Experimental study on seismic behavior of precast beam‐column connections under cyclic loading

Abstract Precast concrete structures have satisfactory performances in quality control and construction progress. This article experimentally studied the seismic behavior of a type of precast beam‐column connection. Three full‐scale specimens are designed with different longitudinal reinforcement ratios and details of connections. Precast beam‐column connections are systematically investigated focusing on their failure modes, hysteretic and skeleton curves, strength, ductility, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation capacity. Test results show that the shear panel damage becomes more serious, and the ductility drops dramatically by 32.3% with the increased reinforcement ratio. Moreover, with the change from service holes to reserved grooves, the ductility of the specimen increases evidently, and the energy dissipation capacity fully developed, increasing by 24.0%. Furthermore, influences of reinforcement ratio and detail of construction on the trend of stiffness degradation showed to be not significant. Research findings could provide guidelines for the popularization and application of this type of precast beam‐column connection in reinforcement concrete frame structures.