RESEARCH ON SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF PRESTRESSED HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE PILE-CAP CONNECTIONS

Based on the experiments of prestressed high strength concrete pile-cap connections under cyclic loading, nonlinear finite element models were used to analyze the mechanical properties of these connections by OpenSees. The model is based on incorporating at the pile-deck interfacing a rotational spring fiber-based element connection to frame elements where the nonlinearity of structural property is distributed along the pile length. The interaction between the softening of concrete and the slipping of the reinforcement at the end of a pile was considered in the model. The comparison between analytical and experimental results shows that the model is capable of accurately describing the cyclic behavior in pile-cap connections. The test resulted showed that connections damaged because the rupture of prestressed bars or the yield of anchor bars. The bending angle of anchor bars and hollow filled have no obviously effect on the bearing capacity and hysteretic behavior. The rotation between pile and cap influenced the behavior of the connection.