Abstract
This study presents a novel energy-dissipating prefabricated joint for connecting beam to column in a precast frame structure. The joints are characterized by a replaceable steel hinge and a prefabricated steel tube confined joint core, providing advantages for precast concrete reinforced frames, such as complete assembly, damage control, and maintainability of the structure after an earthquake. The hysteretic behavior of the proposed prefabricated joint was studied through two tests. First, a full-scale prefabricated joint was tested under cyclic loading until failure. On the basis of the initial test, only four weakened dissipaters of the steel hinges in the prefabricated joint were replaced and the second test was conducted to investigate the restorable functional characteristics of the proposed prefabricated joints. For comparison, a reference monolithic joint was also tested. The experimental results demonstrate that the novel prefabricated beam-to-column joint displayed excellent hysteretic performance, and corresponding to the monolithic joint, the load-bearing, energy dissipation, and deformation capacity were improved. The damage of the prefabricated joint was concentrated on the weakened dissipaters of the steel hinges, indicating that the failure mode and damage degree of the prefabricated joint can be controlled. In the second test, the prefabricated joint exhibited similar hysteretic behavior to that of the first test; however, the initial stiffness was slightly lower. Therefore, the prefabricated joint can meet the replaceability requirement and achieve satisfactory beam-to-column joint function recovery after an earthquake.
Highlights
IntroductionRestrepo et al [19] conducted experimental research on four mid-span connections and two beam-to-column connections
2 Prefabricated buildings have attracted increased attention in research owing to their advantages of 3 high quality, easy in situ operation, short construction period, and cost savings
This experimental study investigated the mechanical behavior of an innovative type of prefabricated beam-to-column joint subjected to cyclic loading
Summary
Restrepo et al [19] conducted experimental research on four mid-span connections and two beam-to-column connections. Zhao et al [20] investigated the behavior of a precast beam-to-column joint with high-strength concrete, using a full-scale test, and the structure with this new connection demonstrated equivalently desirable seismic performance, such as failure mode, hysteresis behavior, and ductility. Prestressed steel strands can effectively provide a self-centering capacity for beam-column joints and improve the energy dissipation capacity, without serious structural damage [22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31]. Previous studies have demonstrated that the behavior of prestressed joints or hybrid connections is comparable to that of monolithic connections [40,41], there are still issues, such as the difficulty in constructing connections between framing components, the feasibility of damage or failure mode control, and the potential for replacing the damaged energy dissipaters. Connected component: Pin Shaft Connection (a) Precast concrete frame (b) External joint (c) Steel hinge
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