Evaluation and Prediction of the Bending Behavior of Circular Hollow Steel Tube Sections Using Finite Element Analysis

Circular hollow steel tube columns are widely used in high-rise buildings and bridges due to their ductility and lower weight compared to reinforced concrete. The use of this type of steel section has several advantages over using reinforced concrete members. The present study investigates the bending behavior of steel circular hollow sections when subjected to bending loads. The variations in material characteristics with regard to position along the cross-section of a steel tube member is first considered in this experimental study, providing for a more accurate definition of the material behavior in the model. A supported beam tested by two-point loads is the loading type that is used to study the bending performance of steel tubes. Ten circular hollow beam specimens were prepared and tested up to and post the failure stage with the following dimensions: thickness (2, 3, and 6 mm), diameter (76.2, 101.6, and 219 mm), and span (1000, 1500, and 2000 mm). A finite element analysis has been conducted for these ten specimens using the ANSYS program. The finite element model is compared to experimentally obtained data to verify that both local and global behaviors are correctly considered. The load-deflection results of this analysis showed a good agreement with the experimental results. A parametric study also was performed that considered two variables, which were the effect of the presence of circular rings and the change of opening location in the length direction on the specimens’ behavior. This study showed that the presence of the circular rings in the specimen led to an increase in its ultimate strength (of 53.24%) compared with the non-presence of these rings. In contrast, the presence of openings at 30, 40, and 50% from the specimen length reduced the strength capacity by 8.76, 14.23, and 17.88%, respectively.