High Performance Steel Structures

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 14095

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Construction and Quality Management, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: 3D-printed (additive-manufactured) metal structures; connections and joints; modular structures; steel structures; structural stability; structural fire resistance and composite structures
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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: bimetallic steel structures; superior high-performance steel structures; high-strength steel structures; longitudinally profiled (LP) steel plate structures; deconstructable steel structures; structural stability; residual stresses; structural fire resistance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

High performance steel (HPS) normally refers to steel that has unparalleled characteristics, such as high strength, cold formability, corrosion resistance, ductility and/or weldability, etc. These superiour characteristics, for example, of high strength, lead to high strength-to-weight ratios that enable innovations in architectural and structural designs, along with a reduced carbon footprint as well as reduced transportation, handling and erection times and costs. HPS material is recyclable and responds to the global advocations for construction waste reduction and energy efficiency, as well as the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and SDG 12: Responsible Production.

HPS structural members and components have been increasingly used in iconic structures, tall buildings, bridges, long-span structures, modular buildings and structures built in extreme conditions. Recent advances in research and technology have driven the development of HPS materials. A range of HPS forms, such as bimetallic steel, lean duplex stainless steel, weathering steel and steel with a yield strength over 1000 MPa, as well as that which combines serveral favourable properties, are available in the market. Advanced fabrication techniques also make possible innovative and irregular section profiles. These have gained increasing attention, with a range of applications devised by architects, engineers, researchers and different stakeholders.

This Special Issue of Buildings, entitled “High Performance Steel Structures”, aims to showcase the state-of-the-art investigations and constructions of HPS materials, elements and structures worldwide.

Dr. Yancheng Cai
Dr. Huiyong Ban
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • additively manufactured metal stuctures
  • cold-formed steel
  • high-stregnth steel
  • stainless steel
  • weathering steel
  • irregular cross-sections
  • steel with superior corrosion resistance, ductility or/and weldability
  • steel in modular buildings, super-tall buildings or spatial structures

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2401 KiB  
Article
Recent Research Advances in High-Performance Steel Tubular Members: Material Properties, Stub Columns, and Beams
by Yaohan Li, Chi-Chung Lee and Yancheng Cai
Buildings 2023, 13(11), 2713; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13112713 - 27 Oct 2023
Viewed by 987
Abstract
This paper presents recent advances in research on high-performance steel tubular members, including beams and columns. The term high-performance steel has been used for steels that have unparalleled characteristics such as high strength, cold formability, corrosion resistance, and ductility. Stainless steel (SS) and [...] Read more.
This paper presents recent advances in research on high-performance steel tubular members, including beams and columns. The term high-performance steel has been used for steels that have unparalleled characteristics such as high strength, cold formability, corrosion resistance, and ductility. Stainless steel (SS) and high-strength steel (HSS) are classified as high-performance steel. In the context of this paper, high-performance steel refers to SS and HSS, where HSS is with a nominal yield strength equal to or higher than 690 MPa. This paper initially illustrates the applications of high-performance steel as a construction material for buildings and infrastructures. Subsequently, the material properties of high-performance steel with constitutive models in response to the stress–strain curves are summarized. Furthermore, this paper reviews research on the structural performance of high-performance steel stub columns and beams and presents the associated design equations. Finally, insights into future work on the structural behavior of high-performance steel to promote its widespread use for building and infrastructure construction are provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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22 pages, 15123 KiB  
Article
Study on Axial Compression Stability of Q345 Large-Section Angle Steel Columns
by Haoyuan Chen, Hao Chen, Ke Cao and Yaojie Guo
Buildings 2023, 13(4), 1030; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13041030 - 14 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1087
Abstract
With the growing demand for the bearing capacity of columns, large-section angle steel (LAS) columns have been widely adopted. Q345 is the most commonly used steel, but research on the axial compression stability of LAS columns mainly focuses on steels with 420 MPa [...] Read more.
With the growing demand for the bearing capacity of columns, large-section angle steel (LAS) columns have been widely adopted. Q345 is the most commonly used steel, but research on the axial compression stability of LAS columns mainly focuses on steels with 420 MPa and above. In order to study the buckling behavior of Q345 LAS columns, a total of 96 specimens are subjected to axial compression tests. The test results are compared with the specification and analyzed. Based on test data, an accurate finite element model of the Q345 LAS column is established, and the parametric analysis is carried out through the model. The results show that the buckling mode of Q345 LAS columns is flexural buckling, and local buckling is not observed. The axial compression stability coefficient of Q345 LAS short columns is significantly higher than the result of the specification. The reasons come from the constitutive model and the buckling mode, and the influence of section size can be ignored. The curve a in GB50017-2017 and Eurocode 3 can be used to calculate the axial compression stability of Q345 LAS columns. Finally, a new column curve is proposed to calculate the axial compression stability of Q345 LAS columns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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18 pages, 6899 KiB  
Article
Tensile Behavior of Titanium-Clad Bimetallic Steel Butt-Welded Joints
by Jianbo Jiang, Huiyong Ban, Letian Hai and Chenyang Huang
Buildings 2023, 13(4), 912; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13040912 - 30 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1463
Abstract
Because of the promising corrosion resistance and load-bearing capacity, titanium-clad (TC) bimetallic steel has gained increasing attention in ocean/coastal civil and structural engineering. Due to the double-layer nature of TC bimetallic steel, the characteristics of the structural member’s geometry and weld details are [...] Read more.
Because of the promising corrosion resistance and load-bearing capacity, titanium-clad (TC) bimetallic steel has gained increasing attention in ocean/coastal civil and structural engineering. Due to the double-layer nature of TC bimetallic steel, the characteristics of the structural member’s geometry and weld details are considerably different from that of conventional steel members. Even though previous studies have conducted systematical clarifications on parent material of TC bimetallic steels, the mechanical behaviors of weld joints are still vague. This paper firstly describes the manufacture features of TC bimetallic steel welded joints and welded members. Subsequently, the type II and type III butt-welded joints provided by GB/T 13149-2009 are selected to study the corresponding tensile mechanical behavior. Two butt-welded TC bimetallic steel plates were fabricated from hot-rolled bonding TA2 + Q355B TC bimetallic steel and welding wire of ER55-Ni1 and ERTA2ELI. Eight tensile coupons were then extracted from the two welded plates and loaded to failure monotonically. The failure mechanism, stress–strain curves and key mechanical properties are studied and compared with that of parent material. It is found that both types of welded joints possess two fracture points. The first one refers to the fracture of weld joint between the clad layer and titanium cover plate, whilst the second one is the eventual fracture of substrate metal. When the first fracture point is reached, the stress–strain relation exhibits a sharp drop in stress value. Thereafter, a strain-hardening behavior can still be observed prior to the ultimate strength point. The first fracture-induced stress drop of type II joint is less than that of type III joint, whilst the strain-hardening amount of type II joint is more outstanding than that of type III joint. The fracture elongations of type II joint and type III joint are respectively 37% and 57% that of the parent material, whilst the proportions between the ultimate strengths of welded joints and parent material are, respectively, 90% and 93%. In general, the two types of TC bimetallic steel weld joints investigated herein exhibit favorable load-bearing capacity but unfavorable ductility and deformability. Based upon the experimental results, the structural design methodology of welded TC bimetallic steel structure is discussed. The investigations conducted in this paper can provide reference for development of structural design theory of welded TC bimetallic steel structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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13 pages, 3610 KiB  
Article
High-Cycle Fatigue Properties of Titanium-Clad Bimetallic Steel with Different Interfacial Conditions
by Jianbo Jiang, Chenyang Huang, Huiyong Ban and Letian Hai
Buildings 2023, 13(3), 758; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030758 - 14 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1029
Abstract
Titanium-clad (TC) bimetallic steel is an advanced composite steel consisting of metallurgically bonded titanium alloy and structural steel. This paper compared the high-cycle fatigue properties of three types of TC bimetallic steels, including two hot-rolled bonding types with different bonding strengths and an [...] Read more.
Titanium-clad (TC) bimetallic steel is an advanced composite steel consisting of metallurgically bonded titanium alloy and structural steel. This paper compared the high-cycle fatigue properties of three types of TC bimetallic steels, including two hot-rolled bonding types with different bonding strengths and an explosion-bonded type. The three types of TC bimetallic steels were all manufactured from TA2 titanium alloy as the cladding metal and Q355B structural steel as the substrate metal, of which the thicknesses are 2 mm and 8 mm, respectively. Based on the comparison results, the qualitative relationship between the bonding interface strength and the manufacturing methods with the basic mechanical and high-cycle fatigue properties was obtained. It was found that the different manufacturing methods and the bonding degree of the two component metals resulted in the different nonlinear yield plateau in the TC bimetallic steel. The high bonding strength seems to affect the failure mode of the tensile coupons. The bonding interface shear strength only slightly affects the tensile performance, which exhibits visible effects only when the test strain reaches the fractured state. In addition, three failure modes in total were found in the high-cycle fatigue tests for the three types of TC bimetallic steel. The manufacturing methods and the bonding interface strength significantly affect the fatigue phenomena of the TC bimetallic steel. The hot-rolled bonding TC bimetallic steel with high bonding strength has a 10% improvement in fatigue performance than the one with low bonding strength. Despite this, the manufacturing methods significantly affect the fatigue ratio, while the influence of the bonding strength on the high cycle fatigue performance is limited. The research outcomes can provide reference for the selection of different manufacturing methods and interfacial conditions for the use of TC bimetallic steel in structural engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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13 pages, 4039 KiB  
Article
Design and Construction of High-Performance Long-Span Steel Transfer Twin Trusses Applied in One Hospital Building in Hong Kong
by Xiao-Kang Zou, Yi Zhang, Yao-Peng Liu, Liang-Cheng Shi and Daniel Kan
Buildings 2023, 13(3), 751; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030751 - 13 Mar 2023
Viewed by 2886
Abstract
Long-span steel trusses are increasingly used in high-rise buildings to replace reinforced concrete thick transfer plates due to their light weight but high load-bearing capacity. To support multiple stories above the steel transfer trusses, a comprehensive method based on second-order direct analysis has [...] Read more.
Long-span steel trusses are increasingly used in high-rise buildings to replace reinforced concrete thick transfer plates due to their light weight but high load-bearing capacity. To support multiple stories above the steel transfer trusses, a comprehensive method based on second-order direct analysis has been applied for design optimization of long-span steel transfer trusses in one hospital redevelopment project in Hong Kong. In the project, several 35 m long-span steel transfer trusses are adopted at the 3rd to 5th floors to support the upper 15-story reinforced concrete structure. Innovative technologies such as integrated global and local optimization and integrated design and construction have been explored and made to achieve better uniformity and compatibility in structure. In particular, twin trusses with better structural performance, less fabrication cost and ease of constructability are studied and finally adopted in primary trusses to replace the original scheme of single trusses. The optimal scheme has brought both cost and time saving in fabrication, construction, operation and maintenance stages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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17 pages, 3644 KiB  
Article
A Method for Predicting the Corrosion Behavior of Structural Steel under Atmosphere
by Yanjing Fan, Jianrong Pan, Zhixiao Wu, Bin Li and Zhan Wang
Buildings 2023, 13(1), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13010253 - 16 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1553
Abstract
The durability and safety of steel structures during their life cycle are affected by steel corrosion. Limited test conditions and time hinder the reproduction of actual atmospheric steel corrosion. Most test studies have focused on the effect of pitting or uniform corrosion of [...] Read more.
The durability and safety of steel structures during their life cycle are affected by steel corrosion. Limited test conditions and time hinder the reproduction of actual atmospheric steel corrosion. Most test studies have focused on the effect of pitting or uniform corrosion of steel structures, leading to the development of vague engineering methods that make it difficult to design steel structures with excellent corrosion resistance. In this study, a method involving three-dimensional cellular automata and a genetic algorithm was developed for predicting the corrosion behavior of structural steel. The calculation efficiency of three-dimensional cellular automata was improved by small iterative steps and adaptive activation for potential corrosion. Furthermore, the proposed method was tested with published tests, and the results showed that the method can simulate atmospheric corrosion with excellent accuracy and efficiency. The simulation results were used to calculate the structural steel cross-sectional performance with greater accuracy than that of the method of assuming uniform corrosion. Meanwhile, with accurate material parameters, the proposed method can also simulate the atmospheric corrosion of high-performance steel of different strengths and properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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16 pages, 5684 KiB  
Article
Study on the Seismic Behavior of a Steel Plate–Concrete Composite Shear Wall with a Fishplate Connection
by Yimin Wang, Xiuxing Sang, Kaiguang Shang, Yushuo Zhang and Jinsan Ju
Buildings 2022, 12(12), 2245; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122245 - 16 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1356
Abstract
The steel plate–concrete composite shear wall (SPCSW), having been widely applied to several super high-rise buildings, is currently regarded as a new type of lateral load-resisting structure. The SPCSW design does not consider the connection to the surrounding structure, normally envisaged as a [...] Read more.
The steel plate–concrete composite shear wall (SPCSW), having been widely applied to several super high-rise buildings, is currently regarded as a new type of lateral load-resisting structure. The SPCSW design does not consider the connection to the surrounding structure, normally envisaged as a buttweld connection, while the fishplate lap connection tends to be applied in construction. To explore the fishplate lap connection to achieve the performance standard of SPCSW, in this paper, an SPCSW with a fishplate connection is modeled using ABAQUS to investigate the hysteretic behavior under constant axial force and horizontal cyclic loads. Through the hysteresis curve and a load–displacement skeleton curve, the effects of fishplate thickness and lap length on its hysteretic behavior are studied. The results show that increasing the fishplate thickness contributes to a slight increase in the bearing capacity and energy dissipation and has little influence on stiffness degradation. When the fishplate thickness is more than half the steel plate thickness, the strength and energy dissipation of an SPCSW with a fishplate connection can reach the level of an SPCSW without a fishplate connection. The bearing capacity and stiffness of the SPCSW increase with the increase in lap length. When the lap length is greater than 50 mm, the strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity of an SPCSW with a fishplate connection are superior to those without fishplate connections. Finally, engineering suggestions on fishplate connections are put forward. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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19 pages, 4955 KiB  
Article
Degradation Behavior of the Preload Force of High-Strength Bolts after Corrosion
by Zhengyi Kong, Ya Jin, Shaozheng Hong, Quanwei Liu, Quang-Viet Vu and Seung-Eock Kim
Buildings 2022, 12(12), 2122; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122122 - 02 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1505
Abstract
Corrosion significantly affects the structural behavior of members in a connection (i.e., the thickness of steel plates, the preload force of bolts, and the friction factor of steel plates). Safety assessment of corroded steel frames (i.e., beam-to-column connection, beams, or columns) has been [...] Read more.
Corrosion significantly affects the structural behavior of members in a connection (i.e., the thickness of steel plates, the preload force of bolts, and the friction factor of steel plates). Safety assessment of corroded steel frames (i.e., beam-to-column connection, beams, or columns) has been a major concern in engineering. In this work, an experiment of accelerated corrosion testing is carried out to obtain corroded specimens connected with high-strength bolts, and the preload force of high-strength bolts (PF-HSB) is monitored throughout the whole stage of the corrosion testing. Before the corrosion testing, the PF-HSB caused by the stress relaxation is also recorded. The PF-HSB decreases rapidly in the first five hours after the final screwing of bolts and it keeps stable after 100 h. The PF-HSB is seriously affected by corrosion, which decreases by 30.0% of the original preload force when the corrosion rate of steel plate reaches 3.5%. A finite element method for predicting the PF-HSB after corrosion is proposed. An estimation model for the PF-HSB considering the stress relaxation is established. A degradation model for predicting the PF-HSB after corrosion is also suggested, and is in good agreement with experimental data. The results of this research are of great significance for the safety assessment of in-service steel structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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18 pages, 3835 KiB  
Article
Constrained Mode–Damping Solvent Extraction Combined Method for the Soil Incorporation into a Real-Time Hybrid Test of the Soil–Structure System
by Lanfang Luo and Nan Jiang
Buildings 2022, 12(9), 1468; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12091468 - 16 Sep 2022
Viewed by 962
Abstract
The real-time hybrid test is an effective testing method for soil–structure interaction research. Due to the data interaction time requirement and formula derivation method, the traditional real-time hybrid test of soil–structure interaction mostly employs a simple numerical substructure model. This study investigated the [...] Read more.
The real-time hybrid test is an effective testing method for soil–structure interaction research. Due to the data interaction time requirement and formula derivation method, the traditional real-time hybrid test of soil–structure interaction mostly employs a simple numerical substructure model. This study investigated the model construction and numerical simulation of a finite element soil substructure with high simulation accuracy and calculation efficiency. The soil was subdivided into near-field and far-field zones. A constrained mode–damping solvent extraction combined method was applied to the latter zone, reducing the soil’s computational scale and simulating the far-field energy dissipation effect. Then, the basic formula of the near-field zone–structure system was derived using the branch mode method, and the motion equation of the soil–structure system applied to real-time hybrid test was obtained. The soil’s numerical model was realized by the joint application of ANSYS and MATLAB software packages and verified through the real-time hybrid test of the soil–structure system. The results show that the proposed constrained mode–damping solvent extraction combined method had high calculation efficiency and good accuracy. It satisfied the requirements of the soil numerical substructure in real-time hybrid tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Steel Structures)
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