Behaviour of reinforced high-strength concrete beam—column joint. Part II: numerical simulation

Design provisions of many international codes for beam–column joints are limited to ordinary-strength concrete. The experimental work presented in Part I of the paper (Structural Concrete, 2003, 4, No. 4, 175–183) has indicated a significant difference in behaviour of normal concrete joints from those made of hybrid or monolithic high-strength concrete joints. To conduct an extensive parametric study, a non-linear, three-dimensional finite-element analysis was carried out for external reinforced concrete type-1 joints under quasi-static monotonic loading. The computational model has been verified and validated against several experimental tests. The numerical work was aimed at providing more insight about the behaviour and determining the fundamental mechanisms of load transfer within the joint. The basic parameters included the effects of geometrical aspects as well as the amounts of reinforcement and detailing in column, girder and joint. Furthermore, the strength parameters, existence of axial column load, presence of vertical haunches and the restraining effects by transverse elements have been considered in the analysis. The present study indicated that the modes of failure and shear behaviour of high-strength concrete connections behaved differently from normal-strength concrete connections at various axial loading levels.