Flexural Failure Research Articles

Experiments on the flexural behavior of full-scale PC box girders with service damage strengthened by prestressed CFRP plates

Two full-scale PC box girders with typical damage were derived from an in-situ bridge that was in service about 20 years, to understand the strengthening effects of prestressed CFRP plates for the entire bottom slab, casting of a RC layer in composite action with the entire top slab and steel plates anchored on the webs of the shear span. The flexural tests were conducted on the two full-scale PC box girders with and without strengthening measures, and comparative analysis was conducted regarding flexural capacity, failure mechanism, rigidity, ductility and overall structural behavior. The test results showed that the strengthening measures improved the girder rigidity by 40 % before reaching cracking state and increased the yielding and ultimate capacity by 39 % and 28% respectively. The theoretical analysis was conducted to discuss failure modes for PC box girder strengthened by prestressed CFRP plates. Theoretical equations are derived to calculate the flexural capacity of strengthened PC box girder according to typical failure modes. Good agreement with tested results was obtained. The strengthening design of the prestressing CFRP plate was verified by application in a PC box girder bridge.

Steel Fiber–Matrix Interfacial Bond in Ultra-High Performance Concrete: A Review

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a relatively new cementitious concrete composite with significant application potential in infrastructure construction because of its excellent mechanical strength and durability. The steel fiber–matrix interfacial bond is the main factor that governs other mechanical properties of UHPC, including tensile, flexural, and compressive strengths and failure mode (fracture behavior). This paper presents a comprehensive review on the research progress of fiber–matrix bond behaviors of UHPC by discussing and comparing a range of fiber pullout testing methods and analytical models. The parameters of the fiber–matrix bond, including the geometry and orientation of fibers, surface treatment, and composition and strength of the matrix, are identified and discussed in detail. Lastly, recommendations for future research related to UHPC strengthening methods and testing details are provided based on recent progress.

Behavior of corrosion damaged non-seismically and seismically detailed reinforced concrete beam-column sub-assemblages under cyclic loading

Corrosion of reinforcement requires immediate redressal as it poses a severe threat to the serviceability and seismic performance of the existing reinforced concrete structure. Taking this into consideration, the current study presents an experimental assessment of the seismic behavior of corroded exterior beam-column joint sub-assemblage under quasi-static reverse-cyclic loading. A total of eight exterior beam-column joint specimens i.e., four having traditional non-ductile transverse reinforcement detailing as per IS 456:2000 and the remaining specimens ductile detailed according to IS 13920:2016 were cast. One specimen from each detailing regime was tested uncorroded and acted as a control specimen while the remaining six specimens were subjected to varying levels of accelerated corrosion. The experimental results illustrated that the sliding phenomenon in the hysteresis curve gradually increases and a drastic fall in energy dissipation, stiffness, and post-yield displacement were seen as the corrosion progresses within reinforcing bars. The failure mode shifted from diagonal joint shear failure observed in control specimens to longitudinal and major flexural cracking failure along the beam reinforcement. First-level corroded specimens showed a slightly increased ductility factor, indicating that low levels of corrosion may improve ductility. However, after 10% corrosion, all corroded specimens showed poor seismic performance and the cumulative energy dissipation curve tends to go flat at approximately half the displacement as compared to control specimens. The cumulative energy dissipation of non-ductile and ductile specimens damaged to the most severe level of corrosion in this study was only 0.3 and 0.4 times that of respective control specimens. In general, the ductile detailed specimens showed better seismic performance than the corresponding non-ductile detailed specimens owing to the closer arrangement of stirrups.

Seismic Behavior of Precast Bridge Column–Cap Beam Joints with Grouted Corrugated Duct Connections: Experimental and Numerical Study

This paper presented an assembly scheme that was based on bundled bars–grouted corrugated duct connections. The scheme was used for the connection between the bridge column with bundled bars and the cap beam in an elevated subway station. Two 1/3-scale bridge column–cap beam joint specimens were designed and fabricated to verify the scheme. The test specimens included a precast assembly specimen and a cast-in-place (CIP) specimen. Pseudostatic cyclic loading tests were performed to investigate the flexural capacity, failure mode, and hysteretic behavior of the CIP and precast assembly specimens. The test results showed that: (1) the flexural capacity of the precast assembly specimen was close to that of the CIP specimen; (2) the energy dissipation capacity of the precast assembly specimen was weaker compared with that of the CIP specimen; and (3) the assembly scheme that was based on bundled bars–grouted corrugated duct connections was reliable. Finally, the finite-element model for the test specimens was established by calling the PQ-FIBER user subroutine developed by Tsinghua University with ABAQUS to study the seismic performance of the test specimens. Compared with the test results, the finite-element models could simulate the failure mode and hysteretic behavior of the reinforced-concrete specimens.

Experimental study on consistency of the impact performance between composite beams and reinforced concrete beams

Composite (CC) beams are employed more and more extensively because of their advantages in environmentally-friendly and rapid construction. These beams are possibly subjected to impact loadings due to occasional accidents or terrorist attacks during the service. It should be clarified whether the previous research achievements on the impact performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams can be directly applied to CC beams. Five groups of full-scale CC beams and RC beams were fabricated with the same reinforcement ratios. One group of these specimens was tested under static bending loading, and the other eight specimens were tested under impact loading through the drop hammer test system. The failure modes, deformation, and force response of CC beams and RC beams were compared. The experimental results presented that the failure modes of CC beams are consistent with those of RC beams in the impact energy range of 1.0 Es ∼ 3.5 Es. The increasing impact energy changes the failure mode of CC beams from flexure failure to flexure‐shear failure until shear failure. With the increase of impact energy from 1.0 Es to 3.5 Es, the residual deformation increases first and then decreases, and the impact force of CC beams and RC beams are increased by 55.9% and 78.2%. There is little difference between CC beams and RC beams in peak deformation and residual deformation, a similar trend is found in impact force and support reaction force. Moreover, the beams can perform well impact resistance in the range of 1.0 Es ∼ 2.3 Es. Based on the residual deformation under impact loading and the deformation under static loading, the damage assessment method was proposed to evaluate the damage level of beams subjected to impact loadings.

Experimental Studies on the Seismic Performance of Prefabricated Circular Hollow Bridge Piers Constructed with PVA Fiber Concrete

To investigate the seismic performance of prefabricated circular hollow piers with socket and slot connection, eight 1/3.5-scale specimens constructed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber at the pier body were tested. The main test variables included the axial compression ratio, grade of pier concrete, shear-span ratio, and stirrup ratio. The seismic performance of prefabricated circular hollow piers was studied and analyzed from the aspects of the failure phenomenon, hysteresis curve, bearing capacity, ductility index, and energy dissipation capacity. The test and analysis results showed that all specimens suffered from flexural shear failure, and the increase in axial compression ratio and stirrup ratio would lead to more significant spalling of the concrete at the bottom of the specimen, but the existence of PVA fiber would improve this phenomenon. In a certain range, the increase in axial compression ratio, stirrup ratio, and the decrease in shear span ratio can improve the bearing capacity of the specimens. However, an excessive axial compression ratio would easily lead to a decrease in the ductility of the specimens. The increase in the stirrup ratio and shear-span ratio caused by the change in height can improve the energy dissipation characteristics of the specimen. On this basis, an effective shear-bearing capacity model of the plastic hinge area of prefabricated circular hollow piers was proposed, and the prediction effects of specific shear capacity models on test specimens were compared.

Numerical investigation on dynamic response of air-backed RC slabs subjected to close-in underwater explosion

With the increase of global terrorism, the marine reinforced concrete (RC) structures (e.g. immersed tunnels, caisson wharfs and floating platforms, etc.) inevitably face the potential threat of underwater explosion during their services. However, there are few studies to date that have investigated the RC slabs subjected to underwater explosion and further studies on this subject are warranted. This study focuses on the dynamic response analysis and damage modes prediction of air-backed RC slabs under close-in underwater explosion. Firstly, two experiments and several empirical formulas were used to verify the correctness of the underwater explosion load and the RC material model, respectively, with error of less than 4% for most parameters. Secondly, a 3-Dimensional finite element model of air-backed RC slab was established in LS-DYNA. The different parameters analysis indicated that the dynamic response of RC slabs increases with the increase of charge weight or the decrease of standoff distance, both high reinforcement ratio and high concrete compressive strength can effectively improve the blast-resistance ability of RC slabs. After that, four damage modes of air-backed RC slabs were identified based on the support rotation angle, including slight (≤2°), medium (2°–6°), severe (6°–12°) and fail (>12°), which mainly manifested as flexural failure to flexural shear failure. Finally, three empirical formulas were proposed to predict the damage modes of air-backed RC slabs within 2 m standoff distance and 0.2 kg charge weight.

Flexural fatigue behavior and damage evolution analysis of aeolian sand concrete under freeze–thaw cycle

Aeolian sand is abundant and is widely distributed in western China and thus can reduce the project cost, alleviate the consumption of river sand resources, as well as protect the ecological environment in the application of concrete. Concrete structures, such as roads, bridges, and airport runways in northern cold regions, are exposed to the combined action of freeze–thaw cycle and fatigue load, and the damage mechanism is more serious and complex than that under a single factor. In the present study, the flexural fatigue behavior and damage evolution of aeolian sand concrete under freeze–thaw cycles are studied. Results show that freeze–thaw damage aggravates the flexural fatigue failure of concrete with aeolian sand, and the addition of aeolian sand enhances the average fatigue life of concrete after freeze–thaw cycle. The fatigue life of concrete that has aeolian sand content of 100% is improved more significantly than that of concrete with aeolian sand content of 50%. A double logarithmic fatigue equation is established for varying numbers of freeze–thaw cycles and different failure probabilities. Additionally, the course of flexural fatigue strain and fatigue modulus of aeolian sand concrete under freeze–thaw cycle action follows a typical three-stage development course. The effects of freezing and thawing action on fatigue behavior, such as fatigue strain growth, stiffness degradation, stress–strain relationship, and dissipated energy of 50% aeolian sand concrete (ASC50), are more significant, whereas the effects of 50 and 100 freeze–thaw cycles on the fatigue properties of 100% aeolian sand concrete (ASC100) are not evident. The research results are of great significance for the popularization and use of aeolian sand concrete in cold regions.

Effect of oblique bolt arrangement on flexural behavior of segmental joint for shield tunnel

As the width of segments increases, segmental joints containing three oblique bolts are increasingly used while their flexural behavior is still not clear. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive investigation on the flexural behavior of such joints; and the effects of bolt arrangement are also highlighted. A series of full-scale experiments and numerical simulations are first performed to reveal the typical flexural behavior and failure characteristics of the joint with one single oblique bolt. Then, the verified numerical model is extended to investigate the influence of different oblique bolt arrangements (i.e. number and direction) on the joint flexural behavior under different axial forces. Five bearing stages can be identified during the whole loading process of joints, and they are separated by the bolts tension, concrete severe damage, contact of the segment top, and joint failure. Under small axial force, the joint failure under the positive moment is dominated by the tensile damage of concrete around bolt holes; while the compressive damage of concrete at the same position controls the joint failure under the negative moment. The concrete damage area changes to the compression zone as the axial force increases. The oblique bolt arrangement has little effect on the identification of five-stage bearing process of such segmental joints, but increasing the number of bolts can improve the flexural stiffness and ultimate bearing capacity of joints. Moreover, the joint containing three cross oblique bolts has a stronger flexural capacity than that containing three parallel bolts under small axial forces, which is because the change of the bolt direction avoids the connection of tensile damage zones around the bolt holes. However, these effects of bolt arrangement fade away as the axial force increases.

Flexural properties of 3D printed graded lattice reinforced cementitious composites using digital image correlation

Three-dimensional (3D) printed polymer-reinforced cementitious composites are expected to be used to improve the ductility of cement-based materials. However, research on the maximum flexural capacity and failure mode of lattice-reinforced cementitious composites remains insufficient. In this study, six types of cells with different volume fractions are designed, and mainly undergo bending and tensile deformation. According to the load characteristics during a three-point bending test, five kinds of graded lattice structures are designed. Moreover, a skin-lattice structure and uniform lattice structure are designed, and plain cement mortar is set to comprehensively evaluate the bending mechanical properties of graded lattice-reinforced cementitious composites. The crack evolution and failure mode of these composites under three-point bending load are studied using digital image correlation (DIC). The results show that compared with the uniform lattice, the graded lattice can improve the maximum bending capacity of cement-based materials, improve their cracking characteristics and failure modes during the bending process, and enhance their toughness while reducing the amount of required material. Compared with the plain cement mortar specimen, the graded lattice-reinforced specimen with the largest bending peak load is found to have a 175% increase in the bending peak load and a significant increase in the bending bearing capacity.

Experimental and analytical study of the flexural behavior of basalt fiber‐reinforced concrete beams

AbstractIn this work, the theoretical model for predicting the flexural behavior of steel‐reinforced basalt fiber‐reinforced concrete (RBFRC) beams was developed and the results were experimentally validated. The experimental results presented two failure modes of the RBFRC beams including flexural failure and flexural‐shear failure. The load‐carrying capacity, deformation ability, and crack resistance of RBFRC beams failing in flexure can be significantly enhanced with the addition of chopped basalt fiber. To verify the theoretical model, the predicted results were compared with the experimental results of RBFRC beams, and the relative error between the two methods is very small. Based on the theoretical method, a parametric study was conducted to identify the influence of several crucial materials and structural parameters on the flexural behavior of RBFRC beams.

Effect of polyethylene terephthalate fibres on the structural performance of reinforced concrete beams with openings in the shear region

The provision of transverse openings in the shear region of beams to allow passage of services reduces the cracking and ultimate load capacities of the beams and increases deflection under the openings, especially when the size of the opening exceeds 25 % of the overall beam depth. Strengthening of the pre-planned opening regions by use of special steel reinforcements causes reinforcement congestion and difficulties in compaction, calling for alternative ways of strengthening beams with openings. In this study, concrete material was modified by the use of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) fibres produced from waste plastic bottles to improve the tensile properties and hence reduce the cracking around the openings and improve the overall performance of the beams. To evaluate the performance of PET fibres in beams with openings, eight (8) reinforced concrete beams with and without fibres of dimensions (150 × 250 × 2000 mm) were cast with varying opening sizes. The horizontal position of the openings was fixed at 300 mm from the support while the vertical position was maintained at the mid-depth of all beams. This performance was evaluated in terms of ultimate and first cracking loads, mid-span deflections, ductility, crack patterns and failure modes, and strain behavior. Test data showed that incorporating PET fibres in beams with openings resulted in a slight increase in ultimate load of 4.1 % and 5.82 % for 0.25 h and 0.35 h beam opening sizes respectively, beyond which the strength was reduced by 9.57 % for beams with 0.45 h opening size, where h was the overall depth of the beam. The first cracking loads increased by 44.12 %, 48.48 %, and 9.38 % for 0.25 h, 0.35 h, and 0.45 h opening sizes, respectively. In addition, a slight improvement in the ductility of PET fibre beams for all opening sizes was observed. The PET fibre beams exhibited a slight change in the mode of failure from dominant shear failure to combined shear and flexure failure characterized by multiple cracks in the flexure region with minimal spacing. An increase in the concrete compressive and tensile strains accompanied by a reduction in concrete and steel shear strains was observed because of the tension stiffening effects of the fibres. The incorporation of PET fibres, therefore, showed a slight improvement in the ultimate performance of beams with 0.25 h and 0.35 h opening size, with no improvement for the control beam and 0.45 h opening sized beam. However, a significant improvement in the serviceability performance for all PET reinforced beams was observed.

Effect of the strengthening patterns on the flexural performance of RC continuous beams using FRP reinforcements

Statically indeterminate RC elements such as continuous beams are the most widely used structural form. Their flexural behavior and failure modes are considerably different from those of simply supported ones. The use of FRPs for flexural strengthening and retrofitting continuous RC beams has hardly been studied. Therefore, this paper compares the impacts of NSM-FRP and EB-FRP systems in two-span beams. The overall experimental program of this study consisted of fourteen large-scale bending tests. The performance of each strengthening system is presented and discussed in terms of failure mode, yielding and load-carrying capacities, ductility, and energy absorption capacities, FRP debonding strain, and serviceability state. The experimental results showed that the failure mode is mainly dependent on the type, length, and position of the FRPs, however, a general improvement in the flexural performance of strengthened beams was observed. The NSM technique allows the FRP tensile strength to be better exploited than the EB technique.

NSM GFRP Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams after Exposure to Fire: Experiments and Theoretical Model

The effectiveness of near-surface mounted glass fiber–reinforced polymer (NSM GFRP) retrofitting of reinforced concrete (RC) beams after exposure to fire is investigated in this study both experimentally and analytically. Experiments were performed on nine RC beams: one beam was not exposed to fire (control specimen) and eight beams were divided into two groups exposed to fire for 30 and 60 min. In each group, one beam was not retrofitted, whereas the other three beams were retrofitted using NSM GFRP. After retrofitting, all beams were loaded until failure. The experimental results confirmed that the retrofitting technique effectively recovered the strengths of postfire RC beams. The failure mode of the GFRP retrofitted beams was the peeling-off of concrete cover, whereas that of the control and unretrofitted postfire beams was flexural failure via the yielding of tension steel. The NSM GFRP retrofitting fully recovered or significantly increased the yield and ultimate strengths of postfire RC beams by up to 39%. The yield deflection capacity of the NSM GFRP retrofitted postfire beams was much higher than that of the control beam; however, the ultimate deflection capacity of these beams significantly decreased. Consequently, the GFRP retrofitted postfire beams were of low ductility because of the peeling-off of the concrete cover. NSM GFRP retrofitting slightly improved but did not completely recover the yield stiffness reduced by fire, whereas it increased the plastic stiffness significantly by up to threefold. An analytical model for estimating the yield moment of postfire RC beams without/with NSM GFRP retrofitting was proposed, considering the very limited information, for example, fire duration obtained from actual fire events. The practicality and reasonable accuracy of the proposed model render it beneficial for structural engineers.

NSM GFRP Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams after Exposure to Fire: Experiments and Theoretical Model

The effectiveness of near-surface mounted glass fiber–reinforced polymer (NSM GFRP) retrofitting of reinforced concrete (RC) beams after exposure to fire is investigated in this study both experimentally and analytically. Experiments were performed on nine RC beams: one beam was not exposed to fire (control specimen) and eight beams were divided into two groups exposed to fire for 30 and 60 min. In each group, one beam was not retrofitted, whereas the other three beams were retrofitted using NSM GFRP. After retrofitting, all beams were loaded until failure. The experimental results confirmed that the retrofitting technique effectively recovered the strengths of postfire RC beams. The failure mode of the GFRP retrofitted beams was the peeling-off of concrete cover, whereas that of the control and unretrofitted postfire beams was flexural failure via the yielding of tension steel. The NSM GFRP retrofitting fully recovered or significantly increased the yield and ultimate strengths of postfire RC beams by up to 39%. The yield deflection capacity of the NSM GFRP retrofitted postfire beams was much higher than that of the control beam; however, the ultimate deflection capacity of these beams significantly decreased. Consequently, the GFRP retrofitted postfire beams were of low ductility because of the peeling-off of the concrete cover. NSM GFRP retrofitting slightly improved but did not completely recover the yield stiffness reduced by fire, whereas it increased the plastic stiffness significantly by up to threefold. An analytical model for estimating the yield moment of postfire RC beams without/with NSM GFRP retrofitting was proposed, considering the very limited information, for example, fire duration obtained from actual fire events. The practicality and reasonable accuracy of the proposed model render it beneficial for structural engineers.

Pullout Behavior of Connections Using Self-Drilling Screws for Pultruded Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites in Construction

Self-drilling screws provide an efficient and cost-effective way of joining lightweight structural members. In this work, the performance of self-drilling screw connections for fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) structural members is investigated, for use in joining panels or plates to square hollow sections (SHSs). To investigate the resistance to pullout loads, tensile tests were conducted on connection specimens consisting of an FRP plate joined to an FRP SHS at a right angle. The specimens were prepared in five configurations, with differences in pultrusion directions of the FRP plate, screw gauge size, and coarseness of the screw threads. The specimens having fibers oriented transversely in the FRP plate exhibited a flexural failure of the plate and the lowest connection strength. The specimens having fibers oriented longitudinally in the FRP plate failed by the screw being pulled out from the FRP SHS profiles; shearing out of the thread in the screw hole. An increase in screw gauge size and thread coarseness was found to be beneficial to the connection strength. Further analysis was carried out to estimate the initial stiffness and the connection strength, by finite-element and analytical modeling, respectively. In addition, these analyses are able to correlate the average shear stress at failure of the connection specimens to the screw gauge size, thread coarseness, and effective contact area of the screws.

Investigation of the effect of using geogrid, short glass, and steel fiber on the flexural failure of concrete beams

This research studies the flexural behavior of concrete beams reinforced with biaxial geogrids, distributed short glass and steel fibers. No longitudinal steel reinforcement bars were used. Therefore, an amount of short glass and steel fibers was used to improve the concrete beam behavior against flexural failure. Eleven specimens of single reinforced (flexural reinforcement) concrete beams and double reinforced (compression and flexural reinforced) concrete beams using two biaxial geogrids sheet layers, with randomly distributed short glass and steel fibers were cast. The samples were tested using two points of load along the beam specimen span with an increment of loading by 5 KN to evaluate several parameters. The studied parameters are using geogrids as a main flexural reinforcement, using geogrid sheet layers as a flexural and compression reinforcement, using short glass and steel fibers as an additional reinforcement of concrete with various ratios 0.25 %, and 0.75 %. The test results indicated that the use of geogrid layers as the main flexural reinforcement improved the behavior of the concrete beam specimens at failure. As well as; more enhancement of beam specimens at failure was observed when using short glass and steel fibers with geogrid reinforcement in concrete beams. The tested beam specimens which were reinforced by geogrids in the flexural and compression zone using 0.75 % of steel fibers gave better results due to modes of failure, toughness, failure load capacity, crack width, and post cracking stiffness.

Mechanistic understanding of precast UHPC segmental beams with external tendons and epoxy joints subject to combined bending and shear

Precast ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) segmental bridges (PUSBs) have become a competitive bridge type in modern civil engineering. To establish a thorough mechanistic understanding of PUSBs, seven specimens were fabricated and experimentally investigated. These specimens were designed to have different longitudinal reinforcements, construction methods, joint types, shear span-to-depth ratios (λ), stirrup ratios, and numbers of shear keys. Two failure modes were observed in the tests: flexural failure with crushing of the UHPC at the joints, and shear failure with shear tension sliding and concrete spalling of the web. Additionally, it was found that although the ultimate capacity, stiffness, and cracking load of the segmental beams were slightly lower than those of the monolithic beams, the segmental beams tended to exhibit better ductility and deformation capacity. As λ increased, the ultimate capacity and stiffness of the segmental beams decreased, whereas the growth rates of the deflection and tendon stress increased. Moreover, the stirrups showed a positive effect on the cracking control ability and shear strength of the beams. The three-keyed specimen exhibited better structural behavior than the single-keyed specimen. Finally, calculation methods were proposed to predict the cracking strength and ultimate capacity of PUSBs.

Effectiveness of the Seesaw System as a Means of Seismic Upgrading in Older, Non-Ductile Reinforced Concrete Buildings

This work investigates and discusses the effectiveness of the seesaw system when installed in an older, non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) building for seismic upgrading purposes. In particular, two different configurations of the seesaw system are assumed in a two-storey 3D RC framed building which was designed according to older seismic provisions and, thus, is susceptible to flexural and shear failures. To check if there is any merit in employing the seesaw system in this RC building, non-linear time-history (NLTH) analyses are conducting using 11 seismic motions. Peak values for inter-story drift ratios (IDR), residual inter-story drift ratios (RIDR) and floor accelerations (FA) are computed, and the sequence and cause (i.e., due to surpass of flexural or shear strength) of plastic hinge formations are monitored. Leaving aside any issues related to fabrication and cost, interpretation of the results obtained by the aforementioned seismic response indices for the RC building under study leads to the conclusion that the seesaw system can be a retrofitting scheme for the seismic upgrading of older, non-ductile RC framed buildings.

Structural behavior of shear deficient high performance reinforced concrete exterior joints under bending

Structural performance of shear deficient reinforced concrete exterior beam-column connections made with Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) and Ultra-high Performance Concrete (UHPC) is investigated experimentally and compared with those made of Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC). Beam-column connections of 1/3rd scale made entirely of ECC, SCC and UHPC as well as ECC-SCC and UHPC-SCC combinations (joint core zone made of ECC and UHPC while the rest made with SCC) are tested under monotonic flexural loading to failure. The performance is compared in terms of failure mode, ductility, energy absorption capacity, stiffness, load/moment-displacement/rotation response, stress–strain characteristics, crack patterns/widths, member flexural/shear strength and joint shear strength. SCC and SCC-UHPC joint specimens have non-ductile beam shear failure and shear failure of the SCC part of the connection respectively, while all others have joint flexural failure. Code based equations significantly under predicted the shear strength of ECC and UHPC joint members. All connections made fully or partially with UHPC and ECC have exhibited higher ductility (1.2 to 1.7 times), energy absorption capacity (3.1 to 15.7 times) and reserve joint strength compared to those with SCC. UHPC incorporated connections exhibited higher strength and energy absorbing capacity, those with ECC showed higher ductility and better crack control characteristics and incorporation of ECC/UHPC can induce desired flexure dominated failure in a shear deficient joint.