BEHAVIOR OF COMPOSITE CFT BEAM-COLUMNS.pdf

BEHAVIOR OF COMPOSITE CFT BEAM-COLUMNS BASED ON NONLINEAR FIBER ELEMENT ANALYSIS Tiziano Perea Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332-0355 Email: tperea@ Roberto Leon Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332-0355 Email: roberto.leon@ Abstract The results obtained from nonlinear fiber element analyses for concrete filled tubes (CFT) are discussed. The studies were aimed at assessing primarily the overall behavior and stability effects on these structural elements as a prelude to a large full-scale testing program. The study focuses on ultimate strength analyses for CFT composite columns with different stress-strain models for both concrete and steel. Fiber analyses using OpenSees are used to assess the impact on the ultimate strength based on the assumed stress-strain material curves, member slenderness, initial imperfections, and both material and geometric nonlinearities. Fiber analysis results are also compared with those obtained from AISC (2005). Fiber-based results show a compatible correlation with the expected element behavior, which is also captured in the current AISC (2005) Specifications. Introduction The use of composite columns in moment-resistance frame systems is increasing worldwide. Composite columns not only provide many advantages in construction speed and economy, but also result in a substantial improvement of mechanical properties of the member when compared to either steel or reinforced concrete columns. However, there still exist some knowledge gaps in their behavior in areas such as the effective stiffness under lateral forces, instability effects in slender beam-columns, and the secondary effects due to the steel-concrete contact interaction. Nonlinear fiber element analyses provide a very useful analytical tool to investigate some of these behavioral aspects of composite elements. Fiber elements offer an efficient approach as they can incorporate directly into the model flexural bucklin