Experimental Investigation on Large-scale Slender

FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns

Subjected to Eccentric Compression

J. Yao1,2, T. Jiang3,*, P. Xu2 and Z.G. Lu2

1Collegeof Urban Construction, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
2Institute
of Structural Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
3Space Structures Research Center, Department of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

(Received: 15 August 2014; Received revised form: 23 February 2015; Accepted: 19 April 2015)

Abstract: FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns (DSTCs) are a new

form of hybrid columns which effectively combines the advantages of the constituent
materials. A DSTC consists of an outer fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an
inner steel tube with the gap between filled with concrete. This paper presents the first-
ever large-scale tests on slender DSTCs subjected to eccentric compression. The major
parameters examined include the load eccentricity and the confinement stiffness of the
FRP tube. Test results show that slender DSTCs possess good ductility under eccentric
compression. Larger load eccentricity results in lower axial load capacity and higher
deformability; larger confinement stiffness of the FRP tube results in larger axial load
capacity and deformability. The axial strain distribution of a DSTC section subjected
to eccentric compression generally conforms to the plane section assumption, but the
ultimate axial strain of concrete is increased as a result of eccentric compression.

Key words: FRP, double-skin tubular columns (DSTCs), confinement, eccentric compression, slender columns,
large-scale tests.

1. INTRODUCTION A large amount of research has been conducted on the

FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns
(DSTCs) are a new form of hybrid columns recently
proposed by Professor J.G. Teng at The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University (Teng et al. 2004, 2007). A
DSTC consists of an outer fibre-reinforced polymer
(FRP) tube and an inner steel tube with the gap between
filled with concrete. The three constituent materials are
combined in a manner maximizing their own
advantages, which enables DSTCs to possess superior
performance over existing column forms, including
corrosion resistance, excellent ductility and ease for
construction. The flexibility in cross-sectional
configurations of DSTCs (some of the possibilities are
illustrated in Figure 1) makes them possible to satisfy
specific structural and architectural demands.
behaviour of DSTCs under monotonic compression
(Teng et al. 2004, 2007; Qian and Liu 2006, 2008; Yu et
al. 2010; Zhang et al. 2012; Yu and Teng 2013; Fanggi
and Ozbakkaloglu 2013; Ozbakkaloglu and Fanggi
2014), with the majority being focused on the behaviour
of short DSTCs subjected to concentric compression.
Only Yu et al. (2010) and Qian and Liu (2006)
respectively investigated the effect of load eccentricity
and the effect of slenderness on the behaviour of DSTCs.
Yu et al. (2010) conducted tests on eccentrically-loaded
short DSTCs and proposed a stress-strain model for the
confined concrete accounting for the effect of load
eccentricity. Qian and Liu (2006) conducted an
experimental study on concentrically-loaded slender
DSTCs and proposed an expression for the prediction of
the load-carrying capacity of such columns.

*Corresponding author. E-mail address: cetjiang@zju.edu.cn.

Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 18 No. 10 2015 1737

 Experimental Investigation on Large-scale Slender FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns
Subjected to Eccentric Compression

FRP tube of FRP tube thickness. In Group I, the specimens were

Concrete
Steel tube
FRP tube
Concrete
Steel tube
Figure 1. Typical cross-sectional shapes of DSTCs
In reality, columns are often subjected to the coupled
effects of load eccentricity and slenderness. However,
the behaviour of such DSTCs has not been investigated
to date. To fix this deficiency in the existing literature,
this paper presents the first-ever tests on large-scale
(column diameter = 300 mm) slender DSTCs subjected
to eccentric compression. It should be noted that almost
all the previous relevant studies were concerned with
small-scale DSTCs with a diameter in the range of 150
to 200 mm; only Zhang et al. (2012) tested short DSTCs
with the same sectional scale as the present study under
concentric compression. The employment of a larger
diameter reduces the error arising from geometric and
material imperfections and thus results in a more
accurate control of the load eccentricity.
2. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
2.1. Specimen Details
A total of seven large-scale DSTC specimens were
prepared and tested. The specimens were divided into
two groups (Group I and Group II, see Table 1) in terms
confined with a GFRP tube having an inner diameter
Do = 300 mm with a thickness tf = 10 mm. In Group II,
the thickness of the GFRP tube was tf = 6 mm. The
variation in the GFRP tube thickness was intended to
achieve different confinement stiffness of the FRP tube
(=2Ef,htf/Do, where Ef,h is the elastic modulus of the FRP
tube in the hoop direction). The confinement stiffness of
the FRP tube indicates the level of FRP confinement and
is a major parameter in the present study. Each group
consisted of one short specimen (specimen height
H=600 mm) and two or three slender specimens
(H=1800 mm). The short specimen was tested under
concentric compression as a reference specimen while
each of the slender specimens was tested under a specific
load eccentricity e = 30, 60, or 90 mm. The steel tube
used in all specimens had an outer diameter Ds = 219 mm
with a thickness ts = 6mm, leading to a void ratio Ds/Do =
0.73. All specimens were strengthened at both ends with
an additional layer of a CFRP wrap 100mm in width to
prevent premature end failure. As shown in Table 1, the
labelling of specimens follows the following rule: a
specimen label starts with a roman number (I or II) to
represent the group that the specimen belongs, followed
by a number (0, 30, 60 or 90) to represent the magnitude
of the load eccentricity in millimetres, and then a number
(6 or 10) to represent the GFRP tube thickness in
millimetres, and ends with a number (600 or 1800) to
represent the specimen height in millimetres.
2.2. Material Properties
Self-compacting concrete was used for all specimens
because the high fluidity of self-compacting concrete
minimized the possibility of forming voids in the small
annular space between the GFRP tube and the steel tube.
150 mm concrete cubes were tested to determine the
cubic compressive strength of concrete fcu. The cylinder
compressive strength of concrete may be taken to be
fco = 0.8fcu according to Eurocode 2 (1992) (It should
be noted that the exact fco/fcu ratio given in Eurocode 2
slightly fluctuates around 0.8 for different concrete

Table 1 . Specimen details

Do tf Ef,a Ef,h 2Ef,htf/Do Ds ts e H f 'co

Specimen label (mm) (mm) (GPa) (GPa) (MPa) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (MPa)

I-0-10-600 300 10 5.6 39.1 2607 219 6 0 600 43.3

I-30-10-1800 30 1800 57.6
I-60-10-1800 60 1800 53.8
II-0-6-600 300 6 5.6 39.1 1564 219 6 0 600 46.3
II-30-6-1800 30 1800 52.7
II-60-6-1800 60 1800 58.6
II-90-6-1800 90 1800 49.4

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J. Yao, T. Jiang, P. Xu and Z.G. Lu
grades). The fco values listed in Table 1 are the concrete
strength at the time of testing. The minor variance in the
concrete strength was due to the difference in specimen
age at the time of testing and the discrepancy between
different concrete batches although the same mixture
was used throughout the tests.
The GFRP tubes were fabricated through a filament-
wound process. The fibre volume ratio (the ratio of the
fibre volume to the total volume) was 0.568 according
to the data provided by the manufacturer. The fibres
were oriented at 80 to the longitudinal axis of the
GFRP tube. The elastic moduli of the GFRP tubes in the
hoop direction and the longitudinal direction were
respectively Ef,h = 39.1 GPa and Ef,a = 5.6 GPa,
according to Zhang et al. (2012) in which the same type
of GFRP tubes were used.
The steel tubes were cut from the same batch of two
long steel tubes. Tensile tests on three steel coupons
were conducted for each long tube. The elastic modulus,
yield strength and tensile strength averaged from the
coupons were 195.0 GPa, 349.5 MPa and 559.5 MPa,
respectively. The stress-strain curves of the steel
coupons all showed a long yield plateau.
2.3. Test Setup and Instrumentation
The test setup and the instrumentation of the short
DSTC specimens are illustrated in Figure 2, where H
represents hoop direction and A represents axial
direction. As shown in Figure 2, on the GFRP tube,
Figure 2. Test setup and instrumentation of short DSTC specimens
Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 18 No. 10 2015
eight pairs of unidirectional strain gauges (each pair
consisted of one axial strain gauge and one hoop strain
gauge) with a gauge length of 20 mm were installed 45
apart at the mid-height. Four longitudinal variable
displacement transducers (LVDTs) or electronic dial
indicators at 90 apart and covering the mid-height
region of 240 mm were installed to measure the axial
deformation. On the steel tube, four axial strain gauges
with a gauge length of 5 mm were installed
90 apart at the mid-height. Two thick steel cap plates
were welded to both ends of each specimen to ensure
smooth contact with the testing facility.
The test setup and instrumentation of the slender
DSTC specimens are illustrated in Figure 3. Strain
gauges were installed on five sections [i.e. Sections A,
B, C, D and E in Figure 3(b)] 300 mm apart along the
column height. At Section C, eight pairs of strain gauges
were evenly distributed along the circumference of the
GFRP tube and four axial strain gauges were installed
on the steel tube [Figure 3(c)]. At Sections A, B, D and
E, the number of strain gauges were reduced to half
[Figure 3(d)] as these sections were expected to be less
critical than Sectoin C. The lateral deflection of the
specimens was measured by seven LVDTs [LVDTs 1 to
7 in Figure 3(b)] evenly distributed along the column
height. In addition, an electronic dial indicator was
mounted at the compression side covering the 240 mm
mid-height region to measure the axial strain of the
extreme compressive fibre.
LVDT
+ H2 & A2
H7 & A7 2 H8 & A8
LVDT 3 4 LVDT
+ +
H5 & A5 H6 & A6
1 H4 & A4
H3 & A3
+ H1 & A1
LVDT
1739
 Experimental Investigation on Large-scale Slender FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns
Subjected to Eccentric Compression

Axial
LVDT 1 load
Connecting
e
plate
A LVDT 2 roller
Cap plate

B LVDT 3
Electronic dial
indicator C LVDT 4

D LVDT 5

E LVDT 6

LVDT 7

LVDT 2

(a) Test setup (b) Illustration of test setup

+ H5 & A5
+ H5 & A5
H3 & A3 H7 & A7
3

+ 1 2 +
H1 & A1 e H2 & A2 + 1 2 +
H1 & A1 e H2 & A2
4
H8 & A8
H4 & A4
+ H6 & A6
Axial load
+ H6 & A6
Axial load
(c) Layout of strain gauges at Section C (d) Layout of strain gauges at Section A, B, D and E

Figure 3. Test setup and instrumentation of slender DSTC specimens

A set of tailor-made device was designed and
manufactured to create pinned end conditions for the
slender specimens [Figure 3(a) and (b)]. At each end of
a specimen, a steel roller 30 mm in diameter was nested
in a precision machined semi-circular groove which was
welded to a steel cap plate of the specimen. The groove
was carefully positioned before welding to ensure the
accuracy of the desired load eccentricity. The opposite
side of the steel roller was attached to a steel connecting
plate which was bolted into the loading head or the test
table of the testing machine. The steel roller and the
groove were lubricated before testing. A similar design
was employed by Bisby and Ranger (2010) in their tests
on FRP-confined RC columns subjected to eccentric
compression.
All compression tests were conducted using a testing
facility with a capacity of 10000 kN. The short specimens
were tested under displacement control at a rate of 0.36
mm/min. The slender specimens were tested under
displacement control at two loading rates: 0.3 mm/min for
the first 10 minutes of testing and 0.5 mm/min afterwards
until failure. All test data, including the axial load, strain
and displacement readings were collected with a data
logger and simultaneously saved in a computer.
3. TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. Short DSTC Specimens
3.1.1. Overall observation and failure mode
For the two short DSTC specimens (Specimens I-0-10-600
and II-0-6-600), fracturing sound was heard from the
mid-height of the GFRP tube and white stripes along the
circumference became visible when the applied load
approached the axial load capacity of the specimen.
With the further increase of the axial load, the number
of the white stripes increased and the GFRP tube
ruptured at mid-height simultaneously with the crushing
of concrete at the corresponding position. The ultimate
axial load Nu for these two specimens was 7550 kN and

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J. Yao, T. Jiang, P. Xu and Z.G. Lu

A B C D

Figure 4. Failure mode of short DSTC specimens

6162 kN, respectively. Figure 4 shows the specimens

after failure from four view angles, with the alphabets at
the top left corners representing a specific view angle.
Figures 5 and 6 show the failure modes of the concrete
and the steel tubes, respectively. For both specimens,
the concrete was crushed at the middle part and the steel
tube buckled inwards at the same position. The key test
results of the two short specimens are summarized in
Table 2, where h,rup and cu are the hoop strain and the
axial strain at failure. h,rup was averaged from the
readings of the hoop strain gauges. cu was averaged
from the readings of the four LVDTs (or electronic dial
indicators) divided by their gauge length (240 mm).

3.1.2. Axial load-strain curves

Figure 7 shows the axial load-strain curves of the short
specimens. In Figure 7, compressive strains are taken to
be positive while tensile strains are taken to be negative.
For the GFRP tubes, their axial strains were measured
by both strain gauges and LVDTs (or electronic dial Figure 5. Damage of concrete
indicators). However, the axial strains developed at later
loading stages exceeded the capacity of the strain
gauges so the axial strains of the FRP tube were derived
from the readings of the LVDTs (or electronic dial
indicators) in Figure 7. A comparison of the axial strains
obtained from the two measuring methods within the
measurement range of the strain gauges reveals that the
two measuring methods result in close axial strain
values (Figure 8). For the steel tubes, their axial strains
were averaged from the four strain gauges installed on Inward buckling at midheight
them. The two curves for the steel tubes terminate at a
(a) Before test (b) After test
smaller axial strain value than those of the GFRP tubes
for the same reason explained above. It can be seen that Figure 6. Buckling of steel tube
the axial load-axial strain curves of the steel tubes are
close to those of the GFRP tubes, indicating good because before the concrete reached its compressive
compatibility of the three constituent materials. strength, the dilation of concrete was small so the
The axial load-strain curves featured an obvious bi- confinement effect of the FRP tube was small. After
linear shape with a transition zone around the axial that, the dilation of concrete increased rapidly which
strain corresponding to the compressive strength of activated the confinement mechanism of the GFRP tube.
unconfined concrete (approximately 0.002). This is The hoop strain and the axial strain of the GFRP tube for

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 Experimental Investigation on Large-scale Slender FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns
Subjected to Eccentric Compression

Table 2. Key test results of short DSTC specimens

Specimen Failure Nu
label mode (kN) h,rup cu
I-0-10-600 FRP rupture at 7550 0.0113 0.0367
II-0-6-600 mid-height 6162 0.00975 0.0325

8000

7000

6000
Axial load (kN)

5000

4000

3000 I010600 FRP tube

2000 II06600 FRP tube
I010600 steel tube
1000 II06600 steel tube
Hoop strain Axial strain
0
0.01 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
(a) Tension side (b) Compression side
Strain
Figure 9. Failure mode of slender DSTC specimens
Figure 7. Axial load-strain curves of short DSTC specimens

specimens was approached, white stripes along the

0.025 circumference appeared at the mid-height region of the
I010600 tension side of the GFRP tubes, followed by the mid-
II010600
0.020 height region of the compression side. The failure mode
Axial strain (Strain gauge)

of the slender DSTC specimens is shown in Figure 9. It

0.015 can be seen that at failure the tension side of the GFRP
tube was distributed with intensive tensile cracks (white
0.010 stripes) at the mid-height region with a few cracks at the
end region. The compression side of the GFRP tube was
0.005
mainly subjected to hoop tension due to the dilation of
concrete as the fibres were oriented along a small angle
of 10 with respective to the hoop direction. All
0.000
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.025 specimens failed by the rupture of the GFRP tube at or
Axial strain (LVDT) near the mid-height of the compression side. The
Figure 8. Comparison of axial strains obtained by different ultimate axial load Nu and the corresponding lateral
measuring methods deflection at specimen mid-height u, and the lateral
deflection at failure at specimen mid-height max are
listed in Table 3. The FRP hoop rupture strain h,rup and
Specimen I-0-10-600 at failure were 0.0113 and 0.0367, the ultimate axial strain cu are also listed in Table 3. For
respectively. These strain values for Specimen II-0-6- the slender specimens, h,rup was determined from the
600 were 0.00975 and 0.0390, respectively. reading of the hoop strain gauge at the extreme
compressive fibre [H1 in Figure 3(c)] and cu was
3.2. Slender DSTC Specimens obtained by the reading of the electronic dial indicator
3.2.1. Overall observation and failure mode [Figure 3(b)] divided by its gauge length (240 mm).
The slender DSTC specimens were subjected to eccentric
compression. At the initial stage of loading, no noticeable 3.2.2. Axial strain-hoop strain relation
damage was observed. With the increase of the axial load, A comparison of the h,rup values listed in Tables 2 and 3
the curvature and the lateral deflection of the specimen indicates that the FRP rupture strain of the
increased. When the ultimate load capacity of the concentrically loaded and eccentrically loaded

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J. Yao, T. Jiang, P. Xu and Z.G. Lu

Table 3. Key test results of slender DSTC specimens

Specimen Nu u max
label (kN) (mm) (mm) h,rup cu
I-30-10-1800 3824 22.1 49.3 0.00724 0.0528
I-60-10-1800 3060 27.7 77.6 0.00758 0.0585
II-30-6-1800 3103 15.7 39.0 0.0109 0.0439
II-60-6-1800 2592 15.4 56.8 0.0111 0.0547
II-90-6-1800 2013 16.2 82.9 Not available* 0.0592

* The corresponding hoop strain gauge malfunctioned at an early loading stage.

specimens are similar for Series II. However, the FRP
rupture strain of the concentrically loaded specimens are
significantly larger than that of the eccentrically loaded
specimens for Serie I. This difference between the FRP
rupture strain values may be due to: 1) the strain gauges
failed to capture the maximum hoop strain (i.e. the
maximum hoop strain occurred outside the location of
the hoop strain gauges) for the eccentrically loaded
specimens; and 2) hoop strains were subjected to
experimental scatter.
The cu value is significantly increased by the
existence of the load eccentricity. Figure 10 further
compares the full-range hoop strain-axial strain curves
of specimens in Group II. It can be clearly seen that the
curves for the eccentrically loaded specimens gradually
deviate from that of the concentrically loaded specimen
as the axial load increases. In addition, the deviation
increases with an increase in the eccentricity. This is
because the axial strain gradient due to eccentric
compression causes a non-uniform dilation of the
confined concrete. The more compressed concrete has a
tendency to redistribute its dilation to the less
compressed concrete. As a result, the hoop strain is
smaller under the same axial strain with the presence of
eccentricity. The same phenomenon was also noted by
0.000
I06600
0.002 II3061800
II6061800
0.004
Hoop strain
Yu et al. (2010) in their eccentric compression tests on
small-scale DSTC specimens and Jiang et al. (2014) in
their eccentric compression tests on FRP-confined
concrete cylinders.
3.2.3. Axial strain distribution at mid-height
cross-section
The axial strain distribution over the mid-height section
[Section C in Figure 3(b)] of the slender specimens at
different loading stages is shown in Figure 11, in which
the horizontal axis is the distance from the centreline of
the specimen section and the vertical axis is the axial
strain value. The compressive strains are shown as
positive while the tensile strains as negative. The hollow
symbols represent the axial strain of the FRP tube while
the solid symbols represent the axial strain of the steel
tube. Readings of strain gauges with the same distance
from the centreline [e.g. A3 and A4 in Figure 3(c)] were
averaged to produce the curves in Figure 11.
It can be seen from Figure 11 that the distribution of
axial strain generally conforms to the plane section
assumption, particularly in the initial stage of loading.
With the increase of the axial load, the neutral axis
moves towards the compressive side of the section.
When the axial strain at the extreme compressive fibre
reaches the axial strain corresponding to the
compressive strength of unconfined concrete
(approximately 0.002), the axial strain distribution starts
to exhibit a more noticeable degree of nonlinearity. It
can also be seen that in the initial loading stage, the axial
strain of the steel tube nicely fits into the linear strain

distribution. However, when the axial strain exceeds the

0.006
steel yielding strain (approximately 0.002), some of the
0.008
axial strains of the steel tube deviate from the linear
strain distribution. This may be caused by the non-
0.010 uniform plastic deformation in the steel tube after
yielding. The same observation was also reported by Yu
0.012 et al. (2010) in their eccentric compression tests on
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Axial strain
small-scale DSTC specimens. Axial strains over the less
critical sections (Sections A, B, D and E) are smaller
Figure 10. Hoop strain-axial strain curves for specimens with than those over Section C and also closely follow a
different eccentricity linear distribution.

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 Experimental Investigation on Large-scale Slender FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns
Subjected to Eccentric Compression

0.010 0.012
500 kN
1000 kN 0.010 500 kN
0.008 1000 kN
1500 kN
2000 kN 0.008 1500 kN
0.006 2500 kN 2000 kN
0.006 2500 kN
Axial strain

Axial strain
3000 kN
3500 kN 3000 kN
0.004 0.004

0.002
0.002
0.000
0.000
0.002

0.002 0.004
200 150 100 50 0 50 100 150 200 200 150 100 50 0 50 100 150 200
Distance from centerline (mm) Distance from centerline (mm)
(a) I30101800 (b) I60101800

0.008 0.010
500 kN 500 kN
0.006 1000 kN 0.008 1000 kN
1500 kN 1500 kN
2000 kN 0.006 2000 kN
2500 kN 2500 kN
Axial strain

0.004 Axial strain

3000 kN 0.004

0.002 0.002

0.000
0.000
0.002

0.002 0.004
200 150 100 50 0 50 100 150 200 200 150 100 50 0 50 100 150 200
Distance from centerline (mm) Distance from centerline (mm)
(c) II3061800 (d) II6061800

0.010
500 kN
0.008 1000 kN
1500 kN
0.006 2000 kN
Axial strain

0.004

0.002

0.000

0.002

0.004
200 150 100 50 0 50 100 150 200
Distance from centerline (mm)
(e) II9061800

Figure 11. Axial strain distribution over mid-height section of slender DSTC specimens

3.2.4. Axial load-lateral deflection curves
Finally, the axial load-lateral deflection curves of all
slender specimens are shown in Figures 12 and 13. The
lateral deflection in these two figures was taken from the
readings of the horizontal LVDT at the specimen mid-
height [LVDT4 in Figure 3(b)]. Figure 12 demonstrates
the effect of the load eccentricity on the axial load-
lateral deflection relation and Figure 13 demonstrates
the effect of the confinement stiffness of the FRP tube.
Figure 12 clearly shows that with the increase of the

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J. Yao, T. Jiang, P. Xu and Z.G. Lu

4000 4000
I30101800
3500 I60101800 3500

3000 3000

Axial load (kN)

Axial load (kN)

2500 2500

2000 2000

1500 1500

1000 1000
I30101800
500 500
I3061800
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Lateral deflection (mm) Lateral deflection (mm)
(a) I30101800 and I3061800
(a) I30101800 and I60101800

3500
4000
II3061800
3500 II6061800 3000
II9061800
3000 Axial load (kN) 2500
Axial load (kN)

2500 2000

2000 1500
1500
1000
1000
500 I60101800
500 II6061800
0
0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Lateral deflection (mm)
Lateral deflection (mm) (b) I60101800 and II6061800
(b) II30101800, II6061800 and II9061800
Figure 13. Axial load-lateral deflection curves (grouped by
Figure 12. Axial load-lateral deflection curves confinement stiffness of FRP tube)
(grouped by load eccentricity)

load eccentricity, the initial stiffness of the specimens
reduces, so is the axial load capacity. However, the
lateral deflection at failure increases with the increase of
load eccentricity. These results are consistent with
engineering intuition. Figure 13 shows that the increase
in the confinement stiffness of the FRP tube enhances
the axial load capacity and the deformability of the
specimens. This is easy to understand as a thicker FRP
tube provides a larger confinement stiffness. It can also
be seen that all axial load-lateral deflection curves
feature a flat and long post-peak branch, indicating good
ductility of the DSTC specimens.
4. CONCLUSIONS
This paper has presented the experimental results of the
first-ever large-scale slender DSTCs subjected to
eccentric compression. The effect of load eccentricity
on both the stress-strain behaviour level and the overall
structural behaviour level are examined. Based on the
experimental results and discussions in this paper, the
following conclusions may be drawn:
1) Slender DSTCs fail by the rupture of the FRP
tube at the mid-height region of the compressive
side and possess good ductility under eccentric
compression.
2) The axial strain distribution over the critical
section of slender DSTCs subjected to eccentric
compression generally conforms to the plane
section assumption. Yielding of steel tube and
crushing of concrete may cause the axial strains
to deviate from the linear strain distribution.
3) The ultimate axial strain of concrete in a DSTC
is increased with the existence of load
eccentricity. This is because the axial strain
gradient due to eccentric compression causes
non-uniform dilation of concrete in the DSTC.

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 Experimental Investigation on Large-scale Slender FRP-Concrete-Steel Double-Skin Tubular Columns
The more compressed concrete tends to
redistribute its dilation to the less compressed
concrete. Therefore, the extreme compressive
fibre of concrete achieves a larger ultimate axial
strain when eccentricity exists.
4) The axial load capacity and the deformability of
DSTCs are affected by the load eccentricity and
the confinement stiffness of the FRP tube.
Larger load eccentricity results in lower axial
load capacity and larger deformability; higher of
the FRP tube results in larger axial load capacity
and deformability.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful for the financial support
received from Ministry of Education of China (Project
No: J20120118), the Science and Technology
Department of Zhejiang Province (Project No.:
2011C31006) and the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Project No.: 51108410).
REFERENCES
Bisby, L. and Ranger, M. (2010). Axial-flexural interaction in
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