In this paper, an experimental study was conducted on the compressive behavior of steel tube confined concrete (STCC) and concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns with active and passive confinement. To create active confinement in the STCC and CFST specimens, an innovative method was used in this study, in which by applying pressure on the fresh concrete, the steel tube was laterally pretensioned and the concrete core was compressed simultaneously. Of the benefits of this technique are improving the composite column behavior, without the use of additives and without the need for vibration, and achieving high prestressing levels. To achieve lower and higher prestressing levels, short and long term pressures were applied to the specimens, respectively. Nineteen STCC and CFST specimens in three groups of passive, short-term active, and long-term active confinement were subjected to axial compression, and their mechanical properties including the compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and axial strain were evaluated. The results showed that the proposed method of prestressing the STCC columns led to a significant increase in the compressive strength (about 60%), initial modulus of elasticity (about 130%) as well as a significant reduction in the axial strain (about 45%). In the CFST columns, the prestressing led to a considerable increase in the compressive strength, a small effect on the initial and secant modulus of elasticity and an increase in the axial strain (about 55%). Moreover, increased prestressing levels negligibly affected the compressive strength of STCCs and CFSTs but slightly increased the elastic modulus of STCCs and significantly decreased that of CFSTs.
