Application of Different Rehabilitation and Strengthening Methods for Insufficient RC Beam-Column Joints

Earthquake is one of the most destructive natural disasters that cause loss of life and property in the earthquake prone regions. Unsuitable soil conditions, inadequate material properties and deficiencies in the structural system can lead to costly seismic damages to structures. In this study, damages caused by the earthquakes were examined for reinforced concrete beam-column joints. The most common damage type observed in earthquakes is the beam-column joint damage that decreases the lateral load bearing capacity and might be the reason for total collapse of structures. Weak bonding between concrete and reinforcing bars, absence of transverse reinforcement and incapable shear strength of RC beam-column joint are the most common causes for RC beam-column joint damage. After numerous experimental works, different strengthening methods were developed in literature. This paper discusses various strengthening methods including conventional and new techniques as well as their technological application details and the issues arise in practice.