.449 1.181 874 1.02 202 1.05
2T 763 180 214.3 1.47 0.486 1.191 812 0.94 202 1.06
2L 867 180 211.5 1.45 0.456 1.175 932 0.93 203 1.04

75 × 75 × 2 (45.0)a Control 367 258 221.6 1.00 0.838 0.859 388 0.95 233 0.95
1T 578 258 273.7 1.24 0.668 1.061 596 0.97 261 1.05
1L 620 258 298.6 1.35 0.645 1.157 667 0.93 268 1.12
1T1L 1131 258 314.6 1.42 0.478 1.219 1159 0.98 290 1.09
2T 980 258 314.4 1.42 0.513 1.219 1078 0.91 288 1.09
2L 1105 258 310.7 1.40 0.483 1.204 1235 0.89 291 1.07

90 × 90 × 2 (55.0)a Control 304 312 233.1 1.00 1.013 0.747 313 0.97 248 0.94
1T 485 312 299.5 1.28 0.802 0.960 481 1.01 283 1.06
1L 519 312 329.8 1.41 0.775 1.057 539 0.96 293 1.13
1T1L 992 312 372.2 1.60 0.561 1.193 936 1.06 333 1.12
2T 857 312 371.0 1.59 0.603 1.189 871 0.98 329 1.13
2L 954 312 370.7 1.59 0.572 1.188 997 0.96 337 1.10

100 × 100 × 2 (61.7)a Control 273 348 238.1 1.00 1.129 0.684 278 0.98 255 0.94
1T 440 348 310.7 1.30 0.889 0.893 426 1.03 294 1.06
1L 471 348 343.4 1.44 0.860 0.987 477 0.99 305 1.13
1T1L 917 348 412.1 1.73 0.616 1.184 829 1.11 355 1.16
2T 794 348 400.9 1.68 0.662 1.152 771 1.03 349 1.15
2L 875 348 411.4 1.73 0.631 1.182 884 0.99 360 1.14

100 × 100 × 2.5 (48.3)a Control 535 432 353.3 1.00 0.899 0.818 562 0.95 373 0.95
1T 757 432 422.5 1.20 0.755 0.978 765 0.99 408 1.04
1L 807 432 461.5 1.31 0.732 1.068 845 0.95 419 1.10
1T1L 1340 432 524.6 1.48 0.568 1.214 1334 1.00 463 1.13
2T 1181 432 501.0 1.42 0.605 1.160 1244 0.95 457 1.10
2L 1298 432 525.4 1.49 0.577 1.216 1419 0.91 468 1.12

a
λ e value based on Eq. (12).

Ten SHS sections with slender plate elements (available in Australia)
were selected for this investigation and both Grade 350 and Grade 450
were included. External dimensions of the selected SHS sections varied
from 65 mm to 400 mm while the thickness varied from 1.6 to 10 mm.
The column heights were taken as three times the clear width of the
section to allow the formation of three half wave buckles. Primarily five
CFRP wrapping configurations were investigated for each section: 1T,
1L, 1T1L, 2T and 2L. However for the larger sections, additional CFRP
wrapping configurations (2T2L, 3T3L and 4T4L) were used to de-
termine the maximum axial compression capacity that a given section
can achieve using CFRP strengthening.
The same modelling strategies were used in the parametric study
with ambient temperature yield strength (350 MPa and 450 MPa) and
elastic modulus (210 GPa) for SHS columns. Stress-strain model pro-
posed by Imran et al. [22] was used to define true stress versus strain
variation. CFRP strengthening was used with a gap of 8 mm at both
ends in the parametric study, so that any additional strength increase
due to CFRP acting as a tube is negated. Furthermore typical CFRP
thickness was taken as 1.24 mm in this study [9].
Tables 5 and 6 present the critical buckling loads (Pcr ) , ultimate
failure loads (Pu ) and their corresponding capacity enhancement (Pu /Pu, s )
with respect to their bare steel control column failure loads (Pu, s ) for
small and large SHS, respectively. Similar analyses were conducted for
Grade 350 SHS sections but only the results of Grade 450 sections are
presented in this paper. In addition, the plate slenderness ratio (λ e ) of
the section is given in the tables next to the section sizes.
Generally, all the sections showed significant capacity enhance-
ments with the addition of CFRP layers, where strength enhancements
up to 1.73 times were achieved. Longitudinal CFRP layers slightly
outperformed the transverse layers but the combination of both
transverse and longitudinal layers was found to be the most effective.
This is because, membrane strains are developed in both directions of
the column when the section undergoes buckling and having uni-di-
rectional CFRP in both transverse and longitudinal directions will aid to
reduce these stresses.
It was also found that the critical elastic buckling load and the ul-
timate failure load increased with the addition of more CFRP layers
because of the restriction on the buckling deformations provided by
CFRP. However, the results showed that a given column can attain a
maximum failure load (Pu, max ) because of CFRP strengthening and ap-
plication of more CFRP layers did not benefit. Interestingly, the max-
imum enhancement of a given column increased with the plate slen-
derness ratio of the section. This phenomenon suggests that more
slender section columns undergo larger buckling deformations and
consequently larger enhancements in capacity.
Fig. 18 shows the variation of maximum enhancement of a given
column with plate slenderness ratio. Additional arbitrary SHS sections
with higher plate slenderness ratios were also considered to obtain the
variation for a large range (Table 7). The maximum achievable capacity
enhancement of a given column shows a clear increasing trend with the
slenderness ratio. Therefore, Eq. (11) was proposed to determine the
maximum axial compression capacity enhancement that a given
column may achieve.
Pu, max λ
= e + 0.694
Pu, s 60 (11)
fy
b
λe =
t 250 (12)
where b , t and f y refer to the SHS clear width, thickness and yield

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Table 6
Comparison of FEA and theoretical results of Grade 450 large SHS sections.
Specimen Pcr Py Pu Pu / Pu, s λ Pu / Py Pcr , th Pcr , th/ Pcr Pu, th Pu/ Pu, th

a
200 × 200 × 5 (47.0) Control 2128 1716 1407 1.00 0.898 0.820 2364 0.90 1513 0.93
1T 2457 1716 1527 1.09 0.836 0.890 2611 0.94 1557 0.98
1L 2567 1716 1619 1.15 0.818 0.944 2773 0.93 1584 1.02
1T1L 3206 1716 1734 1.23 0.732 1.011 3390 0.95 1670 1.04
2T 2991 1716 1681 1.19 0.757 0.980 3217 0.93 1648 1.02
2L 3185 1716 1832 1.30 0.734 1.068 3557 0.90 1691 1.08
2T2L 5249 1716 2085 1.48 0.572 1.215 5612 0.94 1856 1.12

250 × 250 × 6 (49.1)a Control 2940 2580 2047 1.00 0.937 0.793 3237 0.91 2209 0.93
1T 3291 2580 2192 1.07 0.885 0.850 3482 0.95 2258 0.97
1L 3417 2580 2259 1.10 0.869 0.876 3665 0.93 2293 0.99
1T1L 4071 2580 2442 1.19 0.796 0.947 4276 0.95 2396 1.02
2T 3843 2580 2377 1.16 0.819 0.921 4082 0.94 2365 1.01
2L 4069 2580 2571 1.26 0.796 0.997 4464 0.91 2425 1.06
2T2L 6177 2580 2917 1.43 0.646 1.131 6524 0.95 2660 1.10
3T3L 9147 2580 3109 1.52 0.531 1.205 9669 0.95 2844 1.09

300 × 300 × 8 (43.6)a Control 5820 4106 3531 1.00 0.840 0.860 6558 0.89 3778 0.93
1T 6296 4106 3692 1.05 0.808 0.899 6855 0.92 3824 0.97
1L 6484 4106 3785 1.07 0.796 0.922 7131 0.91 3865 0.98
1T1L 7287 4106 3984 1.13 0.751 0.970 7870 0.93 3967 1.00
2T 6986 4106 3893 1.10 0.767 0.948 7582 0.92 3929 0.99
2L 7337 4106 4156 1.18 0.748 1.012 8151 0.90 4002 1.04
2T2L 9793 4106 4514 1.28 0.648 1.099 10,684 0.92 4258 1.06
3T3L 13,240 4106 5009 1.42 0.557 1.220 14,655 0.90 4495 1.11

350 × 350 × 8 (52.1)a Control 4968 4826 3680 1.00 0.986 0.763 5422 0.92 3990 0.92
1T 5376 4826 3873 1.05 0.947 0.802 5668 0.95 4046 0.96
1L 5534 4826 3966 1.08 0.934 0.822 5896 0.94 4096 0.97
1T1L 6231 4826 4210 1.14 0.880 0.872 6507 0.96 4221 1.00
2T 5974 4826 4110 1.12 0.899 0.852 6269 0.95 4174 0.98
2L 6275 4826 4410 1.20 0.877 0.914 6739 0.93 4266 1.03
2T2L 8450 4826 4870 1.32 0.756 1.009 8834 0.96 4604 1.06
3T3L 11,611 4826 5560 1.51 0.645 1.152 12,117 0.96 4970 1.12
4T4L 15,608 4826 5975 1.62 0.556 1.238 15,965 0.98 5244 1.14

400 × 400 × 10 (47.0)a Control 8508 6865 5629 1.00 0.898 0.820 9455 0.90 6050 0.93
1T 9037 6865 5843 1.04 0.872 0.851 9745 0.93 6104 0.96
1L 9251 6865 5952 1.06 0.861 0.867 10,061 0.92 6161 0.97
1T1L 10,090 6865 6221 1.11 0.825 0.906 10,772 0.94 6282 0.99
2T 9767 6865 6100 1.08 0.838 0.889 10,445 0.94 6228 0.98
2L 10,197 6865 6472 1.15 0.821 0.943 11,093 0.92 6334 1.02
2T2L 12,682 6865 6936 1.23 0.736 1.010 13,560 0.94 6682 1.04
3T3L 16,266 6865 7684 1.37 0.650 1.119 17,513 0.93 7092 1.08
4T4L 20,744 6865 8292 1.47 0.575 1.208 21,914 0.95 7426 1.12

a
λ e value based on Eq. (12).

strength. 4. Design equations

Fig. 19 presents the variation of normalized maximum failure load
(Pu,max ) with respect to the yield capacity (Py ) , with plate slenderness
ratio of the section. It shows that all the sections achieve about 20% of
enhancement in capacity compared to their yield capacity.
4.1. Past research studies
Design rules to predict the axial compression capacity of CFRP
strengthened SHS columns are important to confidently use CFRP
strengthening in steel column applications. Shaat and Fam [5] proposed
an equation to determine the axial compression capacity of CFRP
strengthened short SHS columns by adopting an equivalent steel cross-
sectional area approach. The area of CFRP ( AC ) was transformed into
an equivalent steel cross-sectional area by using a modular ratio, which
is given by the ratio of CFRP’s elastic modulus in fibre direction (E1C ) to
that of steel (ES ). Finally the axial compression capacity (Ns, CFRP ) was
found based on the equivalent cross-sectional area (AE ) and steel yield
strength ( f y ). The equations reads as:
Ns, CFRP = AE f y (13)

E1C
AE = AS + AC
Pu, max
ES (14)
Fig. 18. Variation of versus plate slenderness ratio.
Pu, s
where AS is the area of steel section. This simple equation does not
consider the effect of local buckling because the research carried out by

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Table 7 determining the axial compression capacity. However, it does not in-
FEA results for additional arbitrary SHS sections. clude the effect of CFRP orientation.
Specimen Pcr Py Pu Pu /Pu, s λ Pu /Py The design approach proposed by Haedir and Zhao [2] to predict
the axial compression capacity of CFRP strengthened short CHS col-
100 × 100 × 1 450 1T 115 176 129 2.14 1.238 0.73 umns was based on modular ratio concept and used a proportioning
1L 121 176 133 2.21 1.206 0.76 factor to transform the effects of transverse layers into equivalent
1T1L 408 176 185 3.07 0.657 1.05
longitudinal layers in order to incorporate the effects of different CFRP
200 × 200 × 2 350 1T 241 551 317 1.48 1.512 0.57 orientations.
1L 253 551 362 1.69 1.476 0.66
1T1L 531 551 440 2.06 1.019 0.80
2T2L 1607 551 593 2.77 0.586 1.08 4.2. Design equations
450 1T 241 708 371 1.35 1.714 0.52
1L 253 708 410 1.49 1.673 0.58 In this section, two design approaches are proposed to predict the
1T1L 531 708 566 2.05 1.155 0.80
axial compression capacity of CFRP strengthened short SHS columns,
2T 461 708 500 1.82 1.239 0.71
2T2L 1607 708 786 2.86 0.664 1.11
made of any SHS section with variable CFRP layers, orientations and
properties.
200 × 200 × 3 450 1T 626 1053 664 1.14 1.297 0.63
1L 655 1053 726 1.25 1.268 0.69
1T1L 1051 1053 857 1.47 1.001 0.81 4.2.1. Modified Bambach et al. model
2T 937 1053 819 1.41 1.060 0.78 As discussed in Section 4.1, Bambach et al. [6] assumes the effects of
2L 996 1053 912 1.56 1.028 0.87 both longitudinal and transverse CFRP layers in enhancing the axial
2T2L 2430 1053 1241 2.13 0.658 1.18
compression capacity are the same. However, the results from this re-
3T3L 4544 1053 1230 2.11 0.481 1.17
search and Shaat and Fam [5] show different rates of capacity en-
250 × 250 × 2 350 1T 178 691 354 1.42 1.968 0.51
hancements for transverse and longitudinal CFRP layers, and emphasize
1L 189 691 398 1.60 1.910 0.58
2T 350 691 487 1.95 1.405 0.70
the importance of including the effect of CFRP orientation in design
450 1T 178 888 414 1.29 2.231 0.47 equations. Therefore, in this research, the equations proposed by
1L 189 888 449 1.40 2.166 0.51 Bambach et al. [6] were improved to incorporate the effects of CFRP
1T1L 409 888 611 1.90 1.474 0.69 orientations by using a proportioning factor (ξ ) .
2T 350 888 560 1.75 1.594 0.63
The axial compression capacity of CFRP strengthened short SHS
400 × 400 × 4 350 1T 706 2198 1070 1.16 1.765 0.49 column is given by,
1L 727 2198 1180 1.28 1.739 0.54
1T1L 1025 2198 1405 1.52 1.464 0.64 Pu = 4 ρ b t f y + Ar f y (15)
450 1T 706 2827 1250 1.05 2.001 0.44
1L 727 2827 1350 1.14 1.972 0.48 where b, t and Ar refer to clear width, thickness and rounded corner
1T1L 1025 2827 1605 1.35 1.661 0.57 area of the steel section, respectively. b is determined based on the
width (bw ) and corner radius (r ) of the section, and Ar is determined
using the gross area of the section (Ag ) using Eqs. (16) and (17), re-
spectively. ρ is the effective width factor of the composite section given
by Eq. (18) based on the composite plate slenderness ratio (λ C ) (Eq.
(19)). As described in Section 3.5, the axial compression capacity of
CFRP strengthened short columns can be increased up to 1.2 times the
yield capacity and hence, ρ can be greater than 1.0. fcr and Pcr are the
elastic critical buckling stress and load of the composite column given
by Eqs. (20)-(25). k is the elastic buckling coefficient and taken as 4.0
for stiffened elements.
b = bw−2r (16)

Ar = Ag −4bt (17)
0.22
1− λC
Pu, max ρ=
Fig. 19. Variation of versus plate slenderness ratio. λC (18)
Py

Shaat and Fam [5] focused on compact sections. In addition, the pro- fy
λC =
posed equations show a linear axial compression capacity increment fcr (19)
with the addition of CFRP layers. However, the parametric study results
in the current research show that the axial capacity enhancement is kπ 2Dt
fcr =
nonlinear and varies depending on the CFRP orientation, number of tT b2 (20)
layers and steel plate slenderness ratio.
Pcr = Ag fcr (21)
Bambach et al. [6] developed a design approach whereby theore-
tical critical elastic buckling stress of the CFRP strengthened short SHS Dt is the flexural rigidity of the composite section determined based
column is used to determine the axial compression capacity. Increase in on Pister and Dong [35], assuming both CFRP and steel as isotropic
the composite thickness and stiffness due to the CFRP application was materials and create a perfectly bonded two layered composite section.
assumed to be contributing towards the elastic buckling stress en- υS and υC are the Poisson’s ratios of steel and CFRP, respectively.
hancement in their model. Composite thickness was obtained as the
D1 D3−D22
addition of steel and CFRP thicknesses. In addition, Bambach et al. [6] Dt =
D1 (22)
assumed CFRP and steel as isotropic materials, which create a perfectly
bonded two layered composite. Their design approach considers the ES t E (t −t )
number of CFRP layers and the steel plate slenderness ratio in D1 = + CE T 2
1−υS2 1−υC (23)

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M. Imran et al.
ES t 2 ECE (tT2−t 2)
D2 = 2
+
2(1−υS ) 2(1−υC2)
ES t 3 ECE (tT3−t 3)
D3 = +
3(1−υS2) 3(1−υC2)
The total thickness of the composite section (tT ) is given by Eq. (26)
in terms of CFRP composite layer thickness (tC ) , and number of long-
itudinal (NL) and transverse (NT ) CFRP layers. Both thicknesses of
longitudinal and transverse CFRP layers were assumed to be equal. ECE
is the equivalent stiffness of the CFRP composite given by Eq. (27),
which uses a proportioning factor (ξ ) to transform the effect of trans-
verse layers into equivalent longitudinal layers.
tT = t + tC (NL + NT )
N E + ξNT E1C
ECE = L 1C
NL + NT
E1C = EC ν + Ea (1−ν )
ξ depends on the mechanical properties of the CFRP composite and was
taken as 0.8 based on the detailed FEA results from this study. Suitable
ξ factors should be chosen depending on the type of CFRP used. At-
tempts were made in this study to propose a suitable ξ factor for the
thinner type of CFRP composite used in Bambach et al.’s [6] experi-
mental study. However, it was unsuccessful due to the unavailability of
test results for 1T and 1L CFRP configurations. Therefore, further stu-
dies are recommended to develop suitable proportioning factors for
different types of CFRP composites.
Elastic modulus of the CFRP in the longitudinal direction (E1C ) can
be found by conducting tensile tests or alternatively Eq. (28) may be
used if the fibre volume ratio (ν ) is known for a given type of CFRP
composite. EC and Ea are the elastic modulus of carbon fibre and ad-
hesive, respectively.
Tables 5 and 6 present the theoretical critical buckling loads (Pcr , th)
and axial compression capacities of CFRP strengthened short SHS (Pu, th)
columns and compares them with FEA results. It is observed that the
developed design equations are able to predict both critical buckling
and axial compression failure loads accurately. Critical buckling loads
show mean and COV values of 0.95 and 0.042 while axial compression
failure loads show corresponding values as 1.04 and 0.066, respec-
tively. In addition, corresponding capacity reduction factors were de-
termined based on the recommended AISI procedure [36], and capacity
reduction factor for predicting the design axial compression capacity
was obtained as 0.94, which is greater than the recommended values of
0.90 and 0.85 in AS 4100 [8] and AS/NZS 4600 [37], respectively.
Therefore, these results show the ability of the proposed design equa-
tions to predict the axial compression capacity and the critical buckling
load of CFRP strengthened steel tubular columns reasonably well. A
capacity reduction factor of 0.90 is proposed for the developed design
equations.
4.2.2. Direct strength Method (DSM) equations
The Direct Strength Method (DSM) is an alternative design method,
allowing the computation of compression capacities of sections, pro-
vided the elastic buckling load (Pcr ) and yield load (Py ) of the section are
known. The DSM is included in AS/NZS 4600 [37] as well as in Ap-
pendix 1 of the AISI S100 Standard [36]. However, it does not include
the compression capacities of CFRP strengthened steel tubular columns.
Hence new DSM equations were developed based on FEA parametric
study results.
Initially, Pu /Py ratios were plotted against the slenderness ratio of
the composite section (λ ) given by Eq. (29) (Fig. 20). Additional FEA
were conducted with arbitrary sections to obtain the variation for a
wide range of slenderness ratios (Table 7). Eqs. (30)-(32) were then
developed to predict the axial compression capacity of CFRP strength-
ened steel tubular columns. Elastic buckling load of the CFRP
Engineering Structures 175 (2018) 879–894
(24)
(25)
(26)
Fig. 20. DSM based design curve.
(27) strengthened steel tubular columns (Pcr ) can be obtained using Eq. (21)
or alternatively any FE software may be used. In addition, conventional
(28)
CFRP strengthened test column results are also plotted in Fig. 20.
Py
λ=
Pcr (29)
For λ ⩽ 0.52, Pu = 1.2Py (30)
0.44 0.44
⎡ P ⎤ ⎛ Pcr ⎞
For λ > 0.52, Pu = ⎢1−0.18 ⎜⎛ cr ⎟⎞ ⎥⎜ P ⎟ Py
Py ⎠
⎣ ⎝ ⎦⎝ y ⎠ (31)
Py = Ag f y (32)
The accuracy of the proposed DSM based design equations was in-
vestigated by comparing the axial compression capacity of CFRP
strengthened steel tubular columns obtained from FEA parametric
study. The comparison gave the mean and COV values for the FEA to
DSM prediction ratio as 0.99 and 0.046, respectively. In addition, the
corresponding capacity reduction factor based on AISI [36] was ob-
tained as 0.90, which is recommended for use with the developed DSM
design equations.
5. Conclusions
This paper has described the behaviour and design of CFRP
strengthened short SHS steel columns based on experimental and nu-
merical investigations. An experimental investigation was conducted
first on CFRP strengthened short SHS columns and CFRP was found to
be very effective in strengthening these columns. Conventional CFRP
strengthening was able to restrain local buckling deformations and
shifted the failure to yielding failure whereby up to 1.66 times of ca-
pacity increment was achieved. The columns strengthened with CFRP
for the full length revealed up to 2.62 times axial compression capacity
enhancements. This phenomenon was a result of compressive strength
of CFRP which might have acted as a composite tube due to the end
conditions. Hence, it is recommended to strengthen steel columns with
CFRP for the full length where access restrictions are not present.
A numerical investigation was then conducted to simulate the be-
haviour of tested CFRP strengthened short SHS columns and the de-
veloped models were validated using the experimental results.
Validated models were used to conduct a detailed parametric study.
Slender SHS sections were considered and the results showed that ca-
pacity enhancements of up to 1.73 times can be achieved by using
CFRP. In addition, the results showed that the maximum axial com-
pression capacity that a given SHS column can attain exhibits a linear
variation with the plate slenderness ratio of the section. Furthermore, it
was observed that the CFRP strengthened SHS columns show a max-
imum capacity enhancement of about 20% compared to their yield
capacity.
893
M. Imran et al.
Parametric study results were then used to improve the design
equations proposed by Bambach et al. [6]. In addition, a new set of
design equations based on DSM was proposed to predict the axial
compression capacity of CFRP strengthened short SHS steel columns.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Queensland
University of Technology (QUT) for providing the research facilities
required to conduct the work reported in this paper. They also would
like to thank QUT Wind and Fire Laboratory technical officers and QUT
High Performance Computing (HPC) staff for the support in conducting
this research.
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