SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF RC BUILDINGS WITH REPLACEABLE COUPLING BEAMS

Replaceable coupling beam is an innovative type of structural members. When replacing the reinforced concretecoupling beams with energy dissipation devices, the structural performance will not be affected under minor earthquakes. Under relative strong earthquakes, damage isconcentrated in the replaceable device located in the coupling beam and the main structure remainsintact. This paper introduces the theory and design method of replaceable coupling beam andpresents the tests of large-scale RC shear wall with replaceable coupling beams. A real engineering project of a high-rise frame-shear structure with replaceable low yield steel devices was analyzed using two software and full-scale cyclic tests of the replaceable devices were conducted. The results show excellent energy dissipation capacity of the replaceable devices whereastheseismic performance of the structure with replaceable coupling beams was demonstratedthrough the comparison with the structure with ordinary coupling beams, including the comparison ofdynamic properties, global and local response as well as the damage distribution and energy dissipation. It indicates that replaceablecoupling beam has the desirable seismic performance by concentrating damage in the replaceabledevices, whereas the global response of the structure can meet the requirements of design codes.