NON-LINEAR FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR CFST COLUMNS UNDER AXIAL COMPRESSION

This article presents a finite element analysis of circular Concrete-Filled Steel Tube (CFST) columns using ANSYS software. The developed FE model is validated through comparisons of simulated failure loads and load–axial strain responses with available experimental results. Based on the numerical findings, a new method for determining the confined concrete compressive strength is proposed. The proposed model is validated using thirty experimentally tested specimens by other researchers, demonstrating strong agreement with experimental observations. The comparison indicates that the proposed model predicts the ultimate axial capacity of CFST columns with significantly improved accuracy, whereas many earlier models tend to provide overly conservative estimates.