Journal of Constructional Steel Research 58 (2002) 703723

www.elsevier.com/locate/jcsr

Composite steel and concrete structural systems

for seismic engineering
Jerome F. Hajjar
Department of Civil Engineering, 500 Pillsbury Drive SE, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
55455-0116, USA
Received 23 May 2001; received in revised form 16 August 2001; accepted 19 October 2001

Abstract
Research within the United States on seismic engineering of buildings using composite
steel/concrete structural systems has increased dramatically in the past decade. This paper
summarizes recent research on a number of these composite lateral resistance systems, including unbraced moment frames consisting of steel girders with concrete-filled steel tube (CFT)
or steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns; braced frames having concrete-filled steel tube
columns; and a variety of composite and hybrid wall systems. The benefits of these structural
systems relative to more common systems include their performance characteristics when subjected to service or ultimate loads, and their economy with respect both to material and construction. In addition, more in-depth research results will be presented on one of these composite systems, consisting of partially-restrained steel frames with composite reinforced
concrete infill walls. The paper concludes with a summary of probable future design provisions
for these composite systems. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Beam-column; Beam-to-column connection; CFT; Composite construction; Composite wall
system; Concrete-filled steel tube; HWS; Hybrid wall system; Seismic engineering; SRC; Steel
reinforced concrete

1. Introduction
Composite construction in steel and concrete offers significant advantages for use
as the primary lateral resistance systems in building structures subjected to seismic
Tel.: +1-612-626-8225; fax: +1-612-626-7750.
E-mail address: hajjar@struc.ce.umn.edu (J.F. Hajjar).
0143-974X/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 4 3 - 9 7 4 X ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 9 3 - 1

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J.F. Hajjar / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 58 (2002) 703723

loading. While composite construction has been common for over a half a century
through the use of composite beam and joist floor systems, over the past decade a
substantial amount of research has been conducted worldwide on a wide range of
composite lateral resistance systems. These systems include unbraced moment frames
consisting of steel girders with concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) or steel reinforced
concrete (i.e., encased steel sections, or SRC) beam-columns; braced frames having
concrete-filled steel tube columns; and a variety of composite and hybrid wall systems. Within the United States, much of this research has been funded by the
National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the USJapan Cooperative Research
Program on Earthquake Engineering, Phase 5 on Composite and Hybrid Structures.
The NSF-funded research was conducted with practitioners serving in an advisory
role on all of these projects, and the research has resulted in substantial new quantitative data on the behavior and design of practical composite structural systems.
This paper summarizes several of these recent US research projects and provides
insight into likely future directions of composite construction. The paper is not
intended to provide a compendium of all US research projects on composite construction, but rather provides details on selected projects that are representative of the
broader range of work that has been conducted. Taken as a whole, this research
shows that key areas of national need have been identified successfully with respect
to understanding the response of composite lateral resistance systems for seismic
engineering, and that a broad variety of new design guidelines are likely to emerge
for these systems in the coming decade, providing practitioners with an increasing
array of structural systems from which to select.

2. Concrete-filled steel tubes

Concrete-filled steel tube columns have been used in building construction for
many years in the United States, most recently as supercolumns in high-rise structures, where they form the primary load-bearing members in the buildings gravityresistance and lateral-resistance systems [1,2]. Economical CFT beam-columns have,
however, been utilized much less in more common low- and medium-rise structures.
This is partially because there have been gaps in existing experimental and computational research, and consequently gaps in the US design provisions, on CFT structural and connection systems appropriate for this height range. Recently, however,
researchers, practitioners, and building contractors worldwide have begun to realize
the potential economic benefits of using composite CFT frames, consisting of steel
I-girders framing into circular, square, or rectangular CFTs using fully-restrained
(FR) or partially-restrained (PR) connections for unbraced frames, or using pin connections for braced frames [3].
Concrete-filled steel tube structural members have a number of distinct advantages
over comparable steel, reinforced concrete, or steel-reinforced concrete members [3].
The steel lies at the outer perimeter, where it performs effectively in resisting flexure
as well as axial tension and compression, while the concrete forms an excellent core
to help withstand compressive loading. No longitudinal reinforcing bars are used

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along the CFT length in the research reported herein. In addition, the tubes serve as
formwork in construction and their erection can precede the concrete by several
stories, which decreases labor and material costs. When used in composite CFT
frames, consisting of steel I-girders framing into square, rectangular, or circular CFTs
using FR or PR connections, CFTs can provide excellent monotonic and seismic
resistance in two orthogonal directions and are well suited for resisting biaxial bending plus axial compression. Using multiple bays of composite CFT framing in each
primary direction of a low- to medium-rise building provides seismic redundancy
while taking full advantage of the two-way framing capabilities of CFTs. For lateral
system design, CFTs used as part of moment resisting frames have a high strengthto-weight ratio due to confinement of the concrete and continuous bracing of the
steel tube to delay local buckling, improved damping behavior in comparison to
traditional steel frames, and enhanced ductility and toughness.
For seismic excitation, the cyclic response of CFTs and their connections provides
full hysteresis loops with substantial energy dissipation. Strength and stiffness degradation does occur, especially for CFTs in which the concrete dominates the behavior.
However, the degradation tends to be both gradual and moderate, particularly for
normal strength materials.
Experimental research on concrete-filled steel tube beam-columns has been ongoing worldwide for many decades [3], with significant contributions having been made
particularly by researchers in Asia, Australia, Europe, and Canada. The vast majority
of these experiments have been on moderate-scale specimens (less than 200 mm in
diameter) using normal strength materials, although there has been some past
research on using high strength materials in CFTs.
More recently in the US, Varma et al. [4] at Lehigh University have performed
some of the first experiments on large-scale square CFTs that include both high
strength concrete and high performance steel. With the use of high-strength concrete,
CFTs are often stronger per square foot than conventional reinforced concrete columns. The smaller and lighter framework also places less of a load on the foundation.
In this work, a series of twenty CFT tests were conducted, including four stub column
tests, eight tests of monotonically loaded specimens, and eight tests of cyclically
loaded beam-columns. The tubes were 305 mm in diameter, with concrete strength
on the order of 110 MPa and nominal steel strength of either approximately 317
MPa or 522 MPa. The width-to-thickness (D/t) ratios ranged between 32 and 48.
The beam-column specimens were 1.5 m long. The loading history kept the axial
force constant while the bending moment increased.
Failure of all specimens included substantial concrete crushing and steel local
buckling. Typically it was found that the strength, stiffness, and confinement in the
square CFTs was excellent, but that the curvature ductility of the CFTs decreased
significantly as the level of axial force rose. Strength degradation also increased for
tubes with lower steel strength or higher D/t ratio. To corroborate the experiments,
extensive three-dimensional finite element and fiber element analyses were also conducted in this work.
Recommendations were made for how to calculate strength and stiffness of these
members for the purposes of design, and extensive comparison was made to current

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US design provisions, which currently do not permit the use of high strength
materials in composite columns. Research at Lehigh University is continuing on the
testing of multi-story, multi-bay composite CFT braced and unbraced frame structures that will provide comprehensive data on the performance of this type of system.
Roeder et al. [5] at the University of Washington undertook a set of experiments
investigating bond strength along the interface of full-scale circular concrete-filled
steel tubes beam-columns. They conducted a series of twenty push-out studies in
which the concrete core was loaded at the top of the column while only the steel
tube was supported at the bottom. The steel tubes had diameters ranging from 250
mm to 650 mm, with ratios of width-to-thickness between approximately 20 and
110. Normal strength materials were used. The primary parameters of interest were
the diameter of the concrete core, the thickness of the steel tube, and the shrinkage
of the concrete core. Roeder et al. [5] also compared their results with prior research
worldwide on bond in CFTs. They then provided a formula for estimating the bond
strength of CFTs subjected to axial force.
Their experiments, coupled with the past research, showed that bond strength in
CFTs was relatively large for CFTs with a small diameter, but significantly smaller
for CFTs with a large diameter, as shown in Fig. 1 (after Roeder et al. [5]). The bond
stress was shown to be distributed relatively uniformly around the tube perimeter at
the ultimate bond strength of the CFT. In addition, shrinkage was seen to be both
noticeable and detrimental to bond strength, particularly in CFTs with larger diameters or high D/t ratios. It was suggested that care should thus be taken with the
concrete mix if bond strength is relied upon in design. Cyclic loading was also shown
to decrease the bond strength. Shear connectors were shown to not work well in
conjunction with interface friction; either friction or shear connectors should be relied
upon independently in design. Roeder et al. [5] also noted that bond strength
increases significantly in the presence of bending moment due to the binding action

Fig. 1. Experimental resultings documenting variation in bond stress with circular CFT tube diameter
(after Roeder et al. [5]).

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of the steel against the concrete. Together, these recommendations provide a basis
for detailing CFT connection regions, particularly for braced frames in which the
CFTs may be subjected to high axial forces and low bending moments. Research at
the University of Washington is continuing on developing connection details for
girders and braces framing into circular CFTs for use in braced composite CFT structures.
Much recent experimental research in the US has focused on development of new
strategies for connecting steel I-girders to circular and rectangular CFT beam-columns to establish fully-restrained connections for use in moment frames. As an
example of this research, Schneider and Alostaz [6] at the University of Illinois at
Urbana/Champaign conducted a series of experiments focusing on circular CFTs. In
this work, the test set-up consisted of a steel I-girder framing into a CFT having
pin-pin boundary conditions. The girder was then loaded cyclically at its tip. Six
different connection topologies were investigated. These included a simple welded
connection (with the girder flange welded to a flange plate that was in turn welded
to the circular CFT) (Type I); a connection with an external diaphragm plate surrounding the CFT, to which the girder was welded (Type II); a connection similar
to Type I but with the girder web welded to a vertical plate that was continuous
through the CFT (Type III); a connection similar to Type I but with deformed bars
welded to the girder flanges and then embedded into the CFT (Type IV); a connection
similar to Type I but with the flanges passing continuously through the CFT (Type
V); and a connection in which the entire girder was passed through the CFT
(Type VI).
The Type I, II, III, and V connections performed poorly due to being susceptible
to substantial deformation and fracture of the steel tube, diaphragm, or web. Types
IV and VI yielded excellent hysteretic behavior, indicating connections that are suitable for use in practice, and provide insight into the level of interaction necessary
between the steel and concrete to achieve a reliable fully-restrained connection.
Recent research on FR connections to circular CFTs at the University of Nebraska
[7] provided further evidence that the pass-through connection has strong cyclic
response.
Two sets of experiments at full scale have also been completed on steel I-girders
framing into square or rectangular CFTs. Peng et al. [8] at Lehigh University tested
eight specimens consisting of two W61092 girders framing into a 40640612.5
CFT. The concrete strength was approximately 62 MPa, and normal strengths steel
materials were used. The pin-pin CFTs in these specimens were loaded first with
2000 kN of axial compression followed by antisymmetric cyclic loading of the girder tips.
A variety of welded and bolted connection topologies were tested. Three specimens had girder flanges welded to the tube to transfer force to an interior diaphragm
within the CFT, with two of the specimens having tapered flange plates welded to
the flanges to help transfer the forces to the tube; two specimens had haunches
attached to the girder flanges, and three specimens used a split-tee connection with
the bolts of the split-tee passing through the CFT. Fig. 2 (after Peng et al. [8]) shows
the details of one of the split tee connections. In some of the connections, a shear

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Fig. 2.

Typical split-tee CFT connection specimen (after Peng et al. [8]).

tab was welded to the CFT and shear connectors ran along the CFT interior opposite
the girder shear tab; however, the results showed that the influence of the shear tab
and shear connectors in these tests was minimal.
The results showed excellent hysteretic response from the split-tee connections; a
typical moment-plastic rotation curve is shown in Fig. 3 (after Peng et al. [8]). While
some strength degradation occurred after peak loading, the connections showed significant and reliable ductility, providing a cost effective connection strategy for composite CFT frames. The welded and haunched connections also performed well if
tapered plates were used to diminish the stress concentrations.

Fig. 3.

Moment vs. plastic rotation for typical split-tee CFT connection specimen (after Peng et al. [8]).

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A second set of tests on connections to square CFTs was conducted at the University of Texas at Austin [9]. Fifteen half-scale tests were conducted to study panel
zone behavior of CFTs in the connection region. Six full-scale cruciform tests, similar in set-up to the Lehigh experiments, were then conducted on CFTs ranging in
size from 304 mm to 406 mm, having D/t ratios ranging from 21 to 32. Split-tee
connections were used. In some of the cruciform tests, the connection region was
designed to fail to corroborate findings from the panel zone study. Together, these
experiments provided detailed insight into the response of the split-tees and panel
zone region in these connections. Coupled with the Lehigh research, a significant
knowledge base now exists for finalizing specification provisions for the design of
split-tee connections to square or rectangular CFTs.
With respect to computational research geared for analyzing complete composite
CFT frames, Hajjar et al. [1012] at the University of Minnesota developed two
geometrically and materially nonlinear beam-column finite element models for CFTs,
both suitable for use in three-dimensional monotonic static, cyclic static, or transient
dynamic time history (seismic) analysis of composite CFT structures. The first formulation was a macro beam-column element in which the material model consisted
of a concentrated plasticity bounding surface formulation in three-dimensional stressresultant (force) space. A polynomial expression developed to represent the CFT
cross-section strength was incorporated into this material model to represent the
force-space yield surfaces. New formulations were presented for isotropic and kinematic hardening of the loading and bounding surfaces to model strength degradation
and stiffness deterioration seen in CFTs subjected to cyclic loading. The second
model was a fiber beam-column element, in which the uniaxial stressstrain response
was tracked throughout the CFT cross section and along the member length. This
element modeled slip explicitly between the concrete core and steel tube, and was
thus able to track the detailed response of CFT beam-columns as part of composite
frames. Both models were verified against a comprehensive set of experimental data,
and were accurate for a wide range of concrete-filled tube cross section sizes and
material strengths. Ongoing research involves conducting parametric studies of the
behavior of CFT framing systems to study the deformation and strength demands
placed on components of composite CFT frames, which, together with the recent
experimental research, will provide the data needed to establish more comprehensive
CFT performance-based design recommendations for seismic engineering.
3. Steel-reinforced concrete
A wide range of research has been conducted in recent years on a variety of steelreinforced concrete members and connections for use in lateral resistance systems.
Steel reinforced concrete beam-columns have the potential to provide excellent
strength and ductility relative to reinforced concrete members. In addition, the
encased steel section is often erected for several stories above the concrete pour,
enabling steel girders to be framed into the steel columns. This in turn facilitates
ongoing construction of the remainder of the steel structure. Longitudinal reinforcement in the columns is also diminished.

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As a sample of this research, Xiao et al. [13] at the University of Southern California, conducted a series of tests on large-scale (254 mm square; 2.2 m long) RC and
SRC beam-columns subjected to constant axial force plus cyclic shear, placing the
member into double curvature, as would be exhibited by a beam-column in a
moment-resisting frame structure. Concrete strengths of 40 and 70 MPa were used,
along with normal strength steel. The results showed excellent response of the SRC
beam-columns for both concrete strengths, with improved ductility over the corresponding RC member.
A number of different experimental studies were also conducted in recent years
on steel or composite I-girders framing into RC or SRC beam-columns. Two are
presented herein. Chou and Uang [14] at the University of California at San Diego,
developed a new structural system consisting of stubs of I-girders connecting rigidly
to the encased steel column within an SRC beam-column. This tree system would
be preassembled and bolted to steel girders in the field. This construction approach
allows the critical welds of the steel components to be conducted in the shop. In
addition, it facilitates construction of the reinforcing bar cages in the SRC beamcolumn, as reinforcing bars must often pass through the girder webs in SRC construction. However, in one specimen, a steel jacket surrounded the SRC beam-column in
the connection region, in lieu of using stirrups in the column near the connection.
Adequate concrete encasement in this region is critical for good performance. For
all specimens, a reduced beam section (RBS) was used for the girders to provide a
focused location for inelastic response in the girders, away from the connection
region. A cruciform test setup was used; the column was not subjected to axial force.
Normal strength materials were used. The results of all three tests were excellent,
with full hysteresis loops extending beyond 3.5% plastic rotation, with little
strength degradation.
Researchers at Texas A&M University [15,16] tested six large-scale three-dimensional subassemblages consisting of composite girders framing into SRC beam-columns. Fig. 4 (after Bugeja et al. [16]) shows the details of one of the specimens. In
these tests, one W31033 steel girder was continuous through the column in one
direction. For the two W31033 girders in the other direction, various details were
used involving a bolted shear tab, top and seat angles, and different configurations
of face bearing plates (FBPs). The W20015 steel wide-flange member, embedded
within a 380 mm square SRC column, framed into the top and bottom of the throughgirder. A 90 mm reinforced concrete slab on metal deck was cast compositely with
the girders, and composite action was assumed for transferring the top girder flange
force into the connection for four of the specimens. One specimen represented an
exterior connection, with only two quadrants of the slab shown in Fig. 4 being poured
for that specimen. For reinforcing the connection region, the specimen shown in Fig.
4 used bent FBPs to permit the use of fillet welds rather than joint penetration welds
to the girder webs. Normal strength materials were used.
With the column pinned at each end, antisymmetric cyclic loading was imposed
on the through-girder in-plane until some strength degradation was seen between
two cycles at the same deformation level. Cyclic loading was then imposed on the
two discontinuous girders in the perpendicular direction until failure of the specimen.

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Fig. 4.

711

Typical SRC connection specimen (after Bugeja et al. [16]).

Axial compression was applied to the column throughout the test. A typical momentrotation response is shown in Fig. 5 (after Bugeja et al. [16]) for cycling of the two
discontinuous girders of the specimen shown in Fig. 4. Plastic hinges formed in the
composite girders away from the connection, leading to strong performance of this
connection detail. Careful consideration was given in this research to construction
sequencing and providing a range of cost-effective connection details.

Fig. 5.

Moment vs. rotation of typical SRC connection specimen (after Bugeja et al. [16]).

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Recent computational research for SRC lateral resistance systems has included the
work of Mehanney and Deierlein [17] at Stanford University, who conducted extensive transient dynamic analyses of SRC frame structures to assess seismic demand
through characterization of damage. Through this work, they were able to study the
response modification factors and seismic stability of these systems.

4. Composite and hybrid wall systems

Several recent research projects have focused on composite and hybrid wall structures. Composite walls systems in particular offer outstanding advantages as lateral
resistance systems in areas ranging from low to high seismicity. These include ease
of construction through use ductile wall system details that potentially offer less
congestion of reinforcing bars than in RC frames, coupled with gravity steel framing
throughout the rest of the building; ability to use the walls as architectural partitions
in a wide range of configurations in contrast to, for example, steel braced frames;
high initial stiffness to help reduce drift; good damping characteristics; and potentially easier repairs after moderate damage through using epoxy on the cracked wall.
Shahrooz et al. [18] at the University of Cincinnati conducted extensive research
on the connection of steel gravity beams or trusses to reinforced concrete shear walls,
with the beam framing into the wall either in-plane or out-of-plane. Achieving robust
and ductile connections of this common type of connection is critical for reliable
and safe performance of hybrid structures. This work complements extensive past
studies conducted by the researchers on coupling beams for shear walls.
In the first phase of this research, seven specimens were tested that represented
the beam-wall connections, subjected to combined shear due to gravity and cyclic
axial tension load representing diaphragm forces. A variety of different connection
details were investigated. Although current design provisions underpredicted the connection strength of all specimens, the mode of failure was brittle in several of the
specimens that did not have adequate embedment details. The confinement and
detailing of the embedded portions of the connection were critical to good performance. In the second phase of research, a test setup was developed that could further
test these connections, but with the wall also subjected to cyclic forces inducing
potential cracking and crushing in the region of the beam-wall connection; this
research is ongoing.
There is also extensive ongoing research on composite wall systems. Wallace [19]
at the University of California at Los Angeles is investigating the cyclic response
of reinforced concrete shear walls having encased steel wide-flange sections as the
boundary elements. Six specimens at approximately one-third scale will be tested
during the project. This system offers ease of construction through being able to
frame the gravity steel framing into the erection columns in the boundary elements.
Astaneh-Asl and Zhao [20] at the University of California at Berkeley are
investigating steel framing with steel plate shear walls. A concrete wall is cast parallel to and in contact with the steel plate shear wall to provide stability to the wall,
with bolts used to connect the two components throughout. In addition, a gap is

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713

retained along the interface between the concrete panel and the steel framing to help
mitigate damage in that region. Several specimens are due to be tested.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota [21,22] have investigated the cyclic
response of partially-restrained steel frames with reinforced concrete infill walls (SRCW). The infill walls are attached to the steel frame with shear connectors to form
a composite wall system. The testing program included twelve tests of shear connectors in infill wall panels, and one test of a two-story, one-bay, one-third scale specimen representing the structural system. More in-depth results of this project are
presented below.
In addition to the advantages listed above for composite wall systems, in the SRCW system, the concrete provides protection to the steel girder and PR connection
at low levels of earthquake loading, thus enhancing the integrity of the system for
smaller seismic events. Energy dissipation is achieved initially through cracking in
the concrete wall. For larger drift demands, inelastic response along the composite
interface, coupled with yielding in the steel frame, insure ductile response of the
system. A primary advantage of this system is that the infill wall is easily repairable
after cracking in low to moderate earthquakes, and is potentially replaceable after
more substantial events if the steel frame retains its integrity.
Having lightweight, exposed steel framing eliminates the use of costly boundary
elements in the wall, which is an important advantage of this system. Unlike braced
frames, there is no risk of excessive buckling or fracture of the braces; in contrast,
the S-RCW system has significant redundancy within each panel. In addition, in
contrast to using reinforced concrete shear walls, retaining the girders in this system
at each floor level and connecting them to the columns with inexpensive PR connections using standard connection detailing enables the steel frame to retain its integrity
for the duration of the earthquake. This progressive response thus offers an excellent
combination of features: the S-RCW system is easily constructible, is highly redundant, offers several straightforward options for repair after low to moderate seismic
ground motions, and utilizes the cyclic characteristics of both the concrete and the
steel to maximum advantage.
The research initiated with a study of several prototype structures using linear
analysis and existing design provisions to determine typical member sizes and basic
system response. Fig. 6 shows a plan view of the prototype structure. Buildings of
three, six, and fifteen stories were investigated. An elevation of the central wall, W1,
in the six story prototype structure is shown in the figure. The results from this study
highlighted the relative initial stiffness of the steel columns versus the infill wall,
particularly with respect to overturning moment. Different models were investigated
relative to how the composite interaction may be modeled within the context of
linear analysis, including releasing shear connectors in the corners that were deemed
to exceed their nominal strength due to combined axial tension and shear. The
resulting component proportions of the six story prototype structure were then scaled
down to determine appropriate sizes for use in the two-story experiment, which is
intended to represent the bottom two stories of the system.
Fig. 7 shows the experimental test set up for the experiments of the monotonic
and cyclic response of shear connectors in infill walls. Four shear connectors (two

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Fig. 6.

Prototype S-RCW structure.

on each column, spaced at 356 mm) were included within each concrete panel, which
represents a portion of the infill wall at full scale. The columns had shear connectors
on the outer flange as well, as shown in the figure, as they were turned around and
reused for subsequent specimens. The test setup permitted application of constant
axial tension plus either monotonic or cyclic shear. The parameters of these experiments included: application of monotonic versus cyclic shear loading; two confining
reinforcement schemes (including a lightly reinforced perimeter bar scheme, and a
confining cage); magnitude of axial tension (including 0 and 50% of the nominal
axial strength of the studs); and use of ductility enhancing devices (in the form of
polymer cones) around the shaft of the shear connectors. The average 28 day strength
of the dry-cured concrete cylinders was 32 MPa. Details of the experiments are
provided in Saari et al. [23] and Hajjar et al. [22].
Fig. 8 shows the monotonic load-slip relation of the two reinforcing schemes, as
well as the envelope for the cyclic shear response (the reinforcing cage specimens
are 5 and 8 in the figure). The cyclic results with the reinforcing cage include constant

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715

Fig. 7. Experimental test setup fo shear connector experiments.

axial tension applied to the stud during cyclic loading. With the reinforcing cage in
place, the failure mode of the stud was always fracture of the base metal of the stud,
either in shear or tension during monotonic loading, and in low cycle fatigue during
cyclic loading. The perimeter bar scheme, in contrast, provided poor strength and
ductility when axial tension was applied to the stud, with complete fracturing and
separation of the concrete along the full height of the panel along a line just above
the stud head. Even with the reinforcing cage, the low cycle fatigue failure mode
limited the cyclic deformation capacity of the shear connectors to approximately 3.2
mm. The ductility enhancing device increased this cyclic shear deformation capacity
by approximately 60%. These experiments thus showed that adequate confining
reinforcement is critical to achieve strength and ductility for studs in infill wall
panels, but that low cycle fatigue of headed shear connectors may still limit the
performance of the composite interface if local demands placed on the studs are
substantial during cyclic response of the structural system as a whole. A key aspect
of the two-story specimen was to determine local demand on the studs at different
levels of global response.
Fig. 9 shows the test setup for the one-bay two-story specimen. The details of the
PR connections are shown in Fig. 10, and the details of the infill walls are shown
in Fig. 11. The dry-cured concrete strength on the day of the test, averaged from
six cylinder tests, was 25.8 MPa. The W13028.1 (W519) steel columns were fabricated from A572/50 steel, with an average measured steel strength in the flanges of
312 MPa; the W20019.3 (W813) steel beams were fabricated from A36 steel,
with an average measured yield strength in the flanges of 340 MPa. The top and
seat angles were A36 steel and had an average measured yield strength of 363 MPa.
The double web angles were A36 steel and had an average measured yield strength
of 243 MPa. The cyclic loading history included three cycles at a total drift of 0.05%,

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Fig. 8.

Shear-slip relations from stud connection tests.

0.20%, 0.35%, 0.50%, 0.35% repeated, 0.75%, 1.00%, and 1.25%, followed by two
cycles each at a total drift of 1.50% and 1.75%. Further details of this experiment
are given in Tong et al. [24] and Hajjar et al. [22].
Fig. 12 shows a plot of the lateral load at the top of the two-story specimen versus
total drift of the specimen. Fig. 13 shows the interstory drift of each story versus
the lateral load at the top of the structure. Through the 0.75% drift cycles, energy
dissipation occurred largely through cracking in the concrete wall and negligible
yielding occurred in the steel frame. Fig. 14 shows the progression of cracking in
the infill walls. The peak load in the structure occurred during the 0.75% drift cycles,
during which a small amount of crushing in the corners of the second story also
initiated. The majority of the drift occurred in the second story, which achieved a
ductility of approximately 4 at 3% interstory drift of that story. Strength degradation

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Fig. 9.

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Experimental test setup for one-bay two-story experiment.

occurred after substantial fracturing of the studs along the girders and crushing of
the concrete in the corners of the panels. By the 1.25% drift cycles, the composite
interface had largely degraded, and thus the concrete compression strut had formed,
particularly in the second story, and began to crush more comprehensively. The steel
frame, which through the 1.0% drift cycles had shown evidence of only mild yielding, now initiated more substantial yielding in the top and seat angles and in the
panel zone of the column at the base of each story due to the reaction from the
compression strut. However, the partially-restrained steel frame retained its integrity
with no further degradation in strength through the completed loading history. In the

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Fig. 10.

Partially-restrained connection detail in S-RCW specimen.

Fig. 11.

Reinforcement detailing of infill wall of S-RCW specimen.

J.F. Hajjar / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 58 (2002) 703723

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Fig. 12. Total drift versus lateral load of S-RCW specimen.

final cycles, the interstory drift of the second story was just above 3%, and the
system as a whole had stabilized its cyclic strength and stiffness characteristics.
Ongoing computational research on composite wall systems is being conducted
by Kunnath and El-Tawil [25], Shahrooz et al. [18], Wallace [19], and Hajjar et al.
[22]. Together, these projects promise to substantially improve the ability to predict
the response of these lateral resistance systems. Design provisions on all of these
systems are also forthcoming.

5. Conclusion
Over the past decade there has been a significant amount of research on the
behavior and design of composite steel/concrete lateral-resistance systems for seismic
loading. Within the US, substantial progress has been made on documenting the
response of a wide range of systems that are practical for US practice. This paper
has summarized representative recent research projects focusing on three types of
structural systems: steel girders framing into concrete-filled steel tube beam-columns
for unbraced and braced frames; steel girders framing into steel-reinforced concrete
beam-columns for unbraced frames; and composite and hybrid wall systems. Both
member and connection response has been documented, and a number of computational research projects are underway to corroborate the experimental research and
to provide assessments of seismic demand of these structural systems. Research

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Fig. 13.

Interstory drift versus lateral load of S-RCW specimen.

remains ongoing on a variety of systems, and design provisions for both non-seismic
and seismic construction are forthcoming.
Specific areas in which new non-seismic and seismic design provisions are likely
to be developed in the coming decade include:
For concrete-filled steel tube and steel reinforced concrete beam-columns, more
accurate axial, flexural, and interactive strength formulas are probable, and endorsing the use of high strength concrete and high performance steel is likely imminent.
For connections to concrete-filled steel tubes, development of more detailed design
provisions for both braced and unbraced frames are underway that should greatly
facilitate the design of these types of systems.

J.F. Hajjar / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 58 (2002) 703723

Fig. 14.

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Progression of cracking in S-RCW specimen.

Provisions for steel-reinforced concrete connections are being updated, and a wide
range of connection details are now available in the literature.
Several different types of new composite wall systems are currently being studied,
and it is likely that design provisions will result within the next several years,
greatly increasing the available provisions for these types of structures, particularly in seismic zones.
As the advantages of composite construction are numerous, it is hoped that these
new behavioral studies and design provisions will facilitate the increasing use in the
US of composite lateral resistance systems.

Acknowledgements
Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation (Grant
Nos. CMS- 9632506 and CMS-9810005) under Dr. Shih-Chi Liu as part of the USJapan Cooperative Research Program, Phase 5 on Composite and Hybrid Structures,
and by the University of Minnesota. The author gratefully acknowledges this support.
The research on composite reinforced concrete wall systems was conducted by
graduate students X. Tong and W. Saari, Profs. A. Schultz and C. Shield, and the

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author at the University of Minnesota. The author would like to thank the following
for their assistance with this research: K. Nozaka, N. Ojard, and P. Bergson of the
University of Minnesota, L. Kloiber of LeJeune Steel Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prof. S. Mahin of the University of California at Berkeley, Prof. S. Goel of
the University of Michigan, L. Wyllie, Jr., of Degenkolb Engineers, San Francisco,
California, and V. Mujumdar, Sacramento, California. The author would also like
to thank the following for providing information for this paper: Prof. G. Deierlein,
Stanford University, Prof. C. Roeder, University of Washington, Prof. J. Wallace,
University of California at Los Angeles, Prof. J. Bracci, Texas A&M University,
and Prof. J. Ricles, Lehigh University.

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