Seismic performance of prefabricated reinforced concrete column-steel beam sub-assemblages

In this paper, quasi-static tests were carried out on three prefabricated reinforced concrete column-steel beam (RCS) sub-assemblages with floor slabs and one comparison specimen without floor slab. The effects of axial compression and floor slab on the seismic performance were studied, and finite element simulations were conducted using ABAQUS. The results showed that the failure of prefabricated RCS sub-assemblages with floor occurred as a joint beam and column failure mode, while failure of sub-assemblages without floor occurred due to beam plastic hinge formation. Compared to the prefabricated RCS sub-assemblages without floor slab, the overall stiffness of the sub-assemblages with floor slab was between 19.2% and 45.4% higher, and the maximum load bearing capacity increased by 26.8%. However, the equivalent viscosity coefficient was essentially unchanged. When the axial compression ratio increased from 0.24 to 0.36, the hysteretic loops of the sub-assemblages with floor became fuller, and the load bearing capacity, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity increased by 12.1%, 12.9% and 8.9%, respectively. Also, the initial stiffness increased by 10.2%, but the stiffness degradation accelerated. The proportion of column drift caused by beam end plastic bending and column end bending changed from 35% and 46% to 47% and 36%, respectively. Comparative finite element analyses indicated that the numerical simulation outcomes agreed well with the experimental results.