Study on the seismic performance of replaceable concrete coupling beams with RC slabs by experiments and simulations

The objective of this paper was to analyze the seismic behavior of replaceable concrete coupling beams (RCCB) with reinforced concrete (RC) slabs and compare them with replaceable steel coupling beams (RSCB). And it focused on the damage of the slab and the influence of slab configurations on the mechanical properties of coupling beam. Five full-scale specimens were fabricated for failure test, among which four were RCCBs and one was RSCB. The test results showed the damage of the slab could be reduced by improving the deformation capacity of the slab or replacing the concrete with ECC materials. By using OpenSees, contributes of the slab to the coupling beam was analysed considering the extrusion of the slab and coupling beam, the influence of elevating distance of slab and pretension force of the prestressed tendons on the seismic performance of coupling beams and slabs were discussed, and the axial mechanical properties of the coupling beams during loading were investigated.