SHEAR STRENGTH OF RC FRAME JOINTS CONNECTING BEAMS WITH DIFFERENT DEPTHS USING SOFTENED STRUT-AND-TIE MODEL

Ten interior joint specimens of beams with different depths were tested under reversed cyclic loading. The failure characteristics and failure processes of interior joints were analyzed. Based on the experimental study, an analytical model for the equivalent joint core of the frame joint under the combined actions of axial and shear loads was established, and the shear strength of the equivalent joint core of tested specimens was calculated by using softened strut and tie model(SSTM). Results showed good agreement in the shear strength of the joint between the SSTM results and the experimental results, and these results are close to those of the code method. The SSTM has a clear mechanical model and can reasonable reveal the failure mechanism of beam-column joint.