Shear strength and behavior of tubed reinforced and steel reinforced concrete (TRC and TSRC) short columns

Abstract Tubed RC and SRC short columns are special kinds of concrete filled tubular columns but the steel tube does not pass through the beam–column connection and is shorter than concrete core. In areas that suffered earthquakes, the short columns are vulnerable to brittle shear failure. TRC and TSRC short columns are widely used in bridges, high-rise buildings and large factories. So it is important to investigate the behaviors and approaches to improve the ductility of these kind of columns. The aim of this study is to develop a nonlinear finite element model (FEM) for TRC and TSRC short columns and to compare the results with those experimentally captured. Depending on the FEM results, the elastic–plastic method was used to analyze the stress status of the steel tube. A modified ACI design method is adopted to calculate the nominal shear strength of TRC and TSRC short columns based on the FEM and analysis results.