Experimental Testing Program to Investigate the Collapse Drift Capacity of Limited Ductile High-Strength RC Columns

Collapse of one or more columns under severe ground motions leads to redistribution of internal forces in a reinforced concrete (RC) frame system, and thus, may serve as a precursor to the progressive collapse of the whole structure. While axial load collapse behavior of limited ductile normal-strength reinforced concrete (NSRC) columns has been widely investigated, very few experimental studies explored the collapse behavior of limited ductile high-strength reinforced concrete (HSRC) columns. This paper presents the details of an ongoing experimental testing program to investigate the collapse behavior of limited-ductile HSRC columns prevalent in regions of low to moderate seismicity. Axial load ratio, transverse reinforcement ratio, concrete compressive strength and direction of loading are the variables of the study. The paper presents preliminary results of the testing program, in which two limited ductile high-strength RC columns are tested under variable axial load ratios.