ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an introduction to Concrete-filled stainless steel tubular (CFSST) columns. It describes the advantages of stainless steel materials for structural applications. The chapter discusses the material properties of five stainless steel grades. It analyzes the basic stress–strain behavior of stainless steels in comparison with carbon steels. The chapter highlights the silent features of CFSST columns, including the concrete confinement in circular CFSST columns and the local buckling of thin-walled rectangular CFSST columns. The stainless steel tube offers confinement to the concrete in a circular CFSST column under axial compression. The confinement mechanism in a circular CFSST column under increasing axial compression is developed by the interaction between the circular stainless steel tube and the concrete infill. The silent features of CFSST columns have been highlighted, including the concrete confinement in circular CFSST columns and the local buckling of thin-walled rectangular CFSST columns.
