Shaking table tests on V-shaped RC columns at the weak ground storey of a building

Abstract

This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of the seismic behaviour of V-shaped reinforced-concrete (RC) columns at the weak ground storey of a building. Two half-scaled RC columns were tested to failure by a simulated ground acceleration time history using a shaking table. The test setup was designed to simulate the sliding mechanism of the column specimens, termed the double-curvature mechanism, which is expected to occur in a soft-storey building. The seismic responses of the specimens were evaluated and compared with each other in terms of general performance, hysteresis response and failure modes. Thereafter, a fibre-element model, verified by the test data, was used to conduct a parametric study on the effects of axial load ratio and longitudinal reinforcement arrangement on the seismic performance of irregularly shaped columns.