Discussion of ‘eccentric reinforced concrete beam-column connections subjected to cyclic loading in principal directions’

Abstract

The discussers previously evaluated current U.S. code procedures for estimating the joint shear capacity of RC edge (interior) eccentric beam-column connections by analyzing the experimental data that was available in the literature.24 They concluded that the average of beam and column widths well represented the effective joint width of those connections in general; this was also so for connections with a floor slab.20,24 The discussers have applied the same analysis for the two corner/exterior eccentric connections of this paper that exhibited joint shear failure (W75 and W150). [...] the previously investigated 12 interior eccentric connections without a floor slab or transverse beams achieved, on average, 151%, 130%, and 114% of the joint shear strengths calculated using the effective joint widths of b^sub j^,^sub 318^, b^sub j^,^sub 352^, and (b^sub b^ + b^sub c^)/2, respectively.20 Thus, the average of the ratios of b^sub j^,^sub est^ divided by (b^sub b^ + b^sub c^)/2 are approximately 0.78 and 1.\n Remarkable yield plateau and permanent strain represent that that bar strain went into the plastic range during the 4% drift cycles.