Seismic behavior of steel beam and reinforced concrete column connections

This paper aims to investigate the seismic behavior of steel beam to reinforced concrete column connections with or without the floor slab, acting as a proof test for a three-story-three-bay reinforced concrete column and steel beam (RCS) in-plane frame tested at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), Taiwan, by the Taiwan-USA international research cooperation group. In total, six cruciform RCS joint sub-assemblages were constructed and tested. Parameters considered included composite effects of the slab and beam, the tie configuration in the panel zone, effects of the cross-beam, and the loading protocol. Force-deformation behavior was also simulated by a nonlinear analysis program, DRAIN-2DX, with consideration of composite effects of the beam and slab as well as shear distortion in the panel zone. Test results showed that all specimens performed in a ductile manner with plastic hinges formed in the beam ends near the column face. It was found that the ultimate strength of the composite beam was increased by 27% on average, compared with that of the steel beam without the slab.