INFLUENCE OF JOINT RESPONSE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF EXISTING REINFORCED CONCRETE FRAMES

Abstract eng:
In the seismic performance assessment of existing Reinforced Concrete buildings, non-ductile failures related to beam-column joint regions can represent a critical issue. Therefore, within the context of Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering, a growing attention should be addressed to the behavior of these non-ductile elements, starting from the classification of their failure typology. In particular, in typical existing buildings, seismic performance might be significantly affected by the non-linear behavior of joints which are involved in the failure mechanisms because of poor structural detailing (e.g. lack of an adequate transverse reinforcement in joint panel, deficiencies in the anchorage or absence of any capacity design principle). Nevertheless, conventional modeling approaches consider only beam and column flexibility, although joints can provide a great contribution to the global deformability. In this study, a numerical investigation on the influence of joint response on the seismic behavior of a case study RC frame – designed for seismic loads according to an obsolete technical code – is performed. A preliminary classification of joint failure typology of the elements within the frames and the definition of the corresponding nonlinear behavior are carried out. Structural models that explicitly include beam-column joints are built. A probabilistic assessment based on nonlinear dynamic simulations of structural behavior is performed to evaluate the seismic response at different performance levels. Uncertainty in seismic ground-motion is accounted for.

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