Keywords: advanced inelastic analysis, composite steel-concrete, distributed plasticity, finite element modelling..

This paper presents an efficient computer method for nonlinear inelastic analysis of three-dimensional composite steel-concrete frameworks. The proposed formulation is intended to model the geometrically nonlinear inelastic behaviour of composite frame elements using only one element per physical member. The behaviour model accounts for material inelasticity resulting from combined bi-axial bending and axial force. Tangent flexural rigidity of the cross-section is derived and then using the flexibility approach the elasto-plastic tangent stiffness matrix and equivalent nodal load vector of the three-dimensional beam-column element including the shear deformability of the steel component is developed. The penalty element method is applied in the present formulation to include the effect of the finite joint size on the element stiffness matrix of the beam-column element. The proposed nonlinear analysis formulation has been implemented in a general nonlinear static purpose computer program, NEFCAD. Advanced finite element simulations have been conducted by using the specialized software for nonlinear analysis of structures, ABAQUS. A numerical model considering a combination of three-dimensional solid elements (for concrete volumes) and shell elements for steel elements has been developed. It is assumed that no slip (perfect bond) occurs at the steel-concrete interface. Several computational examples are given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method and the reliability of the code by comparing the results predicted by NEFCAD with those given by the ABAQUS software and other results retrieved from the open literature.

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