Tests on seismic behavior of exterior joints of prefabricated steel reinforced concrete frame

Through the cyclic loading tests on seismic behavior of 2 full size exterior joints of prefabricated steel reinforced concrete (SRC) frame, and the seismic behavior, including the failure pattern, the bearing capacity, the hysteretic property, the ductility and so on, of the exterior joint with a dog-bone type weakening on the flange of the H-type steel at the beam end is investigated and compared with that of the ordinary joint. The results show that the position of plastic hinge of the ordinary joint is at the root section of the beam, but the position of plastic hinge of the dog-bone type weakened joint is out-transmitted to the weakening section, which may avoid the unfavorable influence of plastic hinge on the joint core. The bearing capacity of the dog-bone type weakened joint is reduced slightly and is about 88% of that of the ordinary joint, but the first cracking time of the dog-bone type weakened joint is retarded. The shape of hysteresis loop of the ordinary joint is between shuttle and spindle, but the shape of hysteresis loop of the dog-bone type weakened joint is full spindle. The ductility and energy dissipation of the dog-bone type weakened joint may increased by 26.7% and 21.3% than that of the ordinary joint, which proves that the dog-bone type weakening may improve the seismic behavior of the exterior joint of the prefabricated SRC frame.