Experimental Evaluation of the Failure of a Seismic Design Category - B Precast Concrete Beam-Column Connection System
Abstract
Modern cities across the United States choose to use multistory buildings in an attempt to optimize the available construction space. These structures are required by governing building codes to be designed for regional or site-specific seismic hazards that affect the resulting loads on moment resisting beam-column connections. These seismically designed connections and seismic structural systems provide resistance to shear and moment forces resulting from the seismic loads. But little is known about predicting their capacity in a brittle manner under a disproportionate collapse condition. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) was tasked by the Department of Homeland Security under the Building Stabilization Program to conduct a full-scale experiment to test a precast concrete beam-column system to failure. This experiment was designed to evaluate the performance of precast frame systems in order to develop a methodology and obtain basic insight for predicting the brittle failure of precast beam-column connections under conditions related to a disproportionate collapse scenario. Understanding the parameters that affect the onset of brittle failure of these systems will lead to the development of new techniques allowing first responders to assess the stability of the structures in real time prior to entering for rescue operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA613557
Entities
People
- Henry L. Blake
- Jorge O. Torres-alamo
- Vincent P. Chiarito
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center