Indeterminate reinforced concrete frames subjected to inelastic cyclic deformation.

Abstract

Four full-size statically indeterminate reinforced concrete frames with two symmetrical bays were tested to obtain sufficient data to evaluate the adequacy of the current ACI-ASCE Committee 352 design recommendations, as well as to determine whether a relaxation of some of the limits in these guidelines can be justified. Each specimen contained three 8.5-foot-long columns, connected at mid-height by two 9-foot-long beams. Initially, a constant axial load was applied to each column. The specimens were then subjected to a displacement-controlled loading schedule to simulate the type of displacements a frame may experience during a severe earthquake. In designing the specimens, the latest recommendations of the ACI-ASCE Committee 352 and the ACI building code ACI 318-83 were satisfied except for the following modifications: (1) the flexural strength ratio (M(R)) in the second specimen was reduced from 1.4 to 1.2, (2) the shear-stress factors (γ) in the joints of the third specimen were increased from 12 and 15 to 15 and 20 for the exterior and interior joints respectively, and (3) the number of the transverse reinforcements inside the right exterior joint in the fourth specimen was reduced from 4 to 2 sets of hoops. The conclusion inferred from the results indicate that for drift levels within the elastic range, the elongations and the rotations of the beam regions near the faces of the columns, in addition to the joint shear strains, were not affected by the design values for the primary variables in the last three specimens. For larger excursions into the inelastic range, the relaxation of the current Committee 352 design recommendations in the last three specimens not only showed a significant effect in reducing the elongations and the rotations of the beams, or in increasing the joint shear strains but led to lower energy dissipation of the specimens. Consequently, the current design guidelines by the ACI-ASCE Committee 352 yield statically indeterminate frames which exhibit sufficient ductility.