Uniaxial stress–strain relationship of concrete confined by various shaped steel tubes

A method is presented to predict the complete stress–strain curve of concrete subjected to triaxial compressive stresses caused by axial load plus lateral pressure due to the confinement action in circular, box and octagonal shaped concrete-filled steel tubes. Available empirical formulas are adopted to determine the lateral pressure exerted on concrete in circular concrete-filled steel columns. To evaluate the lateral pressure exerted on the concrete in box and octagonal shaped columns, FEM analysis is adopted with the help of a concrete–steel interaction model. Subsequently, an extensive parametric study is conducted to propose an empirical equation for the maximum average lateral pressure, which depends on the material and geometric properties of the columns. Lateral pressure so calculated is correlated to confined concrete strength through a well known empirical formula. For determination of the post-peak stress–strain relation, available experimental results are used. Based on the test results, approximated expressions to predict the slope of the descending branch and the strain at sustained concrete strength are derived for the confined concrete in columns having each type of sectional shapes. The predicted concrete strength and post-peak behavior are found to exhibit good agreement with the test results within the accepted limits. The proposed model is intended to be used in fiber analysis involving beam–column elements in order to establish an ultimate state prediction criterion for concrete-filled steel columns designed as earthquake resisting structures.