The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

A beam-column joint model for simulating the earthquake response of reinforced concrete frames

Lowes, Laura N.; Mitra, Nilanjan; Altoontash, Arash

PEER-2003/10, Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 2003, 59 pages (400/P33/2003-10)

Experimental investigation of the earthquake response of reinforced concrete subassemblages indicates that stiffness and strength loss resulting from beam-column joint damage may be substantial. To simulate inelastic joint action, a joint element is developed that is appropriate for use with traditional beam-column elements in 2-D nonlinear frame analysis. The proposed formulation includes 4 external nodes with a total of 12 external degrees of freedom. However, the element is a super-element, and includes 4 additional internal degrees of freedom.

Available online: http://peer.berkeley.edu/publications/peer_reports/reports_2003/0310.pdf