Numerical analysis on circular concrete-filled tubular columns subjected to fire

Abstract

Nowadays, circular concrete-filled tubular (CFT) columns are largely used in construction because of structural and architectural advantages such as high load bearing capacity and aesthetic appearance. The behavior of CFT columns at ambient and high temperatures is good; however, there are problems related to their behavior in fire when inserted in a real building structure, as for example, the influence of the restraining to thermal elongation that have to be addressed in order to improve their design. This study aims to present the results of a numerical study on the behavior of CFT columns with restrained thermal elongation in case of fire.,The parameters tested in the numerical simulations included column slenderness, load level, surrounding structure stiffness and steel reinforcement ratio. A sequentially coupled thermal stress analysis was carried out. The numerical model was validated with results from a large series of fire resistance tests carried out at Coimbra University, in Portugal. From these, simple equations to evaluate CFT column critical times were derived.,The results were also compared with the ones obtained from the current EN 1994-1-2:2005 simplified calculation and tabulated data methods. For the analyzed cases, it was verified that, while the simplified calculation method led to safe results on the evaluation of the fire resistance of CFT columns with restrained thermal elongation, the tabulated data method led, in certain cases, to unsafe results. This research showed also lower critical times than those from literature on similar type of columns.,The influence of the stiffness of the surrounding structure on the behavior of CFT columns subjected to fire was not yet clear in the major part of the studies already carried out. So, this paper has the originality to consider this parameter in the numerical simulations of this type of columns.