Seismic performance of high-strength centrifugally prefabricated RC hollow pipe columns using grouted bellows connection

•Seismic performance of high-strength centrifugally hollow columns was investigated.•A modified hollow pipe column confined concrete constitutive model is proposed.•The influence of neutral axis position on ductility of hollow column is evaluated. The seismic behavior of high-strength centrifugally prefabricated reinforced concrete pipe columns of a practical engineering project is investigated through three 1:2 large-scale quasi-static tests. The influence of axial compression ratio and section form on their performance is evaluated. Based on the confinement effect in the high-strength centrifugally prefabricated RC hollow pipe columns, a modification to one of the most widely used confined concrete models is proposed. It can accurately predict the confined concrete behavior in the hollow pipe columns, and its accuracy is verified by numerical analysis. Finally, the hollow pipe columns are analyzed with the proposed modified confined concrete model and are subjected to different axial compression ratios. The results show that the confinement effect of single-layer transverse reinforcement on the core concrete of centrifugal prefabricated RC hollow pipe columns is not as good as that of solid pipe column, but if the neutral axis is controlled within wall of the hollow pipe columns by changing the axial compression ratio or other design parameters, they can show satisfactory ductility.