Seismic performance of earthquake-resilient beam-to-column connection considering friction-slip mechanism

The demand for developing recoverable functional structure systems presents new challenges in the field of earthquake engineering. An earthquake-resilient beam-to-column connection (ERBC) considering friction-slip mechanism is proposed to improve seismic performance and achieve rapid restoration of structural function after earthquakes. Quasi-static tests were conducted to study the seismic behavior and the seismic reparability of ERBC. Results demonstrated that ERBC developed favorable hysteresis behavior, while obvious local buckling was observed in the con-ventional beam-to-column with reduced beam section connection (RBSC). The hysteretic curve for ERBC was more plumped, while an evident strength degradation was initiated by the local buckling in RBSC. Compared with RBSC, the activation of the friction-slip mechanism of ERBC improved the stress development and avoided premature local buckling. The ductility of ERBC was greatly enhanced and it could develop a relatively high bearing capacity at the limit state owing to the collisions in steel plate dampers under large drift. The energy dissipation capacity of ERBC was about 2.13 times of RBSC. The beam and column remained elastic, achieving the purpose of plastic damage control and protecting the framing component. Moreover, the repaired specimen ERBC-R experienced a similar failure process to ERBC with desirable hysteresis behavior. The bearing capacity of ERBC-R was restored up to 95% of ERBC, while the energy dissipation capacity was restored by about 97%. The proposed ERBC had high potential in earthquake resilience and the seismic performance could be effectively recovered by a convenient replacement of damaged members.