Eccentric Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Joints Subjected to Cyclic Loading

An experimental study into the behavior of eccentric beam-column joints subjected to cyclic loading is presented. Data from this work was analyzed together with prior data from the literature. It was observed that all the eccentric joint specimens tested by the authors yielded in the beam during testing, and the recorded maximum joint shear stresses were essentially determined by the applied joint shear stresses at beam yielding, even when when the design (applied) joint shear stresses were much higher than the calculated shear strengths of concentric joints. The effect of joint eccentricity on joint shear strength was assessed by limiting the shear deformation on the near face of the eccentric joints to the shear deformation of the companion concentric joint. A modified formula for the shear strength of eccentric joints is suggested and compared with code design formulas.