Confinement-based direct design method for fibre reinforced polymer confined CFST short columns

The paper presents a detailed analysis of the behaviour of circular and square concrete filled steel tube (CFST) short columns strengthened externally with carbon or glass fibre reinforced polymer sheets (CFRP or GFRP, respectively). A thorough review of existing test information is presented and discussed, and the most salient parameters in terms of the overall strength are identified. There are a large number of influential and inter-related parameters which affect the load-carrying capacity, including the geometry, cross-sectional shape, type of steel, concrete strength, boundary and loading conditions, and type of FRP. It is shown that existing design approaches do not reliably predict the strength for the full range of possible parameters. Therefore, this paper proposes a new design model to calculate the axial compressive strength of FRP-confined concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) short columns with either a circular or square cross-section. The method accounts for the various complexities which affect the behaviour, yet presents a user-friendly, performance-based design expression. It is based on an evaluation of the lateral confining pressure provided by the both the FRP and the steel tube to the concrete core. This is employed in the confinement-based direct resistance calculations. The paper validates the approach by comparing its capacity predictions with a large database of experimental results and alternative design models available in the literature. The results show that the proposed model provides much accurate strength predictions with greater reliability for the full range of parameters examined, than existing methods.