Performance of hybrid beam-column joint cast with high strength concrete

This paper presents investigation into the behavior of beam-column joints, with the joint region concrete being replaced by steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) and by ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). A total of ten beam-column joint specimens (BCJ) were tested experimentally to failure under monotonic and cyclic loading, with the beam section being subjected to flexural loading and the column to combined flexural and axial loading. The joint region essentially transferred shear and axial stresses as received from the column. Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) were used as an innovative construction and/or strengthening scheme for some of the BCJ specimens. The reinforced concrete specimens were reinforced with longitudinal steel rebar, 18 mm, and some specimens were reinforced with an additional two ties in the joint region. The results showed that using SFRC and UHPC as a replacement concrete for the BCJ improved the joint shear strength and the load carrying capacity of the hybrid specimens. The mode of failure was also converted from a non-desirable joint shear failure to a preferred beam flexural failure. The effect of the ties in the SFRC and UHPC joint regions could not be observed due to the beam flexural failure. Several models were used in estimating the joint shear strength for different BCJ specimens. The results showed that the existing models yielded wide-ranging values. A new concept to take into account the influence of column axial load on the shear strength of beam-column joints is also presented, which demonstrates that the recommended values for concrete tensile strength for determination of joint shear strength need to be amended for joints subject to moderate to high axial loads. Furthermore, finite element model (FEM) simulation to predict the behaviour of the hybrid BCJ specimens was also carried out in an ABAQUS environment. The result of the FEM modelling showed good agreement with experimental results.