Seismic Strengthening of RC Beam-Column Connections

In a frame system, the seismic energy is mostly dissipated through the development of plastic hinges located, in general, at the extremities of the elements. Thus, admitting a seismic conception of strong-column–weak-beam, the global structure response improvement can be attained through the strengthening of the beams in the beam-column connections. This fact justifies the search for new RC beam-column connections solutions with high seismic performance.