Experimental Study on a Damage-Control and Repairable Fully Precast Beam-Column Joint

A novel joint with a splice lap was proposed, which was damage-control and repairable fully precast beam-column joint (DRBJ) connected by energy-dissipating connecting steel plates to remarkably diminish the residual displacement of an RC frame under strong earthquakes and ensure the rapid rehabilitation of the structure. Four one-half scale beam-column-joint specimens were designed and fabricated in different connection forms and lap lengths, and one of the specimens was loaded again under the same conditions after repair. Low cyclic loading tests on DRBJ were conducted to investigate their hysteresis curves and energy-dissipation capacities. The test results revealed that the plastic deformation of DRBJ was concentrated on connecting steel plates, while the residual displacement was small. The deformation and bearing capacities of the short-lap joint were higher than those of the long-lap junction, and the bearing, energy consumption, and deformation capacities of the DRBJ connected by strip plates were still superior to those of the DRBJ connected by the rectangular plates. The DRBJ showed satisfactory repairability and energy-dissipation capacity with the help of the strip plates. A simplified force–displacement model was established based on the analysis of the functioning mechanism of DRBJ. The calculated results of the rotational stiffness and the test results agree well, which can provide a reference for the design of this type of splice joint.