A unified interaction equation for strength and global stability of solid and hollow concrete-filled steel tube columns under room and elevated temperatures

On the basis of plastic limit analysis, this paper proposes a novel, simple and unified interaction equation (N-M) for Concrete-filled Steel Tube (CFST) columns subjected to combined compression and bending. A unique feature of the new N-M equation is that the single equation is valid for a range of columns that can be solid, hollow, circular, polygonal, short or long. The single equation can also apply to columns under both room and elevated temperatures. Validations against independent laboratory test, analytical and numerical results are carried out to assess the accuracy and applicability of the equation. The new equation agrees well with most of the results used in the comparisons. It can be concluded that the simple and unified equation can be used in practical design with sufficient accuracy.