Parametric Investigation of Joint Mechanics

The paper investigates the influence of design variables such as axial load, amount of transverse reinforcement, concrete strength, presence of transverse beams, and bond demand on the strength and behavior of beam-column joints. Observations are drawn from a database of 86 beam-column joint tests compiled from published literature, and from the results of a simple mechanical model developed using equilibrium, kinematic, and material considerations. The study provides a detailed description of the parametric dependence of joint behavior, and underscores diversity in experimental techniques used in various countries. It is concluded that this factor is largely responsible for the differences in the empirical interpretations of observed joint behavior that have been proposed by U.S., New Zealand and Japanese investigators to explain joint mechanics.