Experimental Investigation on Link Column Frame System for Reinforced Concrete Structures

Abstract

The structural and non-structural components of a building is subjected to seismic forces that must have adequate strength and stiffness to minimize the inter-storey drift during structure excitations. One of the most efficient methods was proposed by Dusicka et al. [6] in the Linked Column Frame (LCF) system for steel structures. The main objective of this system is in utilizing the replaceable components that are positioned in such a way to protect the gravity load carrying system of the structure. In this paper, the concept of LCF is extends to Reinforced Concrete structures. The experimental investigation carried out in this research presents the behaviour of LCF with various connections which include rigid and hinged connection as per IS 12303-1987.Design of the LCF system should be checked to ensure that the plastic hinges developed in the links of the linked column should have reduced storey drift compared to the plastic hinges developed in the moment resisting frame system. In this experiment, cyclic load tests are carried out on a single bay frame with and without linked column. A significant reduction in the relative storey drifts along with an increase in energy dissipation of the linked column frame was noticed.