Abstract
Based on experimental results of prestressed concrete spatial connections, nonlinear finite element models were established to analyze the shear capacity of spatial connections and parametric studies were performed using ANSYS. It is found that the shear capacity of spatial connection is influenced by joint hoop, beam prestress, column compressive load, and direction of resultant shear force. The parametric studies also indicate that the shear capacity of spatial connection under biaxial cyclic loading is lower than that of corresponding connections under plane loading. A design formula for calculating the shear capacity of spatial connections is proposed based on the parametric studies and verified by the available test results.