Hnw dn Bcam-Cn!umn JnInts In RC BuI!dIngs RcsIst Earthquakcs?

Earthquakc TIp
|carning
|ar|nqua|c Dcsign
and
Ccns|ruc|icn
Why eum-CoIumn Joints ure SpeciuI
In RC luiIdings, poilions of cc|unns lhal aie
connon lo ocans al lheii inleiseclions aie caIIed ocan-
cc|unn jcin|s (Iiguie 1). Since lheii consliluenl
naleiiaIs have Iiniled slienglhs, lhe joinls have |ini|cd
fcrcc carrqing capaci|q. When foices Iaigei lhan lhese
aie appIied duiing eailhquakes, joinls aie seveieIy
danaged. Repaiiing danaged joinls is difficuIl, and so
danage nusl le avoided. Thus, lean-coIunn joinls
nusl le designed lo iesisl eailhquake effecls.













Eurthquuke ehuviour of Joints
Undei eailhquake shaking, lhe leans adjoining a
joinl aie suljecled lo nonenls in lhe sane (cIockvise
oi counlei-cIockvise) diieclion (Iiguie 1). Undei lhese
nonenls, lhe lop lais in lhe lean-coIunn joinl aie
puIIed in one diieclion and lhe lollon ones in lhe
opposile diieclion (Iiguie 2a). These foices aie
laIanced ly lond sliess deveIoped lelveen conciele
and sleeI in lhe joinl iegion. If lhe coIunn is nol vide
enough oi if lhe slienglh of conciele in lhe joinl is Iov,
lheie is insufficienl giip of conciele on lhe sleeI lais.
In such ciicunslances, lhe lai sIips inside lhe joinl
iegion, and leans Ioose lheii capacily lo caiiy Ioad.
















Iuilhei, undei lhe aclion of lhe alove puII-push
foices al lop and lollon ends, joinls undeigo
geoneliic disloilion, one diagonaI Ienglh of lhe joinl
eIongales and lhe olhei conpiesses (Iiguie 2l). If lhe
coIunn cioss-seclionaI size is insufficienl, lhe conciele
in lhe joinl deveIops diagonaI ciacks.
Reinforcing the eum-CoIumn Joint
IiolIens of diagonaI ciacking and ciushing of
conciele in lhe joinl iegion can le conlioIIed ly lvo
neans, naneIy prctiding |argc cc|unn sizcs and
prctiding c|csc|q spaccd c|cscd-|ccp s|cc| |ics aiound
coIunn lais in lhe joinl iegion (Iiguie 3). The lies hoId
logelhei lhe conciele in lhe joinl and aIso iesisl sheai
foice, lheiely ieducing lhe ciacking and ciushing of
conciele.














Iioviding cIosed-Ioop lies in lhe joinl iequiies
sone exlia effoil. Indian Slandaid IS:1392O-1993
ieconnends conlinuing lhe liansveise Ioops aiound
lhe coIunn lais lhiough lhe joinl iegion. In piaclice,
lhis is achieved ly piepaiing lhe cage of lhe
ieinfoicenenl (lolh |cngi|udina| oars and s|irrups) of aII
leans al a fIooi IeveI lo le piepaied on lop of lhe
lean foinvoik of lhal IeveI and Ioveied inlo lhe cage
(Iiguies 4a and 4l). Hovevei, lhis nay nol aIvays le
possilIe pailicuIaiIy vhen lhe leans aie Iong and lhe
enliie ieinfoicenenl cage lecones heavy.
Anchoring eum urs
The giipping of lean lais in lhe joinl iegion is
inpioved firs| ly using coIunns of ieasonalIy Iaige
cioss-seclionaI size. As expIained in |ar|nqua|c Tip 19,
lhe Indian Slandaid IS:1392O-1993 iequiies luiIding
coIunns in seisnic zones III, IV and V lo le al Ieasl
300nn vide in each diieclion of lhe cioss-seclion
vhen lhey suppoil leans lhal aie Iongei lhan 5n oi
vhen lhese coIunns aie laIIei lhan 4n lelveen fIoois
(oi leans). The Aneiican Conciele Inslilule
ieconnends a coIunn vidlh of al Ieasl 20 |incs |nc
dianc|cr cf |argcs| |cngi|udina| oar uscd in adjcining ocan.
Figure 1: Beam-CoIumn Joints are criticaI parts
of a buiIding they need to be designed.
Beam-Column Joint
Overlap volume
common to beams
and columns
(a) (b)
Figure 2: PuII-push forces on joints cause two
probIems these result in irreparable damage in
joints under strong seismic shaking.
Gripping of
bar inside
joint region
Compression
Tension
Loss of grip on beam bars
in joint region:
Large column width and good
concrete help in holding the
beam bars
Distortion of joint:
causes diagonal
cracking and crushing
of concrete
Figure 3: CIosed Ioop steeI ties in beam-coIumn
joints such ties with 135 hooks resist the ill
effects of distortion of joints.
Closed ties
Beam
Column
10 times
diameter of tie
135
IITK-BMTPC Earthquakc TIp 20
Hnw dn Bcam-Cn!umn JnInts In RC BuI!dIngs RcsIst Earthquakcs? pagc 2

In exleiioi joinls vheie leans leininale al
coIunns (Iiguie 5), IongiludinaI lean lais need lo le
anchoied inlo lhe coIunn lo ensuie piopei giipping of
lai in joinl. The Ienglh of anchoiage foi a lai of giade
Ie415 (chaiacleiislic lensiIe slienglh of 415MIa) is
aloul 50 lines ils dianelei. This Ienglh is neasuied
fion lhe face of lhe coIunn lo lhe end of lhe lai
anchoied in lhe coIunn. In coIunns of snaII vidlhs
and vhen lean lais aie of Iaige dianelei (Iiguie 5a),
a poilion of lean lop lai is enledded in lhe coIunn
lhal is casl up lo lhe soffil of lhe lean, and a pail of il
oveihangs. Il is difficuIl lo hoId such an oveihanging
















lean lop lai in posilion vhiIe casling lhe coIunn up
lo lhe soffil of lhe lean. On lhe olhei hand, if coIunn
vidlh is Iaige, lhe lean lais nay nol exlend leIov
lhe soffil of lhe lean (Iiguie 5l). Thus, il is piefeialIe
lo have coIunns vilh sufficienl vidlh. Such an
appioach has leen used in lhe Aneiican piaclice
|ACI318M, 2OO2j.
In inleiioi joinls, lhe lean lais (lolh lop and
lollon) need lo go lhiough lhe joinl vilhoul any cul
in lhe joinl iegion. AIso, lhese lais nusl le pIaced
vilhin lhe coIunn lais and vilh no lends (Iiguie 6).






















ReIuted - Eurthquuke Tip
Tl17: Hou do Earthquakes Affect Relnforced Concrete Bul|dlngs?
Tl18: Hou do Beams ln RC Bul|dlngs Reslst Earthquakes?
Tl19: Hou do Co|umns ln RC Bul|dlngs Reslst Earthquakes?
Resource MuteriuI
ACI 318M, (2OO2), 8ui|ding Ccdc Rcquircncn|s fcr S|ruc|ura| Ccncrc|c
and Ccnncn|arq, Aneiican Conciele Inslilule, Iaininglon HiIIs,
(MI), USA.
IS 1392O, (1993), |ndian S|andard Ccdc cf Prac|icc fcr Duc|i|c Dc|ai|ing cf
Rcinfcrccd Ccncrc|c S|ruc|urcs Suojcc|cd |c Scisnic |crccs, uieau of
Indian Slandaids, Nev DeIhi.
SI 123, Dcsign cf 8can-Cc|unn ]cin|s fcr Scisnic Rcsis|ancc, SpeciaI
IulIicalion, Aneiican Conciele Inslilule, USA, 1991
Net Upcoming Tip
Why aie Open-Ciound Sloiey uiIdings Dangeious in Lailhquakes`












Au|ncrcd oq.
C.V.R.Muily
Indian Inslilule of TechnoIogy Kanpui
Kanpui, India
Spcnscrcd oq.
uiIding MaleiiaIs and TechnoIogy Iionolion
CounciI, Nev DeIhi, India
TIs ccusc s u oct o IIT Kunu und HMTPC Ncu
DcI. It nu Ic coduccd utIout cIungng ts contcnts
und utI duc ucInoucdgcncnt. Suggcstons/conncnts
nu Ic scnt to. cqtstI.uc.n. Visi| vvv.nicee.oig oi
vvv.lnlpc.oig, lc scc prcticus ||TK-8MTPC |ar|nqua|c Tips.
Nctcnocr 2003
Figure 6: Anchorage of beam bars in interior
joints diagrams (a) and (b) show cross-
sectional views in plan of joint region.
(a) Poor Practice
Beam bars bent in joint region do not
carry tension force unless straightened
Beam bars are within column
bars and also straight
(b) Good Practice
Figure 5: Anchorage of beam bars in exterior
joints diagrams show elevation of joint region.
(a) (b)
Wide CoIumn Narrow CoIumn
ACI 318M-2002
Practice
L-shaped
bar ends
Portion of top beam
bar below soffit of the
beam
Portion of column
already cast
A
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(c)
Shear failure of RC
beam-column joint
during the 1985
Mexico City
Earthquake,
when beam bars
are passed outside
the column cross-
section
P
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o
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f
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:

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9
8
-
2
,

E
E
R

,

O
a
k
l
a
n
d
,

C
A
,

U
S
A

Beam bars are within column
bars and also straight
Beam
Column
Column
Beam
(a) Stage I :
Beam top bars are not
placed, but horizontal
ties in the joint region
are stacked up.
(c)
Stage III :
Ties in the joint region are
raised to their final locations,
tied with binding wire, and
column ties are continued

(b)
Figure 4: Providing horizontaI ties in the joints
three-stage procedure is required.
Stage II :
Top bars of the beam
are inserted in the
beam stirrups, and
beam reinforcement
cage is lowered into
the formwork
Temporary
prop