Seismic performance of new prefabricated RCS composite frame connections

In the report， a new type of prefabricated reinforced concrete column-steel beam （RCS） composite frame connection was proposed， of which the configuration form and work mechanism was elucidated. In order to study the hysteretic performance， a full-scale connection specimen was designed and manufactured， the low cycle reversed loading tests were performed to observe the deformation characteristics of the connection during the loading process， and the hysteretic curve， skeleton curve and strain variation law of the node were analyzed. The results indicated that the failure state of the experiment is the failure of beam end， which meets the seismic design requirements of strong columns and weak beams， there are no the intercolumn weld in the connection during the entire loading process， and there are no cracks observed in the concrete on the surface of the upper and lower prefabricated columns. Based on the test data， ABAQUS finite element software was used to establish the three-dimensional model of the specimen， and the variable parameters were analyzed. Our findings suggested that with the increase of the thickness of the hoop plate， both the bearing capacity and stiffness of the connection increase， and compared with changing the thickness of the inner plate， increasing the thickness of the hoop plate can improve the performance of the connection more effectively.