Experimental Study on Replaceable Hybrid Coupling Beams

Abstract

A hybrid coupling beam is developed in this study to render the reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall structure a higher seismic performance. As the first protection from earthquake, the coupling beam is able to dissipate more energy when combined in series with a metallic damper. The strength of the metallic damper is carefully selected so that the RC part of the coupling beam remains elastic, while all plasticity goes into the metallic damper. This mechanism protects the RC part from seismic damage. And the metallic damper can be quickly replaced once it is damaged. This significantly enhances the reparability of entire structure, making it possible to be immediately functioned after earthquakes. The stiffness of the hybrid coupling beam is similar as the traditional RC coupling beam, so that the dynamic characteristics are almost unchanged. In this study, one hybrid coupling beam and one traditional RC beam are experimentally examined. The seismic dissipation capability of the hybrid beam is approximately twice of the traditional beam, and the damage of the RC part of the hybrid beam is very limited.