Experimental study of precast beam-to-column joints with steel connectors under cyclic loading

This article investigated the seismic performance of a new type of precast concrete beam-to-column joint with a steel connector for easy construction. Five interior beam-to-column joints, four precast concrete specimens, and one monolithic joint were tested under reversed cyclic loading. The main variables were the embedded H-beam length, web plate or stiffening rib usage, and concrete usage in the connection part. The load-displacement hysteresis curves were recorded during the test, and the behavior was investigated based on displacement ductility, deformability, skeleton curves, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation capacity. The results showed that the proposed beam-to-column joint with the web plate in the steel connector exhibited satisfactory behavior in terms of ductility, load capacity, and energy dissipation capacity under reversed cyclic loading, and the performance was ductile because of the yielding of the web plate. Therefore, the proposed joint with the web plate could be used in high seismic regions. The proposed joint without the web plate exhibited similar behavior to the monolithic specimen, indicating that this joint could be used in low or moderate seismic zones. Furthermore, the utilization of the web plate was vital to the performance of this system.