Experimental and numerical studies on seismic behaviour of exterior beam-column joints

A nonlinear finite element analysis using ANSYS is used to evaluate the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete exterior beam-column joints. The behavior of the finite element models under cyclic loading is compared with the experimental results. Two beam-column joint specimens (SH and SHD) with square hoop confinement in joint and throughout the column with detailing as per IS 13920 are studied. The specimen SHD was provided with additional diagonal bars from column to beam to relocate the plastic hinge formation from beam-column interface. The load-displacement relationship, joint shear stress and strain in beam obtained from numerical study showed good agreement with the experimental results. This investigation proves that seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete beam-column joints under reversed cyclic loading can be evaluated successfully using finite element modeling and analysis.