Cite this article Research Article Keywords: joints/modelling/shear

Cui Y, Ma H, Song K, Li Z and Tang Z Paper 1900264

Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete frame joint subjected to arbitrary horizontal loading. Received 27/05/2019; Revised 17/10/2019;
Magazine of Concrete Research, Accepted 05/11/2019
https://doi.org/10.1680/jmacr.19.00264
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Magazine of Concrete Research

Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete frame

joint subjected to arbitrary horizontal loading
Yanwei Cui
Lecturer, Key Laboratory of Urban Security and Disaster Engineering of
Education Ministry, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China;
Department of School of Civil and Transportation Engineering,
Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
(corresponding author: cuiyanwei666@163.com)
Hua Ma
Professor, Key Laboratory of Urban Security and Disaster Engineering of
Education Ministry, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
Kun Song
Lecturer, Department of Architecture Engineering and Mechanics,
Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, China
Zhenbao Li
Professor, Key Laboratory of Urban Security and Disaster Engineering of
Education Ministry, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
Zhenyun Tang
Professor, Key Laboratory of Urban Security and Disaster Engineering of
Education Ministry, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China

Earthquake action is multi-dimensional and random. The anti-seismic capability of beam–column joints in reinforced
concrete (RC) frame structures under arbitrary horizontal direction loading may be lower than the design capability
for unidirectional earthquake actions. To date, detailed calculation methods for the shear capability and shearing
performance of joints in RC frames under arbitrary horizontal direction loading have not been reported. For this
reason, in this work, the shear mechanism of beam–column joints in an RC frame under arbitrary horizontal direction
loading is analysed. This study shows that two oblique compression zones form at the corners of the joint when a
synthetic shear force is imposed on the joint, and an oblique compression strut is formed in the core area of the
joint, which is different from the shear mechanism of a joint under unidirectional loading. Furthermore, a shear
capacity calculation model is established based on the strut-and-tie model. The predicted values of the shear
capability in this work are in good agreement with the reported experimental results.

Notation hb beam depth

0
Astr effective area of the oblique compression strut h b0 internal lever arm in the beam
00
Ath , Atv area of the horizontal tie and vertical tie, respectively hb distance between the extreme longitudinal
bc distance between the centroid of the longitudinal reinforcement in the beams
reinforcement on the side of column and the centroid hc distance between the centroid of the longitudinal
of the longitudinal reinforcement on the another side reinforcement on the side of the column and the
of column in the direction of column width centroid of the longitudinal reinforcement on the
b00c , h00c distance between the extreme longitudinal other side of the column in the direction of column
reinforcement in the column on the side of column thickness
width and column thickness, respectively K coefficient representing the beneficial effect of the
Cb, Cb0 compression forces resulting from the tie force on the shear strength
compression zones of beams at right and left of Kh , K v coefficient representing the beneficial effect of the
the joint, respectively horizontal tie force and vertical tie force on the
Cc, Cc0 compression forces resulting from the shear strength, respectively
compression zones of columns above and below Kˉ h coefficient representing the beneficial effect of the
the joint, respectively horizontal tie force on the shear strength, at which
Cmax ultimate pressure that is transmitted by the flat strut the horizontal tie reaches yielding at failure
and the oblique compression strut Kˉ v coefficient representing the beneficial effect of the
D compression force in the oblique compression strut vertical tie force on the shear strength, at which the
fc′ compressive strength of a standard concrete cylinder vertical tie reaches yielding at failure
Fh, Fv tension of the horizontal and vertical ties, MbR , MbL bending moments at right and left of the
respectively joint, respectively
Fˉ h tensile of the horizontal tie, at which the horizontal Mc, Mc0 bending moments above and below the joint,
tie reaches yielding at failure respectively
Fˉ v tensile of the vertical tie, at which the vertical tie Nc, Nc0 axial force acting on the columns above and below
reaches yielding at failure the joint, respectively
Fyh , Fyv yielding force of the horizontal tie and vertical Sc area of the compression zone in the column adjacent
tie, respectively to the joint
fyh , fyv yield strength of the horizontal joint hoops and Tbs, Cbs tension and compression resulting from the beam
intermediate column bars, respectively bars adjacent to the joint, respectively

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

Tcs, Ccs tension and compression resulting from the column 800
bars adjacent to the joint, respectively
Vb, V b0 vertical beam shears at right and left of the 600
joint, respectively
400
Vc, V c0 horizontal column shears above and below the joint,

Acceleration: gal
respectively 200
Vh, Vv horizontal and vertical joint shear, respectively
Vh,max maximum horizontal shear force 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Vhx, Vhy horizontal joint shear of the x-axis and y-axis in the
space joint, respectively –200 Time: s
Vjh ultimate horizontal joint shear
–400
α angle of the combined shear action plane with
respect to the x-axis –600
γh fraction of oblique compression carried by the (a)
horizontal tie in the absence of the vertical tie
γv fraction of oblique compression carried by the
vertical tie in the absence of the horizontal tie 800
θ angle of the oblique compression strut with respect
to the horizontal plane 600
ξ softening coefficient of concrete in a
400
compressive state
Acceleration: gal

200

Introduction 0
There have been many examples of seismic damage in 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures with weak joints sub- –200 Time: s
jected to strong earthquakes. Under arbitrary horizontal direc-
–400
tion seismic action, a joint experiences loading from two main
directions simultaneously; under bidirectional loading, the –600
joint would more easily fail due to insufficient resistance.
(b)
Figures 1(a) and 1(b) show the north–south and east–west
seismic acceleration records of the shock wave during the 1995 800 N
Great Hanshin earthquake in Japan. If it is synthesised in the
600
horizontal direction plane as shown in Figure 1(c), it can be
seen from the graph that the direction of the horizontal seismic 400
action is arbitrary, and it also shows that the arbitrary horizon-
200
tal direction may be the main direction of the horizontal
W E
seismic action, which is the primary loading direction of the 0
structure. –1000 –500 0 500 1000
B

–200 A

In current seismic design codes, seismic calculations of RC –400

frames are carried out only along the main axis direction, but
–600
the direction of actual seismic action may not coincide with
the principal direction of the frame. Moreover, under arbitrary –800
horizontal direction loading, both beam–column joints and –1000 S
columns in an RC frame are loaded in two directions at the
same time, and their mechanical and seismic performance may (c)
be greatly reduced as a consequence.
Figure 1. The components of the Great Hanshin earthquake:
(a) the north–south seismic records of the shock wave;
Kitayama et al. (1988) found that the shear capacity of an RC (b) the east–west seismic records of the shock wave;
beam–column joint is enhanced by the inclusion of orthogonal (c) the synthesised seismic of the shock wave in the horizontal
beams and slabs subjected to bidirectional cyclic loading. Fujii direction plane
and Morita (1987) demonstrated that the shear capacity and
stiffness of RC beam–column joints significantly degrade

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 Magazine of Concrete Research
under bidirectional cyclic loading, that the shear strength and
stiffness of the same joints significantly improved by utilising
unloaded transverse beams, and that bidirectional loading has
a significant effect on the deformation of columns and joints.
Sun et al. (2014) investigated the shear performance of three-
dimensional (3D) RC beam–column joints subjected to bidirec-
tional cyclic loading based on the results of non-linear finite
element analysis and verified the existence of a significant
deterioration in the shear strength. Fan et al. (2014) confirmed
that the ultimate strength and ductility of the joints between
concrete-filled square steel columns and composite beams under
bidirectional cyclic loading can be reduced by up to 10–20%
compared with those under unidirectional loading. Burguieres
and Jirsa (1979) concluded that very high composite shears can
be resisted by RC beam–column joints under bidirectional
cyclic loading; however, the strength may deteriorate rapidly
with load cycling; however, the performance under cycling did
not markedly improve with a large increase in the transverse
reinforcement in the core area of the joints. Zhang (1987)
believed that the column end and the core area of a joint are
more likely to be destroyed and that the ultimate strength and
stiffness of joints are significantly degraded under bidirectional
cyclic loading. The composite shear strength of a joint in the
three-dimensional direction can be given, which is greater than
the shear strength in the main direction, but the shear strength
in the main direction under biaxial loading is lower than that
under unidirectional loading. Chen et al. (1995) studied the
shear capacities and bonding behaviours of the longitudinal
reinforcements of several RC spatial joint specimens under bidir-
ectional cyclic loading. Beckingsale (1980) tested one interior
RC joint from a spatial frame and presented an analysis of an
RC column subjected to bidirectional bending.
Many calculation methods for the shear capacity of an RC
beam–column joint subjected to unidirectional loading have
been proposed. Considering the softening effect of cracked
concrete, Hwang and Lee (1999, 2000) established a softening
strut-and-tie model of RC beam–column joints based on the
strut-and-tie model and calculated the shear capacity of plane
joints. Based on an analysis of the stress and strain in the core
area of joints, a general calculation model for the shear capacity
of an RC beam–column joint was established by Attaalla (2004)
in consideration of the softening effect of cracked concrete.
Cui et al. (2014) tested several RC corner joint specimens
under bidirectional cyclic loading and proposed a strut–truss
model for beam–column joints. Kim et al. (2017) developed a
3D macro-element model for beam–column joints that can
better estimate the 3D seismic response; however, this method
requires a moderate amount of computational effort, and it
must be carried out on a PC. Methods for calculating the
shear capacities of RC beam–column joints are also given in
the American (ACI, 2011), European (BSI, 1998), Japanese
(AIJ, 2004) and Chinese (MOHURD, 2015) codes, but these
code methods take an unloaded transverse beam as the
Downloaded by [ University of Melbourne] on [05/01/20]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang
premise and consider only the favourable influence of the
transverse beam.
Nevertheless, the response of an RC beam–column joint when
subjected to bidirectional loading has not been explicitly
reported. The above-mentioned calculation methods for the
shear capacities of joints are mainly applied along the direction
of the principal axis rather than under bidirectional horizontal
main direction loading. Hence, no clear research results have
been reported on the possible adverse effects of simultaneous
(i.e. arbitrary horizontal direction) loading on the shear
capacities of an RC beam–column joint, and no specific visual
method for predicting the shear capacity of a beam–column
joint in an RC frame under arbitrary horizontal direction
loading has been developed. For this reason, in this paper, the
shear mechanism of a joint in an RC frame under arbitrary
horizontal direction loading is ascertained, and a calculation
method for the shear capacity of a joint in an RC frame is
established.
Shear mechanism
According to the research on RC beam–column joints con-
ducted by Paulay et al. (1978), a horizontal shear and a vertical
shear are formed in the core area of a joint under an external
action. The beam bars and column bars throughout the joint
are either in tension or in compression, and compression zones
are formed at the compressed sides of the beam ends and
column ends adjacent to the joint.
Under the combined action of the tension Tbs and the com-
pression Cbs provided by the beam bars at the end of the joint,
the tension Tcs and the compression Ccs provided by the
column bars, and the compression Cb and the compression Cc
provided by the compression of the concrete at the end of the
beam and the column, a tension zone and a compression zone
are formed adjacent to the joint. Under the pressure in the
compression zone, a diagonal compression strut is formed in
the joint (Figure 2). The oblique pressure of the concrete strut
forms a balance relationship with Vh and Vv, making the strut
resist both horizontal and vertical shearing in the joint. The
horizontal joint shear force can be calculated as

 0
1: Vh ¼ MbR þ MbL =hb0  Vc
where Vh is the horizontal joint shear force; MbR , MbL , the
bending moments at the right and left ends of the joint,
0
respectively; hb0 , the distance between the extreme longitudinal
reinforcement in the beams; and Vc, the horizontal column
shear force above the joint. The vertical joint shear Vv can be
calculated by the same method.
Under arbitrary horizontal direction loading, the angle
between the horizontal direction of loading and the x-direction
of the structure is α, the horizontal joint shear forces Vhx and
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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

Vhy (Figure 3) are formed in the x-direction and y-direction, in both directions can be combined into a vertical composite
respectively, of the joint core region. The horizontal joint shear shear force Vv.
forces in both directions can be further combined into a hori-
zontal composite shear force Vh, while the vertical shear forces Under arbitrary horizontal direction loading, a beam–column
joint in an RC frame is loaded simultaneously in the bidirec-
tional horizontal main direction. However, the loadings in the
Nc two horizontal main directions are not necessarily identical.
Mc
An inclined compression zone is formed at the column corner.
Vc An oblique compression strut (Figure 4) is formed in the core
Ccs Cc Tcs area of the joint under the combined acting of the compression
Diagonal compression
Compression zone Vc zones at the ends of the beams and column in two directions,
strut
C'bs Vv Tbs which is consistent with the spatial strut in RC beam–column
C'b Vb
MbL VbL VbR MbR joints predicted by Paulay and Park (1984).
V'b Vh Cb
T'bs Cbs
Compression zone The stress distribution in the core area of the joint is complex
V'c
T'cs C'c C'cs and belongs to the disturbed region (D-region), where the strain
distribution is significantly non-linear. Schlaich and Schäfer
V'c
(1991) established a strut-and-tie model to calculate the shear
M'c capacity of the D-region in RC members. Considering the
N'c
softening effect of cracked concrete proposed by Vecchio and
Figure 2. External actions and internal shears acting on a joint Collings (1986), Hwang and Lee (1999, 2000) established a
under unidirectional loading softening strut-and-tie model to calculate the shear strength of
RC beam–column joints subjected to unidirectional loading.

According to the above-mentioned analysis of the shear mech-

M Lbx anism of joints, oblique compression zones are formed at the
Nc
ends of the upper and lower columns of the joint under arbi-
V Lbx
Mcx trary horizontal direction loading with simultaneous loadings
Mcy Column in the two horizontal main directions. It is assumed that a con-
Vcy crete bottle-shaped compression strut with two small ends and
Vcx Beam a large middle is formed in the oblique direction of the joints,
as represented by the shaded area in Figure 5. The combined
shear acting plane of the joint is the vertical plane where the
horizontal shear force Vh and the vertical shear force Vv are
MRby located. Under arbitrary horizontal direction loading, accord-
Vv ing to the angle of loading, the combined shear acting plane
M Lby Vhy

Vh V Rby Column
Vhx α compression
zone
V Lby v Beam
x compression
y zone

V Rbx
MRbx Oblique concrete
compression strut
M'cx V'cx V'cy Beam
α compression
v
zone
M'cy x
y Column
compression
N'c zone

Figure 3. External actions and internal shears acting on a joint Figure 4. End conditions for the oblique compression strut of a
under arbitrary horizontal direction loading joint under arbitrary horizontal direction loading

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

revolves around the connection of O and O′, which are the

v hc centres of the upper and lower cross-section of the joint,
Vv respectively. The angle between the combined shear acting
c
b

plane and the x-direction is α. Under unidirectional loading,

O
Vh α = 0, and under bidirectional loading (i.e. where the loadings
in the two main directions are identical), α = π/4. The concrete
strut in the core area of the joint resists the horizontal shear
h''b

Vh and the vertical shear Vv, and the concrete strut, stirrups
Oblique concrete
compression strut
and column bars form a strut-and-tie model to bear the joint
hb

shear force in the combined shear acting plane of the joint

θ (Figure 5).
Vh α x
O'
Bottle-shaped
Calculation method
c'
b'

compression strut
Vv
hc'' Oblique compression strut
Combined shear acting plane
y Due to the uncertainties associated with the relevant parameters
(a) defining arbitrary horizontal direction loading, the concrete
compression zone of a rectangular column under bidirectional
v hc eccentric compression must be obtained based on the axial force
Vv and angle of horizontal direction loading. In rectangular
columns and square columns, rebar can be significantly different
c
b

O in the two directions of loading, and the column ends are

Vh restrained by different rebars in different directions, for direction
of moment and shear to be different. To simplify this approach,
this paper mainly focuses on the case of a square cross-sectional
h''b

Oblique concrete column, where the rebar of the column is uniform in the two
compression strut
directions of loading. The results reveal an equivalent com-
hb

Vh pression zone at the corner of the column, and the angle

θ
between the neutral axis and the x-direction is identical with
O' x
Bottle-shaped the angle between the combined shear acting plane and the
c'
b'

compression strut x-direction, which can also be expressed as α (Figure 6).

Vv
hc''
Combined shear acting plane
y Under arbitrary horizontal direction loading, the bottle-
(b) shaped compression strut in the joint can be idealised as an
equivalent oblique compression strut (Figure 7). According to
v hc
the characteristics of an oblique compression strut, it can be
Oblique concrete assumed that the cross-section of the strut is perpendicular to
Vv compression strut the diagonal (AF) in the combined shear acting plane of the
c
b

O joint, and the angle between the diagonal AF and the horizon-
tal plane is the inclination angle of the oblique compression
h''b

bc o
Vh α
Vh
hb

hc

θ
α
s
d

y
O' x
Bottle-shaped
c'
b'

compression strut
Vv
hc''
Combined shear acting plane Neutral axis
y x
(c)
Equivalent compression zone
Figure 5. Shear-resisting mechanism of a joint: (a) under arbitrary
horizontal direction loading; (b) under unidirectional loading; Figure 6. Column compression zone under arbitrary horizontal
(c) under bidirectional loading direction loading

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

v Vv v
sc Vv
B
O
O Vh
A Vh
C
D Fh
E
D

hb''
h''b

Astr Fv
M L
Oblique compression strut
θ θ O'
H O' x x
Vh
Vh F α α
c'
b'

c'
b'
G y
y hc''
Vv
Vv hc''

Figure 7. Oblique compression strut of a joint under arbitrary

Figure 8. Strut-and-tie shear-resisting mechanism of a joint under
horizontal direction loading
arbitrary horizontal direction loading

strut θ. Because the area of the compression zone at the end of

without stirrups and intermediate column bars; the second is
column Sc is much larger than the area of the zone at the
an oblique compression strut and horizontal reinforcement
beam end, the cross-sectional area of the oblique compression
shear-resisting mechanism without intermediate column bars;
strut Astr can be determined only according to Sc, which is
the third case is an oblique compression strut and vertical
approximately equal to the horizontal projection of Astr.
reinforcement shear-resisting mechanism without stirrups; and
0 1 the fourth is a complete strut-and-tie shear-resisting mechan-
B h00 b C ism with both stirrups and intermediate column bars.
2: θ ¼ tan1 @qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiA
h00 2c þ ðh00 c tan αÞ2
For the first case – that without stirrups and intermediate
column bars – only the concrete resists the shear, and thus the
strut-and-tie model can be simplified into an oblique com-
Sc Sc pression strut shear-resisting mechanism (Figure 9), which
3: Astr  ¼
cosððπ=2Þ  θÞ sin θ

v
Vv

O
Calculation model Vh
A strut-and-tie model can be established in the combined
shear acting plane of the joint as shown in Figure 8, in which
h''b

the dotted lines represent the compression struts formed by D

concrete, and the solid lines represent the ties formed by hori-
zontal stirrups and the middle column bar. When the
reinforcement is sufficient, D is the pressure of the oblique
θ O'
compression strut in the model, Fh is the tension of the hori- Vh x
zontal tie transformed from the horizontal stirrups, and Fv is α
c'

the tension of the vertical tie transformed from the intermedi- y

b'

ate column bars. The intersection of the oblique compression Vv

strut, the horizontal tie and the vertical tie is the central point hc''
of the core area of the joint.
Figure 9. The oblique compression strut shear-resisting
The strut-and-tie model is divided into four cases: the first case mechanism
is an oblique compression strut shear-resisting mechanism

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

includes only the compression struts. Based on the equilibrium

relationship between pressure D of the oblique compression v
Vv
strut and the horizontal shear force Vh, Equation 4 can be
obtained. O
Vh
4: Vh ¼ D cos θ D

Fv

h''b
For the second case – that without intermediate column bars –
only the concrete and stirrups resist the shear, and thus the
strut-and-tie model can be simplified into the oblique com- θ O'
Vh x
pression strut and horizontal reinforcement shear-resisting α
mechanism (Figure 10).

c'
y

b'
Vv
The mechanism constitutes a statically indeterminate truss,
hc''
and it can be calculated according to the research of Schäfer
(1996) and Hwang and Lee (1999, 2000) in addition to the
method given in the code of the Comité Euro-International du Figure 11. The oblique compression strut and vertical column
Béton-Federation Internationale de la Précontrainte (CEB- reinforcement shear-resisting mechanism
FIP) (FIB, 2010).

5: Fh ¼ γh Vh compression strut and vertical reinforcement shear-resisting

mechanism (Figure 11).

Using the same method, Equation 7 for calculating the tension

2 tan θ  1 Fv of the vertical tie can be obtained.
6: γh ¼ and 0  γh  1
3
7: Fv cot θ ¼ γv Vh

For the third case – that without stirrups – only the concrete
and intermediate column bars resist the shear, and thus the
2 cot θ  1
strut-and-tie model can be simplified into the oblique 8: γv ¼ and 0  γv  1
3

v For the fourth case – that with stirrups and intermediate

Vv columns – the complete strut-and-tie model can be obtained
(Figure 8).
O
Vh
Both the stirrups and the intermediate column bars can
D improve the shear capacity of the joint. When the reinforce-
Fh
ment is sufficient, D, Fh and Fv are all satisfied by the above
hb''

relationships. However, when the reinforcement is insufficient,

the restraint capacity of the stirrups or the intermediate
column bars to concrete is insufficient, and the shear resistance
θ O' x of the joint decreases correspondingly; hence, D, Fh and Fv are
Vh
α not satisfied by the above relationships and change with the
numbers of the stirrups and the intermediate column bars.
c'

y
b'

Vv
hc'' Calculation method
The horizontal stirrups and intermediate column bars in the
joint can constrain more concrete to form flat struts in the
Figure 10. The oblique compression strut and horizontal
reinforcement shear-resisting mechanism core area and bear pressure in the direction of the oblique
compression strut. Under arbitrary horizontal direction

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

loading, if only the concrete and stirrups of the joint resist the 10: 2 tan θf ¼ tan θ
shear, then the strut-and-tie model can be simplified into an
oblique compression strut and a horizontal reinforcement
shear-resisting mechanism, which includes only the com-
The horizontal shear Vh of the joint should be shared by
pression struts and horizontal tie.
the oblique compression strut and the horizontal stirrups.
When the stirrups of the joint are adequate, the relationship
A stress analysis of the combined shear acting plane of the
between the tension of the horizontal tie Fh and Vh satisfies
joint (Figure 12) shows that the pressures in the flat struts are
Equation 5, and the stress balance relationship of the joint in
increased with an increase in the tension Fh of the horizontal
Equation 5 and Figure 10 can be obtained.
tie, which means that more stirrups can provide more con-
straints, enabling more concrete to form flat struts and partici-
11: Fh : D cos θ ¼ γh : ð1  γh Þ
pate in the shear. The pressure that the joint can resist in the
direction of the oblique compression strut can be shared by
the flat struts and oblique compression strut; that is, more load
transfer paths are added to transfer part of the oblique Based on Equations 9–11, if the stirrups of the joint can be
pressure in the direction of the oblique compression strut, sufficiently allocated, then the coefficient of the oblique com-
thereby reducing the pressure on the oblique compression pression capacity of the joint Kˉ h is
strut. This behaviour enables the core area of the joint to bear
greater oblique pressures. The degree to which the oblique ð1  γh Þ þ γh 1
12: Kh ¼


compressive capacity of the joints is increased due to stirrups ð1  γh Þ þ γh 1  ðsin2 θ=2Þ 1  02 γh þ γ2h
can be expressed by the oblique compressive capacity coeffi-
cient Kh .
If the stirrups are sufficiently allocated, the tension in the hori-
In Equation 9, θf is the angle between the flat strut and the
zontal tie Fˉ h can be expressed by Equations 5 and 9 when the
horizontal plane, the numerator is the total pressure that the
concrete of the oblique compression strut is ultimately
joint can bear in the direction of the oblique compression
destroyed under compression.
strut, and the denominator is the pressure of the support abut-
ment transmitted by the concrete in the direction of the

13: Fh ¼ γh  Kh Cmax cos θ
oblique compression strut. When the concrete reaches its ulti-
mate compression strength, the pressure that is transmitted by
the flat strut and the oblique compression strut can be
expressed as Cmax. According to an experimental study undertaken by Hwang
and Lee (2002), the shear capacities of a joint are increased
D þ ðFh = cos θÞ Vh = cos θ with increasing stirrups at a greater rate, because the horizon-
9: Kh ¼ ¼
D þ ðFh = cos θf Þ cosðθ  θf Þ Cmax tal stirrups are effective in augmenting the force of tension tie
Fh; the more stirrups there are, the higher the oblique

Flat strut
v

Vh
O

D
D
V'
Astr Fh
hb''

θ
cosθf
θ θf
Fh
Vh
α
θf O' x'
Vh x
α
y
c'
b'

y hc''

Figure 12. Forces in the oblique compression strut and horizontal reinforcement shear-resisting mechanism

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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

compressive capacity of the concrete in the direction of the where Ath is the cross-sectional area of the horizontal stirrups
oblique compression strut. However, the oblique compressive in each horizontal main direction, and fyh , the yield strength of
capacity of the joint cannot be increased indefinitely. If the the horizontal stirrups. Based on Equation 14, the coefficient
number of stirrups is already sufficient, additional stirrups will of the oblique compression capacity of joint Kh is related to
not influence the shear strength. The coefficient of the oblique the quantity and strength of the horizontal stirrups.
compression capacity of the joint Kh can be determined
according to the number of stirrups. As shown in Figure 11, if only the concrete and intermediate
column bars of the joint resist the shear, and intermediate


Kh  1 Fyh column bars of the joint can be sufficiently allocated, then
14: Kh ¼ 1 þ  Kh
Fh the coefficient of the oblique compression capacity of the
joint Kˉ v is

The stress of the stirrups in joints is complex. When the joints 1

reach the shear limit state, then the stirrups may have yielded if 16: Kv 

1  02 γv þ γ2v
there are fewer stirrups at the joints. However, if there are more
stirrups at the joints, the stirrups may not have yielded.
According to the Hwang and Lee (2002) study, when the joints If the intermediate column bars are sufficiently allocated,
reach the shear limit state, if the stirrups of the joints are suffi- when the oblique compression strut is ultimately destroyed, the
ciently allocated and when only one horizontal main direction tension in the vertical tie Fˉ v can be expressed as
is loaded, then the stirrups in the joints are not all yielded.
Only the limbs of the stirrups in the direction of loading

17: Fv ¼ γv  Kv Cmax sin θ
provide shear resistance, and all yield. Under arbitrary hori-
zontal direction loading, the two horizontal main directions
are all loaded, so it can be assumed that the limbs of the stir- The same method can be used for the oblique compression
rups in both directions are all loaded. When the limbs of the strut and vertical reinforcement shear-resisting mechanism,
stirrups in one main direction yield, the limbs of the stirrups in and the coefficient of the oblique compression capacity of joint
another main direction may also yield. Kv can be expressed as

In the combined shear acting plane of the joint, the tension of


Kv  1 Fyv
the horizontal tie Fh can be synthesised by the tensions of the 18: Kv ¼ 1 þ  Kv
Fv
horizontal stirrups in the two horizontal main directions
(Figure 13). Furthermore,
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi As shown in Figure 13, in the combined shear acting plane of
15: Fyh ¼ 1 þ sin 2αAth fyh , the joint under arbitrary horizontal direction loading, Fv can
be synthesised by the tensions of all of the middle column

bc o
S3 S4
S2 Fv
hc

S1 Fh y
α Stirrup α

S5
S6 x
S8 S7
x
c
b

y Equivalent compression zone

Uncompression zone
hc
Intermediate column bar
Intermediate column bar

(a) (b)

Figure 13. Tie forces in the horizontal reinforcement and vertical reinforcement: (a) tension in the ties; (b) vertical reinforcement

9
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 Magazine of Concrete Research Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang

bars. Additionally,
Test Vjh,t:

1057·57
1026·27
971·29
1023·95
1539·00
1348·00
1470·00
1793·00
1357·00
1174·00
1508·00
1279·10
262·00
247·80
275·80
284·00
kN

19: Fyv ¼ Atv fyv ,

where Atv is the cross-section of all intermediate column bars,

Calculation

which are not in the column compression zone, and fyv is the
Vjh,c: kN

950·98
1049·68
1064·06
1074·18
1167·21
1213·32
1205·61
1279·67
1117·73
1215·60
1228·38
1366·62
307·44
272·31
301·40
249·74
yield strength of the intermediate column reinforcement. Based
on Equation 17, the coefficient of the oblique compression

‘BJ’ indicates that the beam end has yielded and that the joint has experienced shear failure; ‘J’ indicates that the beam end has not yielded and that the joint has experienced shear failure
capacity of the joint Kv is related to the quantity and strength
of the intermediate column bars.
Failure
modea

Where the complete strut-and-tie shear-resisting mechanism

BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
BJ
J

of the joint has both stirrups and intermediate column bars,

for the constraint of the stirrups and intermediate column
MPa

360
360
360
360
480
480
480
480
480
480
480
411
548
548
548
894

bars, the increased degree of the oblique compression capacity

fy:

is expressed as the oblique compression capacity coefficient K.

Table 1. Comparison of theoretical and experimental shear bearing capacities of joints in an RC frame under bidirectional loading
Column

20: K ¼ Kh þ Kv  1
2D22
2D22
2D22
2D22
2D28
2D28
2D28
2D28
2D28
2D28
2D28
2D24
bars

0
0
0
0

The maximum horizontal shear of the joint under arbitrary

MPa

257
300
272
257
440
440
440
440
440
440
440
336
345
345
384
894
fyv:

horizontal direction loading may be expressed as Vh;max

Vh;max ¼ KCmax cos θ

D12·7@65(4)

21:
D10@100(2)
D12@100(2)

D10@100(2)
D12@150(2)
D12@150(2)
D12@150(2)

D12@150(2)
D12@150(2)
D12@150(2)

D6@62·5(2)
D6@62·5(2)
D9@62·5(2)
D6@62·5(2)
D8@130(2)

D12@75(4)
stirrups
Joint

The maximum horizontal shear force Vh;max can be determined

by the maximum pressure Cmax that the joint can resist in the
direction of the oblique compression strut. However, the com-
fck bc hc

pressive strength at the end of the oblique compression strut

0·03
0·03
0·03
0·03
0·38
0·36
0·36
0·33
0·00
0·36
0·35
0·48
0·24
0·72
0·72
0·18
N

can be determined by the ultimate compressive strength of the

concrete. According to the characteristics of the above-men-
tioned equivalent oblique compression strut, the concrete
MPa

22·6
25·4
25·8
25·8
24·1
25·8
25·5
28·1
25·5
25·5
26·4
29·1
28·7
24·4
24·4
22·6
fck:

reaches its ultimate compressive strength within the range of

the end section area Astr (Figure 7). This characteristic may
represent the standard for the shear failure of joints.
250  400
250  400
250  400
250  400
329  455
329  455
329  455
329  455
329  455
221  455
455  455
356  610
160  250
160  250
160  250
160  250

Appropriately, Hsu (1996) confirmed the softening effect of

bb × hb:

cracked RC members. According to the softening coefficient ξ

mm

of the cracked concrete of RC beam–column joints proposed

by Hwang and Lee (2002), when the ultimate compression
strength of the oblique compression strut is reached, the
400  400
400  400
400  400
400  400
380  380
380  380
380  380
380  380
380  380
380  380
380  380
457  457
220  220
220  220
220  220
220  220

maximum pressure at the end of the oblique compression strut

bc × hc:

and the horizontal shear resisted by the joint can be expressed

mm

as Cmax and Vjh, respectively, where fc′ is the compressive

strength of the concrete cylinder (MPa).
Specimen

22: Cmax ¼ ξ f c0 Astr

NB-1
B21
SP1
SP2
SP3
BJ3
BJ4
BJ5
BJ6

10
2
3
4
5
6
9

23: Vjh ¼ Kξ f c0 Astr cos θ

Beckingsale
Chen et al.
Reference

Cui et al.
Cui et al.

pffiffiffiffiffi
Zhang

24: ξ  335= f c0  052

a

10
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 Magazine of Concrete Research
2000
Chen et al. (1995)
1800 Zhang (1987)
Beckingsale (1980)
1600
Cui et al. (2014)
1400
1200
Vjh,c: kN
1000
800
600
400
200
0 direction loading. Future studies will investigate the corre-
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Vjh,t: kN
Figure 14. Comparison between the theoretical and experimental
shear bearing capacities of the joints under bidirectional loading
Calculated and experimental results
To date, there are no available tests for beam–column joints
with different loadings in two main directions. Based on
Equation 23, the shear capacities were calculated for several
joint specimens under bidirectional loading, which is a special
case of the joints under arbitrary horizontal direction loading,
where the two horizontal main directions of the joints bear the
same force. The parameters, calculation results and test results
in this experiment are listed in Table 1. The selected specimens
are all square cross-sectional columns, the loadings in the two
main directions are identical, and shear failure occurs in all
core areas of the joints.
Equation 23 is the average value of theoretical prediction, and
the safety factor of design has not been taken into account. As
shown in Figure 14, the calculated results of the shear
capacities of the joints under bidirectional loading are in good
agreement with the experimental results.
Conclusions
& Where a joint in an RC frame was subjected to arbitrary
horizontal direction loading, a horizontal composite shear
force and a vertical composite shear force were formed in
the joint. The combined shear acting plane can be
assumed, and the angle of the plane is identical to the
angle of arbitrary horizontal direction loading. The
concrete strut, stirrups and column bars formed a
strut-and-tie model to bear the joint shear force in the
combined shear acting plane of the joint.
& According to the bearing mechanism of joints in an RC
frame subjected to arbitrary horizontal direction loading,
under arbitrary horizontal direction loading, the
inclination angle and cross-sectional area of the equivalent
oblique compression strut can be determined, and the
shear contributions of stirrups and column bars in joints
Downloaded by [ University of Melbourne] on [05/01/20]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
Shear capacity of a reinforced concrete
frame joint subjected to arbitrary
horizontal loading
Cui, Ma, Song, Li and Tang
can be clarified. A softening strut-and-tie model can be
presented for calculating the shear bearing capacities of
joints.
& The bidirectional loading is a special case of arbitrary
horizontal direction loading. Using the above-mentioned
calculation method, the shear capacities of many
specimens in the joint test under bidirectional loading can
be calculated, and the calculated results are in good
agreement with the experimental results.
This paper studied only the shear capacities of a joint for
square cross-sectional column subjected to arbitrary horizontal
sponding research for general rectangular cross-sectional
columns under arbitrary horizontal direction loading, and an
experimental programme will be carried out.
Acknowledgements
This research was sponsored by the Chinese National Science
Foundation (grant no. 51508493) and the Postdoctoral
Scientific Research Programme in Hebei (grant no.
B2016005003). The support of these institutions is gratefully
acknowledged.
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