Strength analysis of reinforced concrete columns with arbitrary cross-section under bieccentric loading

A nu merical method to analyze the failure load of reinforced concrete columns under bieccentric loading is presented. This method takes into account both material nonlinearity and geometric nonlinearity. The nonlinear constitutive relationships of concrete and steel bars are simulated by some cubic-splines. The derived element stiffness matrices are simple addition of the small-displacement stiffness matrix, geometric stiffness matrix and interaction component matrix. The element model may be used to analyze the ultimate load according to the material strength or stable limits. The formulations of reinforced concrete column elements derived here may also be used for beams or columns with arbitrary cross-section. The standard finite element approach presented in this paper is compatible with other finite element models. The theoretical results agree well with the experimental data.