CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

SEISMIC EVALUATION AND RETROFIT OF CONCRETE BUILDINGS

9. Special moment frames

9.1 Introduction

Moment frames are generally selected as the seismic force resisting system when architectural
space planning flexibility is desired. When concrete moment frames are selected for buildings
assigned to Seismic Design Categories D, E, or F (the seismic design category depends on the
expected intensity of the seismic ground motions, the site classification, and the building
importance factor), they are required to be detailed as special reinforced concrete moment
frames. Proportioning and detailing requirements for a special moment frame will enable the
frame to safely undergo extensive inelastic deformations that are anticipated in these seismic
design categories.

Figure 9.1 shows a frame element of a framed building. A frame typically consists of beams,
columns and beam-column joints.

Frame Element

Frame Components
• Column
• Beam
• Beam-Column Joint

Figure 9.1 Frame element and components.

9-9

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

9.2 Principles for design of special moment frames

A special moment designed per current seismic design code should be expected to sustain
multiple cycles of inelastic response if it experiences design-level ground motion. The
proportioning and detailing requirements for special moment frames are intended to ensure
that inelastic response is ductile. Three main goals are: (1) to achieve a strong-column
weak-beam design that spreads inelastic response over several stories; (2) to avoid shear
failure; and (3) to provide details that enable ductile flexural response in yielding regions.

Strong column weak beam

When a building sways during an earthquake, the distribution of damage over height depends
on the distribution of lateral drift. If the building has weak columns, drift tends to concentrate
in one or a few stories as shown in Fig. 9.2(a), and may exceed the drift capacity of the
columns. On the other hand, if the columns provide a stiff and strong spine over the building
height, drift will be more uniformly distributed as shown in Fig. 9.2(b), and localized damage
will be reduced. Additionally, it is important to recognize that the columns in a given story
support the weight of the entire building above those columns, whereas the beams only
support the gravity loads of the floor of which they form a part; therefore, failure of a column
is of greater consequence than failure of a beam. Therefore, columns should be stronger than
the beams that frame into them.

(a) Story mechanism (b) Intermediate mechanism (c) Beam mechanism

Figure 9.2 Failure mechanisms of a frame.

ACI 318 adopts the strong-column weak-beam principle by requiring that the sum of column
strengths exceed the sum of beam strengths at each beam-column connection of a special
moment frame. Studies have shown that the full structural mechanism of Fig. 9.2(c) can only
be achieved if the column-to-beam strength ratio is relatively large (on the order of four). As
this is impractical in most cases, a lower strength ratio of 1.2 is adopted by ACI 318. Thus,
some column yielding associated with an intermediate mechanism as shown in Fig. 9.2(b) is
to be expected, and columns must be detailed accordingly.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Avoid shear failure

Ductile response requires that members yield in flexure, and that shear failure be avoided.
Shear failure, especially in columns, is relatively brittle and can lead to rapid loss of lateral
strength and axial load-carrying capacity as shown in Fig. 9.3. Shear failure is avoided
through use of a capacity-design approach. The general approach is to identify flexural
yielding regions, design those regions for code-required moment strengths, and then calculate
design shears based on equilibrium assuming the flexural yielding regions develop probable
moment strengths. The probable moment strength is calculated using procedures that produce
a high estimate of the moment strength of the as-designed cross section.

Figure 9.3 Column shear failure is brittle and can cause collapse of a story.

Detail for ductile response

Confinement for heavily loaded sections
Plain concrete has relatively small usable compressive strain capacity (around 0.003), and this
might limit the deformability of beams and columns of special moment frames. Strain
capacity can be greatly increased by confining the concrete with reinforcing spirals or closed
hoops as demonstrated in Module 2. The hoops act to restrain dilation of the core concrete as
it is loaded in compression, and this confining action leads to increased strength and strain
capacity. Hoops typically are provided at the ends of columns, as well as through
beam-column joints, and at the ends of beams.

Ample shear reinforcement

Shear strength degrades in members subjected to multiple inelastic deformation reversals,
especially if axial loads are low. In such members, ACI 318 requires that the contribution of
concrete to shear resistance be ignored, that is, Vc = 0. Therefore, shear reinforcement is
required to resist the entire shear force.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Avoidance of anchorage or splice failure

Severe seismic loading can result in loss of concrete cover, which will reduce development
and lap-splice strength of longitudinal reinforcement. Lap splices, if used, must be located
away from sections of maximum moment (that is, away from ends of beams and columns)
and must have closed hoops to confine the splice in the event of cover spalling. Bars anchored
in exterior joints must develop yield strength fy using hooks located at the far side of the joint.
Finally, mechanical splices located where yielding is likely must be Type II splices (these are
splices capable of developing at least the specified tensile strength of the bar).

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

9.3 Materials

Concrete
(1) f c'  210 kgf/cm 2 .

Reinforcement
(1) SD 420W (ASTM A706).
(2) SD 420 or SD 280 (ASTM A615 Grades 60 and 40).
 Actual yield strength  f y  1200 kgf/cm 2 .
 The ratio of the actual tensile strength to the actual yield strength is not less than 1.25
(3) Transverse reinforcement f yt  100 ksi .
(4) The values of f y and f yt used in design of shear reinforcement shall not exceed
4200 kgf/cm 2 , except the value shall not exceed 5600 kgf/cm 2 psi for welded deformed
wire reinforcement.
(5) Type 1 mechanical splices (able to develop 1.25 f y ) or welded splices shall not be used
within a distance equal to twice the member depth from the column or beam face or from
sections where yielding of the reinforcement is likely to occur. Type 2 mechanical splices
(able to develop tensile strength) shall be permitted to be used at any location.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

9.4 Beams

Definition
(1) Flexure dominated components
(2) Low axial loads: Pu  0.1Ag f c'
(3) ln  4d (exclude deep beams)
(4) bw  0.3h or 25 cm , for stability
3 
(5) bw  3c2 or c2  2  c1  for good moment transfer as illustrated in Fig. 9.4.
4 

Figure 9.4 Beam width.

Resisting moments
Two levels of resisting moments are used in seismic design:

(1) M n , nominal moment strength: calculated using the specified yield strength, f y , and the

specified concrete strength, f c' ;. The nominal moment strength is used to ensure that the
columns are stronger than the beams meeting at a joint.
(2) M pr , probable moment strength: calculated by using 1.25 f y because the average yield
strength tends to be greater than f y and because beam longitudinal reinforcement will
likely go into strain hardening in plastic hinging zones. The probable moment strength is
used to ensure that the shear strengths of beams and columns exceed the shears that
equilibrate flexural hinging at the ends of the beams or columns. Also, ACI now requires
that the steel in the beam tension flange be considered during the computation of he
required column strengths.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Beam design shear

The design shear force in a beam is calculated as the sum of (Fig. 9.5)
(1) Factored gravity load shears: wu  1.2 D  1.0 L  0.2S
(2) Plastic shears: shear due to development of probable moment strength at member ends
and

M pr1  M pr 2
Vsway  (9.1)
ln
wu ln
Vg  (9.2)
2
The total design shear is
Ve  Vg  Vsway (9.3)
where
 a
M pr  1.25 As f y  d   (9.4)
 2
In a plastic hinge zone, the contribution of the concrete to the shear resistance Vc is set to
zero if
(1) Vsway  0.5Ve
(2) Pu  0.05 f c' Ag

Figure 9.5 Shear force diagram due to gravity and seismic loads.

Longitudinal reinforcement (Figs. 9.6 and 9.7)

(1) At any section of a flexural member for top as well as for bottom reinforcement, the
amount of reinforcement shall conform to the minimum requirements and   0.025 , for
considerations of steel congestion and, indirectly, on limiting shear stresses. Note that

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

ductility is provided through compression rebar and confinement and balanced failure
cannot be defined once members undergo inelastic load reversals.
(2) At least two bars continuous top and bottom of the beam, for construction consideration.
(3) At the face of the joint, M n  0.5M n . This provides  '  0.5 , which allows the beam
to develop large curvatures at hinging regions and greatly improves the ductility of the
ends of the beams.
(4) At every section, M n  0.25M n /  at the face of joint.
(5) No lap splices within 2h either side of a section where hinging can occur or in joints.
(6) If lap splice in a beam, splice must be enclosed in hoops or spirals with a maximum
spacing of 10 cm or d/4.
(7) Mechanical splices are permitted (and preferred)

Figure 9.6 Moment diagram due to gravity and seismic loads.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Figure 9.7 Beam longitudinal reinforcement requirements.

Transverse reinforcement
Hoops for confinement and to control buckling of the longitudinal reinforcement are required
(1) over a length equal to 2h from the face of supports
(2) within 2h on each side of other locations where plastic hinging can result due to lateral
deformations of the frame. (members with varying strength)

The first hoop shall be at 5 cm maximum from joint face. The spacing of the hoops shall not
exceed the smallest of
(1) d/4
(2) Eight times the diameter of the smallest longitudinal bars
(3) 24 times the diameter of the hoop bars
(4) 30 cm

Where hoops are not required, stirrups with seismic hooks at both ends shall be spaced at a
distance not more than d/2 throughout the length of the member.

Acceptable seismic hooks are shown in Fig. 9.9.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Figure 9.8 Hoop and stirrup location and spacing requirements.

Figure 9.9 Hoop reinforcement detail.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

9.5 Columns

Definition
(1) Modest to high axial load: Pu  0.1Ag f c'
(2) bmin  30 cm
bmin
(3)  0.4 , for robustness and for a section that can be confined using practical hoop
bmax
layouts.
(4) 0.01   g  0.06
 Lower limit (0.01) is to control time-dependent deformations (creep) and to have
M y  M cr
 Upper limit (0.06) is to limit rebar congestion and plastic shears in columns.
However, it is generally difficult to place and splice more than 2 to 3 percent
reinforcement in a column.

Required capacity
Strong column-weak beam design: to limit inelastic flexural deformation in columns, the sum
of the column nominal flexural strengths M nc shall exceed the sum of the beam nominal
flexural strengths M nb at a beam-column connection, that is, (Fig. 9.10)

M nc   M nb (9.5)

Figure 9.10 Moments at a beam-column joint.

(1) ACI 318 writes M nc  1.2 M nb (9.6)

 M nc is the nominal capacity corresponding to the factored seismic load combination

leading the lowest flexural strength.
 Should include the developed slab reinforcement within the effective flange width as
beam flexural tension reinforcement when computing beam strength.
 If the above rule is not satisfied, the strength and stiffness of such columns cannot be
considered as part of the special moment frame.

(2) ACI 352 writes M nc  1.4 M nb (9.7)

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Transverse reinforcement (Figs. 9.11 and 9.12)

Special transverse reinforcement is required along length l0 from each joint face to confine
the concrete and restrain longitudinal bar buckling in case column flexural yielding occurs..
l0 is the largest of
(1) Depth of the column at the face of the joint h
(2) 1/6 height of the column ln
(3) 45 cm

(1) Avoid lap splices in the first story; mechanical

and welded splices okay anywhere.
(2) Locate lap splices in the middle third of column
between floor; design as tension splices; enclose
in transverse reinforcement.

Figure 9.11 Column transverse reinforcement spacing requirements.

The quantity of transverse reinforcement within length l0 should conform to:

For spirals:

f c  Ag  f
ρs  0.45   1  0.12 c (9.8)
f yt  Ach  f yt

For hoop ties

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

sbc f c'  Ag  sb f '

Ash  0.3   1  0.09 c c (9.9)
f yt  Ach  f yt

Ach is cross-sectional area of a structural member measured out-to-out of transverse

reinforcement; and Ash is cross-sectional dimension of column core measured
center-to-center of outer legs of the transverse reinforcement.

Figure 9.12 Example of transverse reinforcement in columns.

Shear strength requirements

The design shear force Vsway is computed by
(1) Not be taken less than the shear obtained by analysis of the building frame considering

the governing design load combinations (Fig. 9.13a), denoted as Vanalysis .

(2) The shear corresponding to plastic hinges at each end of the column given by (Fig.
9.13b)
M  M pr ,bottom
Vsway  pr ,top (9.10)
lu
where M pr ,top and M pr ,bottom are the probable moment capacities at the top and
bottom of the column and lu is the clear height of the column. Mpr is to be taken equal
to the maximum value associated with the anticipated range of axial forces. As shown in
Fig. 9.14, the axial force under design load combinations ranges from Pu1 to Pu2. The
moment strength is required to be taken equal to the maximum moment strength over
that range of axial loads.

(3) It need not be more than (Fig. 9.13c)

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

M pr ,top DFtop  M pr ,bottom DFbottom

Vsway  (9.11)
lu
where M pr ,top and M pr ,bottom are the sum of the probable moment capacities of the
beams framing into the joints at the top and bottom of the column for the frame swaying
to the left or right, and DFtop and DFbottom are the moment-distribution factors at the
top and bottom of the column being designed. The concept behind this approach is that
the column shears need not be taken as any greater than the shear that develops when
the beams develop their probable moment strengths in the intended beam-yielding
mechanism.

Another approach is
M pr ,average
Vsway  Vanalysis (9.12)
M u ,average
where M pr ,average and M u ,average are the average maximum probable moment strength
and the average design moment strength of the beams.

Vsway

Vsway

(1) From analysis (2) Column hinging (3)Beam hinging

Figure 9.13 Column shear calculation options.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Figure 9.14 Process of finding M pr .

In a plastic hinge zone (within length l0 ), the contribution of the concrete to the shear
resistance Vc is set to zero if
 Vsway  0.5Ve
 Pu  0.05 f c' Ag

Where a column frames into a strong foundation element or wall, such that column yielding is
likely under design earthquake loading, ACI 318 recommends that the length of the
confinement zone l0 be increased to 1.5 l0 .

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

9.6 Beam-column joints

High shear forces in beam-column joints

Beam-column joints can be critical regions in reinforced concrete frames designed for
inelastic response to severe seismic attack. As a consequence of seismic moments in columns
of opposite signs immediately above and below the joint, the joint region is subjected to high
shear forces as illustrated in Fig. 9.15. If not designed for, joint shear failure can result.

Figure 9.15 High shear force at the joint due to sway to right .

Shear demand
Consider a column bounded by two beams as shown in Fig. 9.16. It is assumed that the beams
framing into the column will yield and develop their probable moment strengths at the column
faces. This action determines the demands on the column and the beam column joint.

Figure 9.16 The frame yielding mechanism determines the forces acting on the column and
beam-column joint.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

A free body diagram is made by cutting through the beam plastic hinges on both sides of the
column and cutting through the column one-half story height above and below the joint as
shown in Fig. 9.17. In this figure, subscripts A and B refer to beams A and B on opposite
sides of the joint, and Ve2,A and Ve1, B are shears in the beams at the joint face corresponding to
development of Mpr at both ends of the beam. For a typical story, the column midheight
provides a sufficiently good approximation to the point of contraflexure.

Figure 9.17 Free body diagram of column used to calculate column shear Vcol .

Having found the column shear, Vcol , the design horizontal joint shear Vj is obtained by
equilibrium of horizontal forces acting on a free body diagram of the joint as shown in Fig.
9.18. Beam longitudinal reinforcement is assumed to reach a force at least equal to 1.25Asfy.
Assuming the beam to have zero axial load, the flexural compression force in the beam on
one side of the joint is taken equal to the flexural tension force on the same side of the joint.

Figure 9.18 Joint shear free body diagram.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Shear strength
Experimental observations indicate that joint shear strength is fairly independent of the
volume of transverse reinforcement if minimum amounts are provided as shown in Fig. 9.19.
These data suggest that there is no increase in joint shear strength for substantial increases in
the joint lateral reinforcement ratio, beyond 0.4%.

Figure 9.19 Experimental data for shear strength of interior joints.

Current ACI 318 code requires that joint transverse reinforcement is provided to confine the
joint core and improve anchorage of the beam and column longitudinal reinforcement. The
amount of transverse hoop reinforcement in the joint is to be the same as the amount provided
in the adjacent column end regions. Where beams frame into all four sides of the joint, and
where each beam width is at least three-fourths the column width, then transverse
reinforcement within the depth of the shallowest framing member may be relaxed to one-half
the amount required in the column end regions, provided the maximum spacing does not
exceed 6 inches.

The design strength is defined as

Vn   f c' Aj (9.13)

where  is equal to 0.85; Aj is the joint area as defined by Fig. 9.20; and  is a strength
coefficient defined in Fig. 9.21 (Unit: psi). As shown in Fig. 9.21, strength is a function of
how many beams frame into the column and confine the joint faces. If a beam covers less than
three quarters of the column face at the joint, it must be ignored in determining which
coefficient  applies.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

Figure 9.20 Definition of beam-column joint dimensions

Figure 9.21 Joint configurations and strength coefficients.

Figures 9.22 and 9.23 show example details for interior and exterior beam-column joints,
respectively.

It is important for beam and column longitudinal reinforcement to be anchored adequately so

that the joint can resist the beam and column moments. In interior joints, beam reinforcement
typically extends through the joint and is anchored in the adjacent beam span. ACI 318
requires that the column dimension parallel to the beam longitudinal reinforcement be at least
20 longitudinal bar diameters for normal weight concrete (Fig. 9.22). This requirement helps
improve performance of the joint by resisting slip of the beam bars through the joint.

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CT5203 Behavior of reinforced concrete members Instructor: Yu‐Chen Ou

For exterior joints, beam longitudinal reinforcement usually terminates in the joint with a
standard hook (Fig. 9.21). The tail of the hook must extend to the far side of the beam-column
joint and project toward the mid-depth of the joint

Figure 9.22 Example interior joint detailing.

Figure 9.23. Example exterior joint detailing.

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