Experimental study of the stochastic nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete frames

Eight 1/2-scale reinforced concrete (RC) model frames with one story and two spans were tested to investigate the stochastic and nonlinear behavior of the frames. All the specimens were designed and tested the same. Besides, a new force transducer was also designed to measure the axial force, shear, and bending moment at the bottom section of columns. We get not only the load- displacement curves of the frames but also the internal forces of the columns. The results demonstrate that, in the structure level the responses were close but in the member level the internal forces varied greatly. The influence of stochastic cracking and hinging is then discussed. It is concluded that only when research based on the background of coupling in randomness and nonlinearity of concrete material can reflect true response of structures.