Behavior and modelling of FRP-concrete-steel hybrid double-skin tubular columns under repeated unloading/reloading cycles

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)-concrete-steel hybrid double-skin tubular columns (hybrid DSTCs) consist of an outer FRP tube, an inner steel tube and a concrete infill between the two tubes. Extensive research has been conducted on the monotonic behavior of hybrid DSTCs, but only a limited number of studies have examined their behavior under cyclic axial compression. In particular, no systematic experimental study has been conducted on hybrid DSTCs under repeated unloading/reloading cycles. This paper first presents a systematic experimental study on hybrid DSTCs under two types of loading schemes: (a) a single unloading/reloading cycle to evaluate the relationship between the unloading strain and the plastic strain; (b) repeated unloading/reloading cycles to investigate the effect of loading history. In the present study, hybrid DSTCs were prepared using filament-wound FRP tubes of a relatively large scale (up to 300 mm in diameter), and the experimental program covered a wide range of concrete strengths (from 40.9 MPa to 104.4 MPa). The systematic experimental study with extensive instrumentation allowed the cyclic stress-strain behavior of the concrete in hybrid DSTCs to be examined in detail, clarifying the cumulative effect of the loading history on both the stress deterioration and the plastic strain of the concrete. This paper also presents a detailed comparison between the test results and the predictions of an existing cyclic stress-strain model for FRP-confined concrete in solid columns, in terms of the repeated unloading/reloading cycles. The cyclic stress-strain model is shown to provide reasonably accurate predictions, and thus can be used together with a monotonic stress-stress model for the concrete in hybrid DSTCs to predict the complete cyclic stress-strain curve of such concrete.