Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Constructional Steel Research

Local and post-local buckling of fabricated high-strength steel and

composite columns
Zhichao Huang a,⁎, Dongxu Li a, Brian Uy a, Huu-Tai Thai b,c, Chao Hou a
a
School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
b
School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
c
Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: High-strength structural steel plates are being increasingly used as composite columns in tall buildings, bridges
Received 19 September 2018 and large infrastructure. The presence of concrete infill in these composite sections enhances their local buckling
Received in revised form 29 November 2018 strength, and thus very slender steel plates can be used in their fabrication. This paper presents the results of an
Accepted 6 December 2018
experimental study and numerical investigation of the local buckling slenderness limits for high-strength steel
Available online 20 December 2018
plates. A set of sixteen tests were conducted on both hollow steel and steel-concrete composite sections to
Keywords:
explore their local and post-local buckling behaviour under axial compression. A numerical model which
Slenderness limit accounts for the effects of residual stresses and initial geometric imperfections was developed to predict the
High-strength steel plate local buckling and post-local buckling response of box and I-section columns. This model was verified against
Local buckling the test results. Yield slenderness limits obtained from numerical results were compared with existing codes of
Concrete-filled steel sections practice for both hollow steel and composite sections incorporating high-strength steel plates.
Crown Copyright © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction hollow and composite columns with sectional slenderness ranging

By filling concrete into steel sections, steel-concrete composite col-
umns develop greater axial loading resistance, favourable ductility per-
formance, larger energy absorption capacity and better fire resistance
compared with conventional structural steel columns and reinforced
concrete columns [1–3]. Therefore, composite columns become a popu-
lar choice in the design of heavily loaded compressive members. The use
of high-strength steel in composite columns can achieve greater bene-
fits as the material provides greater strength to cross-section ratio
[4,5]. However, as the strength of the steel increases, the buckling char-
acteristic becomes a dominant issue that reduces the loading capacity
[6,7]. The slenderness limits for both local and global buckling
also become significantly important as they define the compactness/
slenderness of the sections of members. In this paper, the local and
post-local buckling behaviour of hollow and steel-concrete composite
sections was studied with the presence of high-strength steel plates.
Uy [8] conducted an experimental and analytical study on concrete-
filled steel tubular (CFST) composite columns employing mild structural
steel. Local and post-local buckling behaviour of box sections was inves-
tigated. A comparison between the experimental results and Australian
Standard AS 4100 [9] proved that the existing approach was conserva-
tive in ultimate capacity estimations. Bridge and O'Shea [10] studied
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhichao.huang@sydney.edu.au (Z. Huang).
from 34 to 130, where geometric imperfections and residual stresses
were considered. The same conclusion was obtained that AS 4100 [9]
was capable of being used in the design of hollow and composite
columns fabricated by mild structural steel. Uy [11–13] conducted an
extensive set of tests to study the local buckling behaviour of hollow
and composite sections with mild and high-strength steels. A theoreti-
cal model was proposed to determine the effective widths and the
strength of hollow and composite sections. Extensive strength tests of
stub concrete-filled columns were conducted by Sakino et al. [14]. Box
and circular sections with a wide range of structural steel types and
sectional slenderness were included in the tests. According to the test
results, axial load capacity reduction factors for slender hollow and
composite sections were proposed. More recently, Lee et al. [15] and
Ma et al. [16] reported two sets of extensive experimental programs,
where the high-strength steel box sections were tested under different
loading conditions. The slenderness limit for these high-strength steel
plates was investigated accordingly.
In addition to the studies into slenderness limits for high-strength
steel sections, extensive research has been performed over the past
few decades to study the strength of composite columns with high-
strength steel plates. The reduction in terms of loading capacity of
these high-performance composite columns was investigated. Liew
et al. [17] further studied the axial and flexural capacity of CFST columns
utilising high-strength materials. The test results confirmed the applica-
bility of Eurocode 4 [18] in the strength estimation for such types of

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2018.12.004
0143-974X/Crown Copyright © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
236 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249

Fig. 1. Configuration of test specimens with stiffeners.

CFST columns. Khan et al. [19,20] investigated stub and slender composite columns, it is critical to identify the corresponding sectional
concrete-filled columns fabricated by high-strength steel. Sectional slenderness limits and prevent the elastic local buckling of steel sec-
and global slenderness limits of concrete-filled columns were proposed. tions. In this paper, an experimental study and numerical investigation
Tao et al. [21] conducted a comprehensive numerical study with finite of the local buckling behaviour of both hollow and composite stub col-
element analysis on composite stub columns. A theoretical stress- umns was carried out. A set of sixteen tests under axial compression
strain model of confined concrete was proposed to simulate the con- were conducted to explore their local buckling behaviour. A numerical
crete behaviour in different stages. Extensive parametric studies were model accounting for geometric imperfections and residual stresses
carried out to explore the sensitivity of each parameter specified in was developed to predict the local and post-local buckling behaviour.
ABAQUS. An accurate and comprehensive numerical model was devel- The accuracy of the proposed model was verified against the obtained
oped and verified against more than 200 test results of box and circular test results. Sectional slenderness limits obtained from numerical re-
sections. Thai et al. [22] developed a reliable non-linear finite element sults for hollow and composite sections were compared with existing
model for concrete-filled steel box columns with consideration of geo- codes of practice.
metric imperfections and residual stresses. The parametric studies
showed that the Eurocode 4 [18] and AS/NZS 5100.6 [23] could be
used for the design of high-strength concrete-filled columns. Aslani 2. Experimental program
et al. [24] carried out an experimental and numerical investigation of
the axial load capacity of stub CFST columns. Based on the experimental 2.1. Specimen preparation
and numerical results, AS/NZS 5100.6 [23] gave a most accurate predic-
tion of ultimate strength. The aim of this experimental study was to determine the slender-
According to the literature mentioned above, it can be found that the ness limits for both high-strength steel box and I-section columns
research on sectional slenderness limits of high-strength steel is still with and without concrete infill. The test specimens were fabricated
insufficient. To optimise the benefits of high-strength materials in from nominally 5 mm thickness BISALLOY80 high-strength steel plates
with a nominal yield stress of 690 MPa. Steel plates of 5 mm thickness
were initially tack-welded into specific sections followed by longitudi-
Table 1
Geometric details of high-strength steel box columns.
nal fillet welding along the full length of the columns. Bracing inside
the columns was utilised during the manufacturing process to minimise
Specimens b (mm) t (mm) b/t L (mm) L/b A (mm2) initial imperfections. A number of stiffeners were welded to both ends
HB80-1 90 5 18 300 3 1800 of each column to ensure that local buckling would occur within the col-
HB80-2 140 5 28 450 3 2800 umn mid-height region, as shown in Fig. 1. A total of sixteen specimens
HB80-3 190 5 38 600 3 3800
including eight box columns and eight I-section columns was tested.
HB80-4 240 5 48 750 3 4800
FB80-1 190 5 38 600 3 3800 The geometric properties of the test specimens were summarised in
FB80-2 240 5 48 750 3 4800 Table 1 for box columns and Table 2 for I-section columns. In these
FB80-3 290 5 58 900 3 5800 tables, the columns labelled with “H” were hollow columns and those
FB80-4 340 5 68 1050 3 6800

Table 3
Table 2 Material test results for high-strength steel coupons.
Geometric details of high-strength steel I-section columns.
Coupons Young's 0.2% proof stress, Ultimate stress, σu/σ0.2%
Specimens bf tf bf/tf bw tw bw/tw L L/bf A modulus, E (GPa) σ0.2% (MPa) σu (MPa)
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm2)
B-1 199.0 732.6 795.5 1.09
HI80-1 50 5 10 90 5 18 300 6 1500 B-2 205.4 744.1 812.7 1.09
HI80-2 75 5 15 140 5 28 450 6 2250 F-1 201.4 732.4 794.6 1.08
HI80-3 100 5 20 190 5 38 600 6 3000 F-2 206.5 731.2 793.1 1.08
HI80-4 125 5 25 240 5 48 750 6 3750 W-1 204.6 750.7 811.3 1.08
FI80-1 100 5 20 190 5 38 600 6 3000 W-2 198.0 747.8 809.7 1.08
FI80-2 125 5 25 240 5 48 750 6 3750 Mean 202.5 739.8 802.8 1.08
FI80-3 150 5 30 290 5 58 900 6 4500 Standard 3.2 8.0 8.5 0.0
FI80-4 175 5 35 340 5 68 1050 6 5250 deviation
 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249
Fig. 2. Schematic view of the 20 mm recess with plywood.
Fig. 3. Specimen preparation with end-plates and high-strength plaster.
starting with “F” were columns filled with concrete. The second letter of
the label denoted the shape of columns, and the letter “B” and “I” repre-
sented box and I-section columns, respectively. The number “80” repre-
sented the grade of steel material (BISALLOY 80) with its properties
given in Table 3.
Prior to the casting of the concrete infill, both sides of the columns
were ground smooth and flat to ensure the load would be applied to
the columns uniformly. For the composite columns, plywood was cut
into specific dimensions and fitted inside the columns at the bottom
ends to form a 20 mm recess (Fig. 2). This was to assure that the
Fig. 4. Tested material properties of high-strength structural steel.
237
compressive load was applied to the steel sections only, whilst the con-
crete infill only restrains the steel plates from inward buckling. The ply-
wood was removed before testing. Similarly, a 20 mm recess at the top
ends of the composite columns was also provided during the concrete
casting stage. Regarding the hollow steel columns, a compressive load
was directly applied to the steel sections, and thus no special treatment
was required. After 28 days of concrete pouring, the test specimens
were placed in the centre of rigid end-plates with a 40 mm plate thick-
ness. High-strength plaster with a compressive strength of 80 MPa was
then filled inside the end-plates to stabilise the specimens with end-
plates attached at both ends, as shown in Fig. 3.
2.2. Material properties
The focus of the present study was to determine the slenderness
limits for high-strength steel columns with and without infilled con-
crete. The infilled concrete, if any, was only used for restraining the
steel plates from inward buckling and was unloaded during the testing
procedure. Therefore, a series of tensile coupon tests were carried out
according to AS1391 [25] to illustrate the stress-strain relationships
for high-strength steel plates. The authors herein tested six tensile cou-
pons extracted from the spare specimens, and the results were
summarised in Table 3. Full-range stress-strain curves for the selected
coupons are shown in Fig. 4(a). As can be seen, the test on coupon B-1
stopped with an ultimate strain εu of 0.065, which was due to the frac-
ture point being beyond the extensometer range. The initial stress-
strain curves for these selected coupons are illustrated in Fig. 4
(b) with the definition of 0.2% proof stress. As observed, the mean
0.2% proof stresses of the box column, flange and web of the I-section
columns are similar. The 0.2% proof stress and ultimate stress were
238 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249

Fig. 5. Test setup for specimens.

determined as 739.8 and 802.8 MPa, respectively. Although the data of
concrete material properties are not necessary for the present study,
six concrete cylinders were still tested to determine the actual compres-
sive strength. The mean compressive strength of these concrete cylin-
ders at 28 days and at the time of testing was 41.3 and 50.1 MPa,
respectively.
2.3. Test setup and instrumentation
The specimens in the present study were tested under uniaxial com-
pression with a 5000 kN capacity Amsler Machine at the University of
Sydney. Specimens with end-plates were placed into the testing ma-
chine, and the uniaxial compression was directly applied to the top of
the end-plates. It should be noted that the loading plates of the testing
machine were restrained against rotation in any direction to simulate
fixed-supports at both ends. Moreover, no intended load eccentricity
was enforced for the specimens. The schematic and general view of
the test specimens is illustrated in Fig. 5.
To measure the strain development of the steel columns, a total
of eight strain gauges was attached to polished surfaces of each
specimen. However, for Specimens HB80–1 and HI80-1, four strain
gauges were used due to the limited space available. As shown in

Fig. 6. Arrangement of strain gauges and LVDTs for test specimens.

 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249 239

Table 4
Initial imperfection measured from specimens.

Specimens Box section I-section Flange

vmax vmax/b vmax vmax/b

1 0.64 1/391 0.94 1/133

2 0.76 1/328 1.29 1/96
3 0.94 1/266 0.15 1/833
4 0.59 1/427 0.52 1/240
Maximum 0.94 1/266 1.29 1/96

3. Experimental results and discussion

This section presents the measured results of the test specimens, in

Fig. 7. Test setup of the out-of-straightness measurements.
Fig. 6, eight strain gauges were attached vertically at the mid-
height of each box column on adjacent surfaces. For the I-section
columns, eight strain gauges were arranged at the mid-height of
each column on the flange surfaces. In addition to the strain
gauges, two linear variable differential transformers (LVDT-1 and
LVDT-2) were placed vertically at the column ends to measure
the end movements of the loading plates.
2.4. Initial imperfections
Initial geometric imperfections are an inevitable occurrence that will
provide a significant influence on the behaviour of structural members.
Despite the high-strength box and I-section columns being fabricated
based on the dimensional and tolerance requirements of AS 1579 [26],
some initial imperfections of the columns more or less existed. The
local imperfections were measured using a laser with an accuracy of
0.0076 mm. Fig. 7 shows the setup for the measurement of geometric
imperfections.
As suggested by Young and Liu [27] and Theofanous and Gard-
ner [28], only local imperfections were considered herein for short
steel columns. For each cross-section, geometric imperfections
were assumed to be zero at the reference points, and the vertical
distances of the flat surfaces relative to the reference points
were identified as the geometric imperfections as shown in
Fig. 8. The maximum magnitude of imperfection v max was
summarised in Table 4.
particular, the results that are of major interest are the load-axial short-
ening behaviour, load-axial strain relationships, buckling behaviour and
failure modes. For comparison purposes, this section is further divided
into two parts that present the results for the box and I-section columns,
respectively.
3.1. Box section columns
3.1.1. Load-axial shortening
The load-axial shortening curve provides important information on
the initial stiffness, ultimate load and ductility performance of each
specimen. The load-axial shortening curves for the hollow and
concrete-filled box columns are depicted and compared in Fig. 9. It
can be observed from Fig. 9(a) that the initial stiffness of the hollow
box columns did not change with a variation of b/t ratio. Compared
with the specimen HB80-1, the ultimate strength of specimen HB80-2
was increased due to a greater b/t ratio, which indicates a greater
strength contribution from the steel plates. However, as the b/t ratio
continues to increase, the ultimate strength of the specimens was signif-
icantly reduced due to the earlier occurrence of local buckling of the
steel plates. Similarly, as shown in Fig. 9(b), the ultimate strength of
concrete-filled box columns was increased with an increase in b/t
ratio. However, this trend was only valid within a certain limit, after
which the ultimate strength of concrete-filled box columns was not en-
hanced due to premature local buckling. Moreover, for the same b/t
ratio, such as specimen HB80-3 and FB80-1, the presence of the concrete
infill enhanced the ultimate capacity of steel sections by 60%.
3.1.2. Load-axial strain
A number of strain gauges were arranged across the full width of
each specimen to record the strain developments, as shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8. Sketch of geometric imperfection measurements.

240 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249

Fig. 9. Load-axial shortening curves for box columns.

Fig. 10. Load-axial strain curves for hollow and concrete-filled box columns.

The load-axial strain curves allowed the onset of local buckling of test
specimens to be observed. Typical load-axial strain curves of selected
hollow and concrete-filled box columns are presented in Fig. 10. These
figures were utilised for the determination of buckling loads for each
specimen by observing changes in the stiffness. It can be seen that all
the selected specimens experienced local buckling before reaching
their yield limit. This phenomenon indicated that the test specimens
should be categorised as slender sections, for which local buckling
took place earlier than yielding. The post-local buckling load of these
specimens can also be observed from these diagrams.
3.1.3. Failure modes and buckling behaviour
The failure modes of hollow and concrete-filled box columns are il-
lustrated in Fig. 11.
The buckling failure was observed at different positions of the col-
umns as the local buckling failure of such columns may occur anywhere
along the column. Compared with concrete-filled columns, hollow col-
umns exhibited more significant buckling. Due to the lack of restraint
from the infilled concrete, the hollow box columns buckled both inward
and outward, which significantly lowered the ultimate load of the
columns.

Fig. 11. Local buckling failure modes for hollow and concrete-filled box columns.
 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249 241

Table 5 continues increasing, the initial stiffness was not enhanced significantly
Local and post-local buckling results for box columns. due to the slender steel sections and subsequent occurrence of local
Specimens b/t λe A Nol Nu σol σu σu/fy be/b buckling. The ultimate load of specimen HI80-2 was 24.0% greater
(mm2) (kN) (kN) (MPa) (MPa) than that of specimen HI80-1, which is due to the greater contribution
HB80-1 18 30 1800 1287.1 1318.2 715.0 732.3 0.99 0.99 of steel. Nevertheless, this increase was limited for specimen HI80-3
HB80-2 28 47 2800 1449.8 1860.6 602.4 664.5 0.90 0.90 and HI 80-4, as the local buckling of the steel plates occurred much ear-
HB80-3 38 63 3800 1101.7 1455.3 289.9 383.0 0.52 0.52 lier. Similarly, the ultimate strength of composite I-section columns was
HB80-4 48 80 4800 1335.6 1733.0 278.3 361.0 0.49 0.49
also increased with an increase in b/t ratio, as shown in Fig. 12(b). Com-
FB80-1 38 63 3800 2009.8 2329.4 528.9 613.0 0.83 0.83
FB80-2 48 80 4800 2120.2 2902.6 441.7 604.7 0.82 0.82 paring specimen FI80-1 to HI80-3, which had the same cross-sectional
FB80-3 58 96 5800 1749.8 2904.7 301.7 500.8 0.68 0.68 dimensions, the ultimate strength of concrete infill specimen FI80-1
FB80-4 68 113 6800 2194.5 3028.3 322.7 445.3 0.60 0.60 was increased by about 35%. Similarly, specimen FI80-2 which is the
same cross section as HI80-4 in dimensions, but filled with concrete be-
tween flanges. The ultimate strength of composite column FI80-2 was
The initial local buckling load and ultimate load of each specimen significantly enhanced due to the infilled concrete.
were determined from the load-axial strain curves and load-axial short-
ening curves, respectively. The determined critical loads for both hollow
and concrete-filled columns are summarised in Table 5. It can be found 3.2.2. Load-axial average strain
that the infilled concrete can increase both the local buckling load and The load-axial strain curves for hollow and composite I-section col-
ultimate load for the box columns, which is mainly attributed to the re- umns again assisted in identifying the occurrence of local buckling. The
straint of the concrete. onset of local buckling was determined when the nonlinearity of the
load-axial strain curves was observed. Typical load-axial strain curves of
selected hollow and composite I-section columns are presented in
3.2. I-section columns Fig. 13. The cross-sectional dimensions of specimen HI80-1 are relatively
small, thus four strain gauges were utilised with two on each flange. As
3.2.1. Load-axial shortening can be seen in Fig. 13(a), the load-axial strain curves of specimen HI-1
The load-axial shortening curves for the hollow and composite I- did not exhibit local buckling until close to the yielding limit. This indi-
section columns are illustrated in Fig. 12. Similarly, the initial stiffness cates that the b/t ratio of HI80–1 was close to the slenderness limits of hol-
and ultimate load can be observed from these figures. It can be observed low I-section columns. The load-axial strain curves for other specimens
from Fig. 12(a) that the initial stiffness of hollow I-section column HI80– showed significant nonlinearity before the yield strain was reached,
1 was less than that of specimen HI80-2. However, as the b/t ratio which indicates the specimens can be classified as slender sections.

Fig. 12. Load-axial shortening curves for I-section columns.

Fig. 13. Load-axial strain curves for hollow and composite I-section columns.
242 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249

Fig. 14. Local buckling failure modes for hollow and composite I-section columns.

both the local buckling load and ultimate load of the composite I-
Table 6
Local and post-local buckling results for I-section columns. section columns can be significantly improved when compared with
their counterparts without concrete infill.
Specimens b/t λe A Nol Nu σol σu σu/fy be/b
(mm2) (kN) (kN) (MPa) (MPa)
4. Numerical model
HI80-1 10 17 1500 857.3 1049.6 571.5 699.8 0.95 0.95
HI80-2 15 25 2250 1190.3 1301.1 529.0 578.3 0.78 0.78
HI80-3 20 33 3000 766.4 1339.9 255.5 446.6 0.60 0.60
4.1. Modelling description
HI80-4 25 42 3750 574.4 1437.6 153.2 383.3 0.52 0.52
FI80-1 20 33 3000 1192.1 1792.2 397.4 597.4 0.81 0.81 An accurate finite element model was developed using ABAQUS/Ex-
FI80-2 25 42 3750 1311.8 1954.3 349.8 521.1 0.70 0.70 plicit to simulate the local buckling and post-local buckling response as
FI80-3 30 50 4500 1104.6 2071.8 245.5 460.4 0.62 0.62
well as the failure modes of the tested specimens. Unlike the implicit
FI80-4 35 58 5250 995.6 2266.5 189.6 431.7 0.58 0.58
method, the explicit method can easily overcome numerical conver-
gence issues encountered in the implicit method due to large deforma-
tion and contact problems as in the case of composite columns. The
3.2.3. Failure modes and buckling behaviour accuracy of the explicit solution is dependent on the loading rate used.
The failure modes of hollow and composite I-section columns are In the explicit analysis, the time increment, which is internally calcu-
presented in Fig. 14. No particular location of local buckling could be lated to satisfy the stability limit, is usually very small. Hence, it is com-
concluded as the buckling might occur anywhere along the column. putationally expensive for simulating static problems if the same
Compared with the composite I-section columns, the hollow I-section loading rate with pseudo-static tests is used. To speed up the simulation,
columns exhibited a more significant buckled shape and amplitude. this paper uses the “smooth step” amplitude instead of “linear step” am-
Due to the lack of restraint from the infilled concrete, the hollow col- plitude commonly used in ABAQUS/Standard. With a proper control of
umns buckled both inward and outward, which significantly reduced the loading rate, the explicit method can predict accurately and effi-
the ultimate loads of the columns. The local buckling loads and ultimate ciently the behaviour of quasi-static as demonstrated in the verification
loads for both hollow and composite I-section columns were obtained study. Detailed guidance on the use of ABAQUS/Explicit was provided
in Table 6. Due to the restraint from inside concrete to the flanges, by in Thai et al. [29].

Fig. 15. First buckling mode shapes.

 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249 243

In this model, the structural steel plate and infilled concrete were
modelled by 4-node reduced integration shell elements (S4R) and 8-
node reduced integration brick elements (C3D8R), respectively. A
mesh sensitivity study was performed to obtain a mesh with a least
computational time that had fully converged. It was found that the con-
vergent mesh size was between 4 and 8% of their widths. The modelling
of the stiffeners welded at the end sections can be ignored by using rigid
body constraints to tie the end section surface to a reference point lo-
cated at the centre of the end section [30,31]. The boundary and loading
conditions at the ends of the columns can then be applied through the
reference point. The contact interaction between the steel plate and
infilled concrete was modelled using the *CONTACT PAIR option with
surface-to-surface contact type. The properties of surface-to-surface
contact were defined in normal and tangential directions. “Hard” con-
tact was specified in the normal direction, which allowed the separation
of surfaces in tension and no penetration in compression. In the tangen-
tial direction, the Coulomb friction model with a friction coefficient of
0.3 was adopted to simulate the friction between steel plates and con-
crete infill [21].
The inelastic behaviour of structural steel plates was modelled using
a multi-linear elastic-plastic model with stress-strain curves obtained
from tensile coupon tests as shown in Fig. 4. The inelastic behaviour of
infilled concrete was ignored and only its elastic behaviour was
modelled. This is due to the fact that infilled concrete used in composite
columns played the role as a rigid medium and the external load was
only applied to the steel plates.
Fig. 16. Idealised residual stress distributions of steel box sections. The initial geometric imperfections of the tested specimens were in-
cluded using the first buckling mode shape obtained from the

Fig. 17. Compressive residual stress of I-section.

Fig. 18. Comparison between experimental and numerical results of box sections.
244 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249

Fig. 19. Comparison between experimental and numerical results of I-sections.

eigenvalue analysis as shown in Fig. 15. To be conservative, the magni-
tude of imperfections was taken as the largest ratio (vmax/b) measured
directly from the specimens as given in Table 4. The initial imperfection
was taken into account using the *IMPERFECTION option.
Residual stresses were also included in this study using the *INITIAL
CONDITION option. For box sections, idealised residual stress patterns
proposed by Khan et al. [32] as shown in Fig. 16 were used. This residual
stress pattern was proposed for high-strength BISALLOY 80 steel which
is identical with the one used in this study. In addition, the minimum
compressive residual stress was limited to −0.1fy. The residual stresses
of I-sections fabricated by high-strength steel were measured and re-
ported by Ban et al. [33]. However, the thickness of specimens tested
by Ban et al. [33] was 14 mm, almost three times larger than the speci-
mens tested in this paper. It resulted in an overestimation of the magni-
tude of compressive residual stress as shown in Fig. 17. The compressive
residual stress reached 54.5% of the yield stress at b/t = 15 for a 5 mm

Fig. 20. Failure modes comparison between experimental and numerical results.
 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249 245

Table 7 6000
Compact box
Verification of the numerical model for box columns.
Slender box
Specimens b/t A (mm2) Nu (kN) NFEM (kN) Nu/NFEM 4500 Compact I-section

Load P (kN)
Slender I-section
HB80-1 18 1800 1318.2 1396.0 0.94
HB80-2 28 2800 1860.6 1761.0 1.06 3000
HB80-3 38 3800 1455.3 1575.9 0.92
HB80-4 48 4800 1733.0 1813.0 0.96
FB80-1 38 3800 2329.4 2512.9 0.93 1500
FB80-2 48 4800 2902.6 2938.4 0.99
FB80-3 58 5800 2904.7 3097.7 0.94
FB80-4 68 6800 3028.3 3078.0 0.98 0
Mean 0.96 0 50 100 150 200
Standard deviation 0.04 Concrete strength f'c (MPa)

Fig. 21. Ultimate strength studies over various concrete strength.

thickness outstand. Cao et al. [34] studied the residual stresses of
I-sections fabricated from Grade 800 steel plates with a thickness of
7 mm. For the same section, the authors proposed a more reasonable
value of 17.7% of the yield stress as the compressive residual stress.
Nevertheless, the applicability of the equation they proposed was lim-
ited, as shown in Fig. 18. With the consideration of accuracy and ap-
plicability, the formulas from Ban et al. [33] were adopted.
Moreover, reduction factors φ of 35% and 75% were taken for the com-
pressive residual stresses of flange outstands and webs, respectively.
The reduced compressive residual stresses are close to the values
found by Cao et al. [34].
4.2. Verification
The experimental results were used to verify the established nu-
merical model. As mentioned above, the tested specimens included
both steel and composite columns with steel sections loaded only.
The behaviour and ultimate strength predicted by the present finite
element model (FEM) were compared with the experimental results
in Figs. 18-20 and Tables 7 and 8. It can be seen that the present
model not only accurately predicted the axial load-deformation be-
haviour, i.e. the initial stiffness and both ascending and descending
parts as shown in Figs. 18 and 19, but also accurately predict the fail-
ure modes of the tested specimens (Fig. 20). Moreover, the strain be-
haviour at mid-height of each column obtained from the numerical
model were compared against experimental results as shown in Figs.
10 and 13. As observed in the figures, the model provided a reason-
able similarity to the experimental results as the initial stiffness and
the behaviour of post-buckling was matched. The mean and standard
deviation of the ultimate strength of the box columns respectively are
0.96 and 0.04 (Table 7), whilst the corresponding values of the I-
section columns are 0.96 and 0.01 (Table 8). In conclusion, the
model proposed herein was accurate and reliable, and thus it can be
used to predict the behaviour of steel and composite columns using
a parametric study in the next section to determine the slenderness
limits of slender sections.
4.3. Concrete strength study
A parametric study on concrete strength from 20 to 150 MPa was
conducted to evaluate the influence on concrete-filled steel columns.
A theoretical concrete model adopted in [21] was utilised in this
study. Both compact and slender sections of box and I-section columns
were investigated and the results were illustrated in Fig. 21. The numer-
ical results showed ultimate strength remained the same for different
concrete strength. Therefore, the effects of concrete strength could be
neglected as the limited change in ultimate strength was observed for
box and I-section columns regardless of their compactness/slenderness.
It makes sense since concrete infill only restraint the inward buckling of
the steel plates as a rigid medium in this paper.
5. Numerical results and discussion
The sectional slenderness limits and effective widths were studied
using the verified numerical model by simulating steel and composite
columns with compact and slender sections under various width to
thickness ratios. In this study, 5 mm thick structural steel plates of
Grade 690 were examined. The nondimensional sectional slenderness
λe as defined in Eq. (1) was taken from 15 to 120 for box sections and
15–60 for I-sections
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
b fy
λe ¼ ð1Þ
t 250
where b and t respectively are the width and thickness of the steel plates
defined in Fig. 1, and fy is the yield stress of the steel. The column length
was taken as three times the section width to ensure that the column
was stubby. The experimental and numerical results were also com-
pared with existing codes of practice AS 4100 [9], AS/NZS 2327 [35],
Eurocode 3 [36], Eurocode 4 [18] and ANSI/AISC 360-16 [37].

5.1. Slenderness limits

Table 8
Verification of the numerical model for I-section columns.
The slenderness limits λe were determined according to experimen-
tal and numerical results, and then compared with existing codes of
2
Specimens b/t A (mm ) Nu (kN) NFEM (kN) Nu/NFEM practice. Fig. 22 presents the slenderness limits obtained from the ex-
HI80-1 10 1500 1049.6 1108.8 0.95 perimental and numerical results and existing codes of practice. Existing
HI80-2 15 2250 1301.1 1370.5 0.95 experimental results reported in the previous studies were also in-
HI80-3 20 3000 1339.9 1400.9 0.96
cluded in this figure.
HI80-4 25 3750 1437.6 1499.7 0.96
FI80-1 20 3000 1792.2 1843.3 0.97
FI80-2 25 3750 1954.3 2020.8 0.97 5.1.1. Box sections
FI80-3 30 4500 2071.8 2156.0 0.96 As shown in Fig. 22(a), the slenderness limit λe for hollow box sec-
FI80-4 35 5250 2266.5 2354.1 0.96
tions obtained by the numerical simulation was 34.9. AS 4100 [9]
Mean 0.96
Standard deviation 0.01
(highly welded section, HW) gave the same limit with the numerical re-
sults. However, the slenderness limits predicted by AS 4100 [9] (lightly
246 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249

Fig. 22. Slenderness limits comparison among tests, numerical results and codes of practice.

Fig. 23. Effective width comparison among tests, numerical results and codes of practices.
 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249
Fig. 24. Comparison of selected approaches against tests and numerical results.
welded, LW), Eurocode 3 [36] and ANSI/AISC 360–16 [37] were slightly
greater.
Fig. 23(b) exhibits the comparison of slenderness limits for compos-
ite box sections. AS/NZS 2327 [35] suggested a slenderness limit λe of
63.9 for concrete-filled box section based on the theoretical investiga-
tion from Lai et al. [38]. In this numerical study, with consideration of
the imperfections and residual stresses, a slenderness limit of 48.2 was
provided. On the other hand, Eurocode 4 [18] suggested a slenderness
limit of 50.4 which was only 5% greater than that obtained from the nu-
merical results. The results also showed the slenderness limit of
concrete-filled box section was 38% greater than the limit of hollow
box sections.
5.1.2. I-sections
For hollow I-sections, the numerical results gave a slenderness
limit of 16.6 that is close to existing codes of practice. It can be seen
from Fig. 23(c), all codes provided conservative slenderness limits
than the experimental and numerical results. This means that the
slenderness limits of existing codes of practice can be safely applied
to hollow I-sections with high-strength materials. For concrete-filled
I-sections, Fig. 23(d) indicates that Eurocode 4 [18] provided a slightly
conservative limit of 19.4 compared with the suggested limit of 21.6
obtained from the numerical results. In contrast, AS/NZS 2327 [35]
suggested a slenderness limit λe of 25.0 which is 15% greater than
that of the numerical results. It can be seen that the presence of the
concrete infill enhanced the slenderness limit λe of the I-sections by
30% (from 16.6 to 21.6).
5.2. Effective widths
Fig. 23 compared the experimental and numerical results as well as
the predictions from existing codes of practice. The most reasonable
approaches for high-strength steel plates were discovered. These
247
approaches were then plotted against the previous experimental slen-
derness limits for different steel grades as shown in Fig. 24.
5.2.1. Box sections
For the effective widths of slender and hollow box sections, AS 4100
[9] (HW) provided the most conservative estimation as shown in Fig. 23
(a). AS 4100 [9] (LW) gave reasonable predictions on the effective width
of high-strength steel box sections. On the other hand, Eurocode 3 [36]
and ANSI/AISC 360–16 [37] slightly overestimated the effective widths
as they had greater slenderness limits as mentioned above. In general,
AS 4100 [9] (HW) gave a better and conservative prediction of both
the slenderness limits and effective widths. Comparing this approach
with previous studies [10,12,19], it also suggested a conservative esti-
mation of effective width as shown in Fig. 24(a). Therefore, the ap-
proach given in AS 4100 [9] (HW) can provide safe effective widths,
or ultimate strength, to different steel grades.
Noteworthy, Eurocode 4 [18] did not provide design guidance for the
effective widths of slender concrete-filled box sections. Other than AS/
NZS 2327 [35], the effective width model adopted in AS 4100 [9] was
also used to predict the effective width of concrete-filled sections. This
model based on Winter's formula considering residual stresses and ini-
tial imperfections was expressed as
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
be σ ol
¼α ð2Þ
b fy
where α is the parameter that accounts for residual stresses and initial
imperfections as given in Table 9, vs is the Poisson's ratio of steel, and σol
is the local elastic buckling stress and can be determined by
kπ2 Es
σ ol ¼   2 ð3Þ
12 1−v2s bt
248 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249
Table 9
Table of α value for Eq. (5) [9]
Longitudinal edges supported Manufacture
One Stress relieved
One Hot-rolled
One Lightly welded (LW)
One Heavily welded (HW)
Both Stress relieved
Both Hot-rolled
Both Lightly welded (LW)
Both Heavily welded (HW)
in which k is the buckling coefficient. This coefficient was taken as 10.3
and 2 for concrete-filled box sections and concrete-filled I-sections, re-
spectively [39].
In Fig. 23(b), AS/NZS 2327 [35] and Winter's formula (LW)
overestimated the effective width as they had a greater slenderness
limit. On the other hand, Winter's formula for heavily welded plates
provided a better prediction on the effective width for slender
concrete-filled box sections, although it overestimated the effective
width in the vicinity of the slenderness limit. A similar conclusion was
drawn while this approach when compared with the previous studies
[8,10,12,19]. It conservatively estimated the effective width of the slen-
der concrete-filled box section, but slightly overestimated the effective
width near the slenderness limit.
5.2.2. I-sections
The effective width estimations for hollow I-sections were presented
in Fig. 23(c). In general, all codes of practice conservatively estimated
the effective widths. ANSI/AISC 360–16 [37] was the most reasonable
approach. Furthermore, it also provided excellent prediction in terms
of effective width for hollow I-sections compared with the previous
study [12].
For concrete filled I-sections, Eurocode 4 [18] and ANSI/AISC 360–16
[37] did not provide the guidance on the calculation of effective widths.
As shown in Fig. 24(d), AS/NZS 2327 [35] gave a conservative estimation
on the effective widths, while Winter's formulas overestimated the ef-
fective widths, particularly in the vicinity of the slenderness limit.
Fig. 24(d) demonstrates the conservative prediction from AS/NZS
2327 [35] compared with the previous research [12].
6. Conclusions
This paper presented the experimental results of 16 hollow and
composite columns fabricated with high-strength steel plates. The
local buckling behaviour and ultimate capacity under axial compression
were investigated. An explicit numerical model was developed and ver-
ified against the experimental results. Initial imperfections and residual
stresses were also considered in the present model. A series of paramet-
ric studies on steel and composite columns with various width to thick-
ness ratios (b/t) was carried out. Furthermore, the approach among
existing codes was evaluated according to experimental and numerical
results as well as previous research studies.
• The experimental results suggested the slenderness limit of hollow
box sections was in the vicinity of a λe value (or a b/t ratio) of 30 (or
18) as the ultimate stress of specimen HB80-1 reached 99% of its
yield stress. Such sections having λe (or a b/t ratio) within 30 (or 18)
were stated as compact sections since yielding occurred before local
buckling.
• The experimental results also suggest the concrete-filled box sections
having λe (or a b/t ratio) beyond 63 (or 38) were slender sections. The
reduction of ultimate capacity was investigated due to local buckling
behaviour.
• The slenderness limit of hollow I-sections was suggested to be a λe
value (or a b/t ratio) of around 17 (or 10) from the experimental
results because the test of specimen HI80-1 showed it reached 95%
of its yield strength.
α • Concrete-filledI-sections having a λe value (or a b/t ratio) beyond 33
0.84
(or 20) were categorised as slender sections due to the reduction
0.84 effect of elastic local buckling.
0.74 • The experimental results also indicated that the presence of concrete
0.65 infill enhanced the ultimate capacity of hollow steel columns up to
0.91
60% and 35% for box and I-sections, respectively.
0.91
0.86 • According to the parametric studies of numerical models, the slender-
0.80 ness limits λe (or a b/t ratio) were advised as 35 (or 21) and 48 (or 29)
for hollow and concrete-filled box sections, correspondingly. It indi-
cated concrete-filled box sections had 38% increment in slenderness
limits in comparison with steel box sections.
• For hollow and concrete-filled I-sections, the slenderness limits λe (or
a b/t ratio) were advised as 17 (or 10) and 22 (or 13), correspondingly.
An increment of 30% in slenderness limit was investigated due to the
presence of concrete infill.
• For hollow box sections, the approach from AS4100 [9] for heavily
weld gave most conservative estimations in the slenderness limit as
well as the effective width of slender sections in comparison with ex-
perimental and numerical results in this paper and previous research
studies [10,12,19].
• Eurocode 4 [18] provided a good agreement to numerical results in
slenderness limit for concrete-filled box sections, however, this prac-
tice did not provide any strength estimation beyond the slenderness
limits.
• All codes of practice studied in this paper had a conservative estima-
tion in slenderness limit and effective width for hollow I-sections.
Among them, AISC 360 [37] provided a most reasonable approach in
the effective width estimation for steel grades up to 690 MPa.
• AS/NZS 2327 [35] gave reasonable predictions regarding the slender-
ness limit and the effective width of composite I-sections. It is worth
noting that Eurocode 4 [18] had a conservative slenderness limits
estimation.
Acknowledgements
The research described in this paper is financially supported by the
Australian Research Council (ARC) under its Discovery Scheme (Project
No: DP170100001) and La Trobe University. The financial support is
gratefully acknowledged. The assistance from Sina Kazemzadeh Azad
in preparing and conducting experimental tests is also gratefully
acknowledged. Assistance from Dr. Mohanad Mursi and staff of CASE
at the J.W. Roderick Laboratory of the University of Sydney are also
gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1] E. Ellobody, B. Young, D. Lam, Behaviour of normal and high strength concrete-filled
compact steel tube circular stub columns, J. Constr. Steel Res. 62 (7) (2006)
706–715.
[2] L.H. Han, Tests on stub columns of concrete-filled RHS sections, J. Constr. Steel Res.
58 (3) (2002) 353–372.
[3] Z. Tao, B. Uy, L.H. Han, Z.B. Wang, Analysis and design of concrete-filled stiffened
thin-walled steel tubular columns under axial compression, Thin Walled Struct. 47
(12) (2009) 1544–1556.
[4] A.H. Varma, J.M. Ricles, R. Sause, L.W. Lu, Experimental behaviour of high strength
square concrete-filled steel tube beam-columns, J. Struct. Eng. 128 (3) (2002)
309–318.
[5] M.X. Xiong, D.X. Xiong, J.Y.R. Liew, Behaviour of steel tubular members infilled with
ultra-high strength concrete, J. Constr. Steel Res. 138 (2017) 168–183.
[6] H. Ban, G. Shi, Y. Shi, Y. Wang, Overall buckling behavior of 460MPa high strength
steel columns: Experimental investigation and design method, J. Constr. Steel Res.
74 (2012) 140–150.
[7] T.J. Li, G.Q. Li, S.L. Chan, Y.B. Wang, Behaviour of Q690 high-strength steel columns:
part 1: Experimental investigation, J. Constr. Steel Res. 123 (2016) 18–30.
[8] B. Uy, Local and post-local buckling of concrete filled steel welded box columns,
J. Constr. Steel Res. 47 (1998) 47–72.
[9] Standards Australia, AS4100-1998: Steel Structure, 1998.
[10] R.Q. Bridge, M.D. O'Shea, Behaviour of thin-walled steel box sections with or with-
out internal restraint, J. Constr. Steel Res. 47 (1/2) (1998) 73–91.
 Z. Huang et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 154 (2019) 235–249
[11] B. Uy, Strength of concrete filled steel box columns incorporating local buckling,
J. Struct. Eng. 126 (3) (2000) 341–352.
[12] B. Uy, Local and postlocal buckling of fabricated steel and composite cross sections,
J. Struct. Eng. 127 (6) (2001) 666–677.
[13] B. Uy, Strength of short concrete filled high strength steel box columns, J. Constr.
Steel Res. 57 (2001) 113–134.
[14] K. Sakino, H. Nakahara, S. Morino, I. Nishiyama, Behavior of centrally loaded
concrete-filled steel-tube short columns, J. Struct. Eng. 130 (2) (2004) 180–188.
[15] H.J. Lee, I.R. Choi, H.G.J. Park, Eccentric compression strength of rectangular
concrete-filled tubular columns using high-strength steel thin plates, J. Struct. Eng.
143 (5) (2017), 04016228. .
[16] J.L. Ma, T.M. Chan, B. Young, Design of cold-formed high-strength steel tubular stub
columns, J. Struct. Eng. 144 (6) (2018), 04018063. .
[17] J.Y.R. Liew, M. Xiong, D. Xiong, Design of concrete filled tubular beam-columns with
high strength steel and concrete, Structure 8 (2016) 213–226.
[18] Eurocode 4, Design of Composite Steel and Concrete Structures, Part 1.1, General
Rules and Rules for Building, BS EN 1994-1-1, London, UK, 2004.
[19] M. Khan, B. Uy, Z. Tao, F. Mashiri, Behaviour and design of short high-strength steel
welded box and concrete-filled tube (CFT) sections, Eng. Struct. 147 (2017) 458–472.
[20] M. Khan, B. Uy, Z. Tao, F. Mashiri, Concentrically loaded slender square hollow and
composite columns incorporating high strength properties, Eng. Struct. 131
(2017) 69–89.
[21] Z. Tao, Z.B. Wang, Q. Yu, Finite element modelling of concrete-filled steel stub col-
umns under axial compression, J. Constr. Steel Res. 89 (2013) 121–131.
[22] H.-T. Thai, B. Uy, M. Khan, Z. Tao, F. Mashiri, Numerical modelling of concrete-filled
steel box columns incorporating high strength materials, J. Constr. Steel Res. 102
(2014) 256–265.
[23] Standards Australia, AS/NZS 5100.6-2017: Bridge Design, part 6: Steel and Compos-
ite Construction, 2017.
[24] F. Aslani, B. Uy, Z. Tao, F. Mashiri, Behaviour and design of composite columns incor-
porating compact high-strength steel plates, J. Constr. Steel Res. 107 (2015) 94–110.
[25] Standards Australia, AS 1391: Metallic Materials-Tensile Testing at Ambient
Temperature, Standards Australia, 2007.
249
[26] Standards Australia, AS 1579: Arc-Welded Steel Pipes and Fittings for Water and
Wastewater, Standards Australia, 2001.
[27] B. Young, W.M. Liu, Behaviour of cold-formed high strength stainless steel sections,
J. Struct. Eng. 131 (11) (2005) 1738–1745.
[28] M. Theofanous, L. Gardner, Experimental and numerical studies of lean duplex stain-
less steel beams, J. Constr. Steel Res. 66 (6) (2010) 816–825.
[29] H.-T. Thai, T.P. Vo, T.-K. Nguyen, C.H. Pham, Explicit simulation of bolted endplate
composite beam-to-CFST column connections, Thin Walled Struct. 119 (2017)
749–759.
[30] D. Li, B. Uy, F. Aslani, V. Patel, Behaviour and design of demountable CFST
column-column connections under tension, J. Constr. Steel Res. 138 (2017)
761–773.
[31] D. Li, B. Uy, V. Patel, F. Aslani, Behaviour and design of demountable CFST column-
column connections subjected to compression, J. Constr. Steel Res. 141 (2018)
262–274.
[32] M. Khan, A. Paradowska, B. Uy, F. Mashiri, Z. Tao, Residual stresses in high strength
steel welded box sections, J. Constr. Steel Res. 116 (2016) 55–64.
[33] H.Y. Ban, G. Shi, Y.J. Shi, Experimental and unified model investigations on residual
stress within high strength steel welded I-sections, Gongcheng Lixue/Engineering
Mechanics 31 (8) (2014) 83–91 (In Chinese).
[34] X. Cao, H. Shen, Y. Xu, W. Zhong, Experimental Investigation of Residual Stress in
Welded Q800 High Strength Steel I-Shaped Cross-Section, Hanjie Xuebao/Transac-
tions of the China Welding Institution Vol. 39 (3) (2018) 36–41 (In Chinese).
[35] Standards Australia, AS/NZS 2327-2017: Composite Structures-Composite Steel-
Concrete Construction in Buildings, 2017.
[36] Eurocode 3, Design of Steel Structures, Part 1.4: General Rules – Supplementary
rules for stainless steels, BS EN 1993-1-4, London, UK, 2006.
[37] AISC, Specification for Structural Steel Buildings, ANSI/AISC 360-16, American Insti-
tute of Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[38] Z. Lai, A.H. Varma, K. Zhang, Noncompact and slender rectangular CFT members: Ex-
perimental database, analysis, and design, J. Constr. Steel Res. 101 (2014) 455–468.
[39] B. Uy, M.A. Bradford, Elastic local buckling of steel plates in composite steel-concrete
members, Eng. Struct. 18 (3) (1996) 193–200.