Wu Bin, Han Ming, Zhang Guoxu, Deng Jifeng, Meng Xianlei, Tan Zhuoying
[Objective]This study aims to investigate the flexural behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP)-confined concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) members, reveal their intrinsic mechanical mechanisms, and solve the related problems such as the theoretical calculation of the flexural capacity of circular CFRP-CFST flexural members. [Methods]Pure bending tests were conducted on 16 circular CFRP-CFST flexural specimens. Based on the experimental results, a comparative analysis method was adopted to explore the influence of the number of longitudinal CFRP layers on the neutral layer migration law under different steel tube diameters and the same circumferential CFRP. Additionally, the integral method was used to derive the theoretical calculation formula for CFRP-CFST flexural members. [Results] During the neutral layer migration process, longitudinal CFRP begins to fracture when the load is approximately 0.7Pu (Pu is the ultimate load). When the tensile strain at the mid-span of CFRP reaches about 8 000με, the longitudinal CFRP completely fractures and withdraws from work. When the tensile strain at the mid-span of the steel tube reaches about 9 000με, the steel tube enters the yield stage. Both the final migration position and the migration magnitude of the neutral layer decrease with the increase of the number of longitudinal CFRP layers, while the flexural capacity of the members is improved. When the load is less than 0.7Pu(i.e., before the longitudinal CFRP begins to fracture), the strain development of the steel tube and CFRP is basically consistent, which indicates that the two can work well collaboratively in the longitudinal direction. In the analysis of the neutral layer migration-bending moment relationship, with the increase in the number of longitudinal CFRP layers, the neutral layer migration curve shifts downward as a whole and can be divided into three stages: primary linear migration stage, horizontal stage, and secondary linear migration stage. The neutral layer migration rate shows a variation characteristic of “first accelerating, then slowing down, and then accelerating again”. When the mid-span bending moment is about 0-0.3Mu (Mu is the measured ultimate bending moment), the neutral layer migration rate is fast, the curve slope is large, and the steel tube, concrete, and CFRP are all in the elastic working stage, which is the first stage. When the mid-span bending moment is between 0.6Mu-0.7Mu, the neutral layer migration rate is slow, the curve is approximately horizontal, and the longitudinal CFRP begins to fracture. When the mid-span bending moment is greater than 0.7Mu, the longitudinal CFRP is completely fractured, and the steel tube in the tensile zone yields and enters the plastic strengthening stage. At this time, the tensile stress of the section is less than the compressive stress, and the stress state is unbalanced. In addition, the neutral layer migration is aggravated, and the curve slope increases, showing a secondary upward characteristic. In the analysis of the neutral layer migration-curvature relationship, with the increase in the number of longitudinal CFRP layers, the neutral layer migration curve shifts downward as a whole, and the migration rate shows a characteristic of “first fast and then slow”. The neutral layer migration-curvature curve can be divided into a linear elastic segment and a plastic segment, with a rate turning point appearing around 0.3Mu-0.7Mu. [Conclusions]Based on the neutral layer migration law and combined with the basic principle of the mechanical deformation process of flexural members, the calculation formula for the flexural capacity of circular CFRP-CFST flexural members is derived in this paper, and the calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental results. The revelation of the neutral layer migration law and the proposal of the corresponding calculation method further enrich the theoretical system of CFST structures and provide a theoretical basis for relevant engineering practices.