Seismic Performance of Wide-Beam Infill-Joist Block RC Frames in Turkey

Abstract

Observations after the 2011 Van-Erciş earthquake show that some of the recently constructed reinforced-concrete buildings were either heavily damaged or had collapsed. As a building subtype, wide-beam, infill-joist block reinforced-concrete frames got attention because of their mode of failure. There were several such buildings that failed in strong-column, weak-beam mode. Considering the demand created by the earthquake, structures were not expected to reach their full capacity. The purpose of this study is to review the history and current practice of infill-joist frames in Turkey and to conduct a performance evaluation of infill-joist frames designed per the current earthquake code (2007). Regulations for this building subtype are critically reviewed, and the designer's response to code regulations is discussed. Results indicate that the force-based design approach used in the current code is not always adequate to satisfy the displacement demands. In addition, it is observed that layout, proportioning, and detailing requirements of beam-end regions and beam-column connections do not always warrant ductile behavior as targeted.

Seismic Performance of Reinforced Concrete Buildings with Joist and Wide-Beam Floors during the 26 November 2019 Albania Earthquake

“…In Turkey, embedded wide beams with joists and voids filled with lightweight clay blocks (called "asmolen") have gained popularity as slab systems [3]. In buildings up to six stories, buildings employing this slab system are often built without shear walls, whereas shear walls are typically provided in buildings with more stories [3].…”

“…In Turkey, embedded wide beams with joists and voids filled with lightweight clay blocks (called "asmolen") have gained popularity as slab systems [3]. In buildings up to six stories, buildings employing this slab system are often built without shear walls, whereas shear walls are typically provided in buildings with more stories [3]. In the Marmara region in Turkey, embedded beams are often used in the first floors of the building to increase the clear height whereas regular beams are used in the upper floors [27].…”

“…In the Marmara region in Turkey, embedded beams are often used in the first floors of the building to increase the clear height whereas regular beams are used in the upper floors [27]. Nonetheless, the number of RC buildings with conventional beams remains higher than that with embedded beams in Turkey [3]. A large number of buildings with wide beams have been subjected to strong earthquakes over the years in Turkey.…”

“…Wide beams are very popular in the Mediterranean region [1][2][3], which is a region with high seismic activity. In Albania, a combination of beams and one-way or twoway slabs with uniform thickness is the preferred slab system in multi-story reinforced concrete buildings.…”

Seismic Performance of a New Type of Fabricated Tie-Column

“…It is not only because the characterization of masonry infill is discrete, but the contacting interface between infill walls and the surrounding frame also keeps changing as time goes by. In addition, some researches indicated the influence of the joists should be accounted since the joists could have great influence [21][22][23][24]. Therefore, based on their abundant practice experience and relevant studies, different countries have distinct design provisions to deal with this problem.…”