Revisiting the Versatility of Seismic Load-enabled Reinforced Concrete Beam Column Linkage

Abstract

In the seismic load-facilitated (vertical and lateral) reinforced concrete beam-column (RCBC), strong linkages are vital to protect the integrity of any civil structure foundation. Compared to other structural components, these joints often collapse during an earthquake in the seismic locations due to plastic-hinge zone mechanism. Most of the earlier reports on these issues mainly focused on two-dimensional RCBC joints and seldom emphasized on the need of three-dimensional RCBC linkages. Based on this fact, we critically overviewed several recent-state-of-the-art studies carried out on the improvement of RCBC linkages subjected to seismic loading. A careful evaluation of these articles revealed that the factors like shear strength (SS), failure, processing and selection of materials, as well as methods of strengthening (MS) of these RCBC joints are responsible for the collapse. It is established that for low axial load the ductility and bending resistance of the column must be enhanced to strengthen the RCBC links, enabling the diagonal strips or bars more robust than vertical ones and vice versa. Briefly, this article may provide the taxonomy for navigating the researchers into this field, leading to future sustainable development in the civil engineering construction sectors.