STUDY ON ENERGY DISSIPATION BEHAVIOR OF REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS SUBJECTED TO SEISMIC LOADS

Abstract: The goal of this research is to better understand how energy dissipates in reinforced concrete columns when they are subjected to seismic forces. During an earthquake, the structure is subjected to some energy demand. The load bearing components, such as columns, disperse the imposed energy demand. If the RC columns energy dissipation capability is greater than the demand imposed by the seismic activity then the structure is considered to be safe and if the RC columns energy dissipation capability is less than the demand imposed then the structure may get damaged. Hence the energy dissipation capability of an RC column is the major factor need to be studied during the seismic activity. The energy dissipated by the column can be found out from the hysteresis curve obtained by plotting force-displacement graph. It has been shown from previous research that the vast majority of study were conducted using a unidirectional loading protocol. This study investigates the impact of various factors on the energy dissipation capacity of a reinforced concrete column. From this research it has been found that with an increase in axial load ratio, the energy dissipation capability of an RC column decreases. As the transverse reinforcement ratio and displacement capacity increases, it results in rise of energy dissipation in an RC column. When comparing unidirectional loading with bidirectional loading, it is found that the higher energy is dissipated in case of bidirectional loading.

Keywords: Energy dissipation, Displacement capacity, Unidirectional loading, Bidirectional loading, Axial load ratio, Transverse reinforcement ratio