Nonlinear finite element analyses of reinforced concrete beam-column joints subjected to cyclic loading

Abstract

Interaction of forces and moments in a beam-column joint is complex and most of the time nonlinear. Thus, a simple, global model is insufficient to estimate the performance and behavior of the joint. Results from several nonlinear finite element analyses of beam-column joints using VecTor2 are presented herein. Four interior and two exterior beam-column joint models with three different types of failure were studied. The analysis results in terms of force-drift ratio curves and crack patterns were then compared to the experimental results. In general, the results obtained from VecTor2 were satisfactory, but in some cases the program could not accurately capture the strength degradation observed in the specimen with joint shear failure. Moreover, the crack patterns were not accurately captured. Nevertheless, VecTor2 can still estimate the peak forces well for all specimens in this study.