Experimental study on circular concrete filled steel tubes with and without shear connectors

Abstract

This paper deals with a study on ultimate strength behaviour of eccentrically loaded CFT columns with and without shear connectors. Thirty specimens are subjected to experimental investigation under eccentric loading condition. P-M curves are generated for all the test specimens and critical eccentricities are evaluated. Three different D/t ratios such as 21, 25 and 29 and L/D ratios varying from 5 to 20 are considered as experimental parameters. Six specimens of bare steel tubes as reference specimens, twelve specimens of CFT columns without shear connectors and twelve specimens of CFT columns with shear connectors, in total thirty specimens are tested. The P-M values at the ultimate failure load of experimental study are found to be well agreed with the results of the proposed P-M interaction model. The load-deflection and load-strain behaviour of the experimental column specimens are presented. The behaviour of the CFT columns with and without shear connectors is compared. Experimental results indicate that the percentage increase in load carrying capacity of CFT columns with shear connectors compared to the ordinary CFT columns is found to be insignificant with a value ranging from 6% to 13%. However, the ductility factor of columns with shear connectors exhibit higher values than that of the CFT columns without shear connectors. This paper presents the proposed P-M interaction model and experimental results under varying parameters such as D/t and L/D ratios.