EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON HYSTERETIC PERFORMANCE OF REPLACEABLE ENERGY-DISSIPATING PREFABRICATED HINGES

An earthquake-resilient prefabricated joint was proposed, which is composed of replaceable energy-dissipating hinges, core area of constrained joint, precast concrete beams and precast columns. The replaceable energy-dissipating hinge is an artificial plastic hinge, and its hysteretic performance is the key factor influencing the seismic performance of prefabricated joints. The replaceable energy-dissipating hinges were set between the precast beams and the extended beam in the core area of the prefabricated joint, and the hysteretic performance test under low-cycle reciprocating load was carried out. Following this test, only the metal dampers damaged in the energy-dissipating hinges were replaced, and a second test was conducted. The two tests were to investigate the seismic performance of the replaceable energy-dissipating hinges such as the failure mode, M-φ hysteresis curve, skeleton curve, bearing capacity, ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Through the comparative analysis of the two tests, the recoverability of the seismic performance of the replaceable energy-dissipating hinge was revealed. The results show that the replaceable energy-dissipating hinge has a full hysteresis curve, strong rotation capacity, strong energy-dissipating capacity, good ductility and no obvious strength degradation. Replaceable energy-dissipating hinges achieve that the damage and destruction of the prefabricated joint are concentrated on the replaceable energy-dissipating hinges, and the energy consumed by the energy-dissipating hinges accounts for more than 70% of the total dissipated energy in the prefabricated joint. The seismic performances of the replaceable energy-dissipating hinges in the two tests were similar, indicating that the seismic performance of the energy-dissipating hinges can be restored by replacing the damaged metal damper.