Comparative analysis of the seismic behaviour of SRUHSC columns and frames under reverse cyclic loading

Abstract

Comparative analyses are conducted on experiments in which steel-reinforced ultra-high-strength concrete (SRUHSC) columns and SRUHSC frames are tested under reverse cyclic loadings. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of axial compression ratio on the seismic performance of SRUHSC columns and SRUHSC frames and to examine the distinction between the seismic behaviour of individual columns and that of the frame structures. Taking axial compression ratio as the primary study parameter, the failure mode, hysteresis curve, skeleton curve, stiffness degradation, energy dissipation capacity and residual displacement of the SRUHSC column and SRUHSC frame are systematically analysed. The analysis results show that, with the increase of axial compression ratio, individual SRUHSC columns are characterised by bending failure, whereas SRUHSC frames are characterised by bending-bond failure. Consequently, the deterioration of seismic performance is observed when comparing SRUHSC frames with individual columns, and the reduction factor should be considered if the seismic design of SRUHSC frame structures is based on the performance evaluation of individual columns.