Theoretical and finite element analysis of concrete filled steel tube columns‐steel reinforced <scp>ECC</scp> ring beam connections

Abstract To improve the bearing capacity and optimize the allocation of ring beam connection, a new type of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite (ECC) ring beam connection linking the reinforced concrete (RC) beam and the concrete‐filled steel tube (CFST) column was presented. The superior tensile property of ECC can significantly solve the cracking problem that weakens the bearing capacity of the ring beam. In this paper, the failure mechanisms, contact press analysis and strain distribution of steel reinforcement for reinforced engineered cementitious composite (RECC) ring beam joints were analyzed by finite element analysis. Moreover, based on the ultimate equilibrium method, a comprehensive study was conducted on the stress transfer mechanism for the RECC ring beam joint. The bearing capacity model and simplified computational method for the beam‐to‐CFST column with RECC ring beam were proposed. Finally, the calculation method was demonstrated with experimental results. Comparison results showed good agreement, proving that the proposed bearing capacity calculation model had reliability and theoretical significance.