• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.603-617
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• 2017

This paper presents investigation into the behavior of beam-column joints, with the joint region concrete being replaced by steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) and by ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). A total of ten beam-column joint specimens (BCJ) were tested experimentally to failure under monotonic and cyclic loading, with the beam section being subjected to flexural loading and the column to combined flexural and axial loading. The joint region essentially transferred shear and axial stresses as received from the column. Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) were used as an innovative construction and/or strengthening scheme for some of the BCJ specimens. The reinforced concrete specimens were reinforced with longitudinal steel rebar, 18 mm, and some specimens were reinforced with an additional two ties in the joint region. The results showed that using SFRC and UHPC as a replacement concrete for the BCJ improved the joint shear strength and the load carrying capacity of the hybrid specimens. The mode of failure was also converted from a non-desirable joint shear failure to a preferred beam flexural failure. The effect of the ties in the SFRC and UHPC joint regions could not be observed due to the beam flexural failure. Several models were used in estimating the joint shear strength for different BCJ specimens. The results showed that the existing models yielded wide-ranging values. A new concept to take into account the influence of column axial load on the shear strength of beam-column joints is also presented, which demonstrates that the recommended values for concrete tensile strength for determination of joint shear strength need to be amended for joints subject to moderate to high axial loads. Furthermore, finite element model (FEM) simulation to predict the behaviour of the hybrid BCJ specimens was also carried out in an ABAQUS environment. The result of the FEM modelling showed good agreement with experimental results.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.463-472
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• 2022

Reinforced concrete (RC) beam column joints (BCJ) have mostly exhibited poor seismic performance during several past earthquakes, typically due to the poor-quality concrete or lack of reinforcement detailing typical of pre-code design practice. The present study is motivated towards numerical simulation and seismic fragility assessment of one such RC-BCJ. The BCJ is loaded to failure and strengthened using Ultra High Performance-Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHP-HFRC) jacketing. The strengthening is performed for four different BCJ specimens, each representing an intermediate damage state before collapse. viz., slight, moderate, severe, and collapse. From the numerical simulation of all the BCJ specimens, an attempt is made to correlate different modelling and design parameters of the BC joint with respect to the damage states. In addition, seismic fragility analysis of the original as well as the retrofitted damaged BCJ specimens show the relative enhancement achieved in each case.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.273-283
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• 2018

Previous experimental researches indicate that reinforced concrete beam-column joints play an important role in the mechanical properties of moment resisting frame structures, so as to require proper design. In order to get better understanding of the beam-column joint performance, a rational model needs to be developed. Based on the former considerations, two typical models for calculating the shear carrying capacity of the beam-column joint including the inelastic reinforced concrete joint model and the softened strut-and-tie model are selected to be introduced and analyzed. After examining the applicability of two typical models mentioned earlier to interior beam-column joints, several adjustments are made to get better predicting of the test results. For the softened strut-and-tie model, four adjustments including modifications of the depth of the diagonal strut, the inclination angle of diagonal compression strut, the smeared stress of mild steel bars embedded in concrete, as well as the softening coefficient are made. While two adjustments for the inelastic reinforced concrete joint model including modifications of the confinement effect due to the column axial load and the correction coefficient for high concrete are made. It has been proved by test data that predicted results by the improved softened strut-and-tie model or the modified inelastic reinforced concrete joint model are consistent with the test data and conservative. Based on the test results, it is also not difficult to find that the improved beam-column joint model can be used to predict the joint carrying capacity and cracks development with sufficient accuracy.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.317-329
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• 2024

Recent earthquakes have demonstrated that even when the beams and columns in a reinforced concrete frame remain intact, the integrity of the whole structure is undermined if the joint where these members connect fails. A good seismic performance of reinforced concrete frames depends on their ability to absorb seismic energy through inelastic deformations and to avoid a sudden development of collapse mechanism in event of a strong earthquake shaking. The primary objective of this investigation is to move the plastic hinge away from the beam-column joint region and hence reducing the damage to the joint region. In this research, the seismic performance of exterior beam-column joints with four types of confinement in joint region and inclined bars from column to beam is investigated experimentally. Control specimens without inclined bars and four types of confinement Square Hoop, Square Spiral, Circular Hoop and Circular Spiral were tested along with inclined bars were tested. Seismic performance was determined via load-deflection response, ductility, stiffness, energy dissipation, strain of beam reinforcement and crack pattern. Out of the four specimens with inclined bars, seismic performance of joint with Square Spiral confinement gave the best performance in terms of all parameters.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.201-210
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• 2011

This paper presents a nonlinear finite element analysis procedure for the seismic performance assessment of deep beam-and-interior column joints. A computer program, named RCAHEST(Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures was used. Horizontal cyclic load tests were conducted to estimate the strength, ductility, and behavioral characteristics of deep beam-and-interior column joints. Experimental parameters are axial forces and amount of transverse reinforcement. The proposed numerical method for the seismic performance assessment of deep beam-and-interior column joints is verified by comparison of its results with reliable experimental results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.419-432
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• 2023

Beam-column joints are a critical component of reinforced concrete frame structures. They are responsible for transferring forces between adjoining beams and columns while limiting story drifts and maintaining structural integrity. During severe loading, beam-column joints deform significantly, affecting, and sometimes governing, the overall response of frame structures. While most failure modes for beam and column elements are commonly considered in plastic-hinge-based global frame analyses, the beam-column joint failure modes, such as concrete shear and reinforcement bond slip, are frequently omitted. One reason for this is the dearth of published guidance on what type of hinges to use, how to derive the joint hinge properties, and where to place these hinges. Many beam-column joint models are available in literature but their adoption by practicing structural engineers has been limited due to their complex nature and lack of practical application tools. The objective of this study is to provide a comparative review of the available beam-column joint models and present a practical joint modeling approach for integration into commonly used global frame analysis software. The presented modeling approach uses rotational spring models and is capable of modeling both interior and exterior joints with or without transverse reinforcement. A spreadsheet tool is also developed to execute the mathematical calculations and derive the shear stress-strain and moment-rotation curves ready for inputting into the global frame analysis. The application of the approach is presented by modeling a beam column joint specimen which was tested experimentally. Important modeling considerations are also presented to assist practitioners in properly modeling beam-column joints in frame analyses.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.613-625
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• 2021

Non-seismically designed eccentric reinforced concrete beam-column joints were extensively used in existing reinforced concrete frame buildings, which were found to be vulnerable to seismic action in many incidences. To provide a fundamental understanding of the seismic performance and failure mechanism of the joints, three 2/3-scale exterior beam-column joints with non-seismically designed details were cast and tested under reversed cyclic loads simulating earthquake excitation. In this investigation, particular emphasis was given on the effects of the eccentricity between the centerlines of the beam and the column. It is shown that the eccentricity had significant effects on the damage characteristics, shear strength, and displacement ductility of the specimens. In addition, shear deformation and the strain of joint hoops were found to concentrate on the eccentric face of the joint. The results demonstrated that the specimen with an eccentricity of 1/4 column width failed in a brittle manner with premature joint shear failure, while the other specimens with less or no eccentricity failed in a ductile manner with joint shear failure after beam flexural yielding. Test results are compared with those predicted by three seismic design codes and two non-seismic design codes. In general, the codes do not accurately predict the shear strength of the eccentric joints with non-seismic details.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.443-455
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• 2009

The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement in concrete structures has been on the rise due to its advantages over conventional steel reinforcement such as corrosion. Reinforcing steel corrosion has been the primary cause of deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, resulting in tremendous annual repair costs. One application of FRP reinforcement to be further explored is its use in RC frames. Nonetheless, due to FRP's inherently elastic behavior, FRP-reinforced (FRP-RC) members exhibit low ductility and energy dissipation as well as different damage mechanisms. Furthermore, current design standards for FRP-RC structures do not address seismic design in which the beam-column joint is a key issue. During an earthquake, the safety of beam-column joints is essential to the whole structure integrity. Thus, research is needed to gain better understanding of the behavior of FRP-RC structures and their damage mechanisms under seismic loading. In this study, two full-scale beam-column joint specimens reinforced with steel and GFRP configurations were tested under quasi-static loading. The control steel-reinforced specimen was detailed according to current design code provisions. The GFRP-RC specimen was detailed in a similar scheme. The damage in the two specimens is characterized to compare their performance under simulated seismic loading.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.72-81
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• 2014

This paper reports the test results of reinforced concrete exterior beam-column joints with high-strength concrete. The main parameters of eight specimens were joint failure modes, the compressive strength of concrete, and the head shapes of steel bars. All specimens were designed according to ACI 352R-02 design recommendations. Two types of failure modes were considered; J-failure and BJ-failure. The longitudinal steel bars were anchored by 90 degree standard hooks or headed reinforcement. Experimental results indicated that the current ACI design recommendation limited by the compressive strength of concrete somewhat underestimated the strength of beam-column joints with high-strength concrete. In the specimens showed joint shear failure, the strength of beam-column joints with headed bars was approximately 10 percent higher than that of joints with 90 degree standard hooks.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.313-328
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• 2016

Beam-column joints are recognized as one of the most critical and vulnerable zones of a Reinforced Concrete (RC) moment resisting structure subjected to seismic loads. The performance of the deficient beam-column joints can be improved by retrofitting these joints by jacketing them with varied materials like concrete, steel, FRP and ferrocement. In the present study strength behavior of RCC exterior beam-column joints, initially loaded to a prefixed percentage of the ultimate load, and retrofitted using ferrocement jacketing using two different wrapping schemes has been studied and presented. In retrofitting scheme, RS-I, wire mesh is provided in L shape at top and at bottom of the beam-column joint, whereas, in scheme RS-II along with wire mesh in L shape at top and bottom wire mesh is also provided diagonally to the joint. The results of these retrofitted beam-column joints have been compared with those of the controlled joint specimens. The results show an improvement in the ultimate load carrying capacity and yield load of the retrofitted specimens. However, no improvement in the ductility and energy absorption has been observed.