“Estudio y optimización del acero de refuerzo en la unión trabecolumna en estructuras de concreto reforzado, sujeta a solicitaciones sísmicas, por medio de simulaciones numéricas”

Abstract

The construction of a large number of the existing buildings are based largely on the use of reinforced concrete, which must be able to dissipate the energy of the structural system as this one is subjected to different solicitations, being of vital importance in this type of situation the beam-column connection. This one is the point of transmission of forces between horizontal elements (beams) and vertical elements (columns). Thus, the beam-column connection is one of the most risky points of failure due to the elevated stress concentration. This work focuses in modeling and predicting of the structural response of the reinforced concrete beam-column connection subjected to seismic loads, taking account of their different nonlinear behaviors by using numerical simulations based on the Finite Element Method. Basically, a strategy of three phases was proposed here: 1. Global Modeling, where a building of nineteen levels subjected to seismic loads is three-dimensionally analyzed, taking account of live loads and dead loads; 2. Local Modeling and Nonlinear Analysis of the most requested beam-column union, based on the results of the previous three-dimensional analysis. In this phase a calibration of the local model parameters was done in accordance to previous experimental data (Alamedinne, F. and Ehsani, M. R., 1991); 3. A comparison between local model results and the design rules recommended by the Reglamento de Construcciones del Distrito Federal 2004 (RCDF-2004).