Thermal field of large-diameter concrete filled steel tubular members under solar radiation

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) members have been widely used in engineering, and their tube diameters have become larger and larger. But there is no research on the thermal field of large-diameter CFST structure. These studies focused on the thermal field of the large-diameter CFST structure under solar radiation. The environmental factors and the actual placement position were considered, and the finite element model (FEM) of the thermal field of CFST members under solar radiation (SR) was established. Then the FEM was verified by practical experiments. The most unfavorable temperature gradient model in the cross-section was proposed. The testing results showed that the temperature field of the large-diameter CFST member section was non-linearly distributed due to the influence of SR. The temperature field results of CFST members with different pipe diameters indicated that the larger the core concrete diameter was, the slower the central temperature changed, and there was a significant temperature difference between the center and the boundary. Based on the numerical model, the most unfavorable temperature gradient model in the section was proposed. The model showed that the temperature difference around the center of the circle is small, and the boundary temperature difference is significant. The maximum temperature difference is 15.22oC, which appeared in the southern boundary area of the specimen. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the influence of SR on the thermal field of the member for large-diameter CFST members in actual engineering, which causes a large temperature gradient in the member.