Effects of axial compression ratio and face-bearing plate thickness on seismic performance of hybrid joints
The influence of different axial compression ratios and face-bearing plate thicknesses was considered,in order to investigate the seismic performance of a new whole column-section diaphragm type reinforced concrete column-steel beam(RCS)hybrid frame joint.Two groups of six 3/4 scaled beam-column joints were subjected to low-cycle reversed loading tests.All specimens experienced the expected joint shear failure,and the hysteresis curve showed a bow shape which indicated that a good seismic performance was available for the novel joints.Eventually,the specimens lost their bearing capacity due to concrete cracking and spalling in the joint region.The test results showed that,within the range of axial compression ratios from 0 to 0.25,the cracking load of the RCS joints increased with the increase of the axial compression ratio.The number of diagonal cracks appearing during the phase preceding the peak load diminished,accompanied by a reduction in their width,and the bearing capacity,stiffness,and energy dissipation capacity of the specimens all improved.The bonding stress within the joint region also diminished as the axial compression ratio increased,indicating a pronounced enhancement in the bonding condition within the joint.Compared to the unidirectional face-bearing plate specimens,the bidirectional face-bearing plate specimens exhibit significant improvements in bearing capacity,ductility,and energy dissipation capacity.The increase in the thickness of the bidirectional face-bearing plate from 6 mm to 10 mm has a relatively limited effect on the peak bearing capacity and stiffness of the specimens.