Study of Seismic Behavior of RC Beam-Column Joints Strengthened by Sprayed FRP

Abstract

To study the seismic behavior of RC beam-column joints strengthened with sprayed FRP, five 1 : 2 reduced-scale specimens of joints were tested through quasi-static experiments. The failure modes, hysteretic curves, skeleton curves, strength, deformation, degradation of strength and stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity were studied. Furthermore, the effect of three main influencing factors including the sprayed FRP thickness, strengthened area, and axial compression ratio was analyzed in this paper as well. The results show that sprayed FRP strengthening can improve the seismic behavior of RC beam-column joints effectively. The increase of sprayed FRP thickness can lead to a better seismic performance for the joints. Strengthening area can affect the bearing capacity obviously. Higher axial compression ratio can increase the bearing capacity and initial stiffness, but it can make the deformation capacity and ductility decreased. The study can provide references to further research on the sprayed FRP material for strengthening of RC beam-column joints.