An experimental investigation and analysis of the mechanical behavior of steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns under combined bending-torsion cyclic loads is presented in this paper.Seven SRC columns with the same cross-sectional construction were tested under various torsion moment to bending moment ratios and axial load levels. The effect of the torsion to bending moment ratio on the failure characteristics, hysteretic behavior, bearing capacity, and deformation characteristics of the SRC columns was studied. Results indicate that both bending and torsion bearing capacity are reduced under combined bending and torsion loads and that the torsion-bending ratio is the key parameter that determines the failure mode of the SRC columns. Based on the tests results, an equation expressing the interaction curve between the bending and torsion is proposed.
KEYWORDScombined loading, failure mode, seismic performance, steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns, torsion, torsion to bending moment ratio 1 | INTRODUCTION Steel reinforced concrete (SRC) structures have been widely applied in modern buildings due to some favorable advantages compared with conventional reinforced concrete structures, including higher carrying capacities, better ductility performance, and higher damping ratios. [1] Currently, there is a significant amount of literature about the mechanical behavior of SRC components under axial load, bending moments, or the combination of these two things, including experimental studies, [2][3][4][5] theoretical analysis, [6][7][8] finite element analysis, and design methods. [9,10] However, in practice, a combined bending and torsional effect [11][12][13] is often observed in structures due to the action of spatially complex earthquake ground motion or the deviation of the mass center and stiffness center in the actual structure.The behavior of structures under bending and torsion interaction has received considerable attention in recent years. The tests of members under the combined forces of bending and torsion have been carried out by many researchers, including Tirasit, [14] Prakash, [15] Suriya, [16] Nie, [17] and Wang. [18] Tirasit [14] reported that the flexural capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) columns decreases as the rotation-to-drift ratio increases and that the damage tends to occur above the flexural plastic hinge region. The tests results of Nie [17] also show that the effects of combined loading reduce the flexural and torsional capacities of concrete-filled steel tube columns. Hsu [19] studied the flexural-torsional behavior of the SRC members under torsional and cyclic bending loads and found that the ultimate flexural capacity of the SRC members was significantly reduced under a moderate degree of torsion; therefore, he proposed a simplified interaction curve between bending and torsion. The literature noted here about the torsion behavior of SRC columns has mainly focused on the static behavior of SRC columns subjected to torsion, and the cyclic torsion effect has not generally been consider...