A numerical investigation on the through rib stiffener beam to concrete-filled steel tube column connections subjected to cyclic loading

Abstract

This research presents a numerical investigation on the behaviour of through rib stiffener steel beam connected to circular concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) column subjected to the cyclic loading. A nonlinear Finite Element (FE) model was established using ABAQUS/Standard program. The accuracy of the FE result was examined through comparing it with the previous experimental test results. The effects of various parameters on the failure mode and ultimate moment capacity of the connections were investigated on twenty-four FE models. The parameters were stiffener’ height, length, and thickness including varied thicknesses and diameters of the hollow circular steel tube. The FE results indicated that the larger height of the through rib stiffener improved buckling behaviour of the steel tube column and the moment capacity by 8%. Meanwhile, the longer and thicker through rib stiffener effectively shifted the beam plastic hinge's location away from the column, which resulted in 4% improvement in ultimate moment capacity of the connection.