Design of

Beam-column joints in reinforced concrete

framed buildings
Some issues in reinforced concrete design

Lag
Cement grains – ‘singular’ system
(Cement + fly ash)

(Cement + fly ash + SF)

Silica Flume

Greater packing density

Typical packing arrangement of ‘singular’, ‘binary’ and ‘ternary’

cementitious systems
 ITZ

HPC

Ordinary Concrete

Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) in ordinary concrete and in HPC

U.H.P.C., steel, prestressed concrete and RC beams with equal moment capacities
(Adapted from Earthquake Tip No. 20, B.M.P.T.C., New Delhi)
 Column reinforcement

Beam reinforcement

Typical congestion of reinforcement in an interior beam-column joint

 A STAADPRO input file showing load combinations for analysis and design
(at the limit state of collapse)

1 Gravity load case

4
A total of 13 load combinations

4 Earthquake load combinations

(Orthogonal case)

4
Lateral force resisting system oriented along orthogonal directions
Lateral force resisting system oriented along orthogonal directions
SP-24
Lateral force resisting system NOT oriented along orthogonal directions
 ELX has been replaced with ELX ± 0.3 ELY etc.

1.5 [DL + IL]

Load combinations for ‘non-orthogonal’ condition

(without vertical earthquake effects)
Load combinations: Non-orthogonality + vertical EQ forces

1.5 [DL + IL] Due to non-orthogonality

Load combinations: Orthogonality + vertical EQ forces

1.5 [DL + IL]

 Load combinations: Orthogonality + vertical EQ forces
1.5 (DL + IL)
1.2 (DL + IL + EQX + 0.3 EQZ)
1.2 (DL + IL + EQX – 0.3 EQZ)
1.2 (DL + IL – EQX + 0.3 EQZ)
1.2 (DL + IL – EQX – 0.3 EQZ)
1.2 (DL + IL + EQY + 0.3 EQZ)
1.2 (DL + IL + EQY – 0.3 EQZ)
1.2 (DL + IL - EQY + 0.3 EQZ)
1.2 (DL + IL - EQY – 0.3 EQZ)
1.5 (DL + EQX + 0.3 EQZ)
1.5 (DL + EQX - 0.3 EQZ)
1.5 (DL - EQX + 0.3 EQZ)
25 Load combinations 1.5 (DL - EQX - 0.3 EQZ)
1.5 (DL + EQY + 0.3 EQZ)
1.5 (DL + EQY - 0.3 EQZ)
1.5 (DL - EQY + 0.3 EQZ)
1.5 (DL - EQY - 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL + 1.5 (EQX + 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL + 1.5 (EQX - 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL - 1.5 (EQX + 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL - 1.5 (EQX - 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL + 1.5 (EQY + 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL + 1.5 (EQY - 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL - 1.5 (EQY + 0.3 EQZ)
0.9 DL - 1.5 (EQY - 0.3 EQZ)
Hogging, tension at top Hogging, tension at top
Hogging, tension at top

Sagging, tension at bottom Sagging, tension at bottom

B.M.D.

Deflected profile of frame

Bending moment and deflected shape under gravity loads
 Hogging, tension at top Hogging, tension at top

EQX B.M.D.

Sagging, tension at bottom Sagging, tension at bottom

Deflected profile of frame (racking of frame)

Bending moment and deflected shape under EQX

 Hogging Hogging
Hogging Hogging

Hogging Sagging
Sagging

Sagging

Sagging

Envelope B.M.D.
 Adjustment of design moment at beam support section

Critical section for beam moment is at the face of support

Member centrelines used
in frame modelling

Panel zone
Increased stiffness of beam in this length is neglected in
frame analysis

Member centrelines used in modeling

Net decrease in beam support moment. Design support section for Mc – Vb/3
Increase due to beam stiffness in the panel zone
Reduction due to finite width
of support

Beam moment at column centre line

Decrease in span moment due to beam stiffness in
panel zone
 Adjustment of design moment in column

Column moment to be used for design

Column moment from analysis

 Beam support moment at column centre-line

194 kNm
Envelope B.M.D.

Column size 600 mm x 600 mm

Adjusted beam moment at support section = 365 – 229 x 0.6/3 = 319 kNm
Adjusted beam moment at mid-span = 194 – 229 x 0.6/6 = 171 kNm

Shear in beam at
column centre-line

Envelope S.F.D.
Design of beam left
support section

d’
d
Section depth Longitudinal steel

pt, lim = 0.088 fck for Fe 250

0.048 fck for Fe 415

0.037 fck for Fe 500.

 It is the R.C.C. diaphragm or the floor
Under lateral load, frame slab which imposes deformation
deforms in the ‘shear’ Under lateral load, shear wall compatibility between frame and shear
mode deforms as a vertical cantilever
wall

Both frame and the shear wall have the same

lateral deflection profile (predominantly
shear mode) . This happens because of the floor
slab or diaphragm.
 How to estimate the loads acting on a joint?
(Moments from beams and columns framing into a
joint are replaced with their ‘chord forces’)
Beam B.M.D. for the load combination 1.5(DL+LL)
S.F.D. for the load combination 1.5(DL+LL)
Frame under lateral load
 Deflected shape of frame
under lateral loads

Beams undergo
double-curvature
bending

Columns undergo
double-curvature
bending

‘Racking’ or shear deformation of a moment-resistant frame under lateral loads

 Inter-storey drift

Elastic curve under lateral loads: Racking action- inter-storey drifts tend to decrease with height
 Tension at top for
sway to right. Beam
undergoes hogging
bending

Tension at bottom
for sway to right. Beam
undergoes sagging
bending. Tension at bottom for
sway to right. Beam
undergoes sagging
bending

Column sway to the right induces a sagging moment in the beam at the support
 Beam hinges

A frame will undergo vertical cantilever bending only when beam connections to columns are hinged
Frame deforms as a vertical cantilever with inter-storey drift increasing with building height
B.M.D. under lateral loads (moment resistant frame with rigid beam-column joints)
B.M.D. under lateral loads (moment resistant frame with rigid beam-column joints)
Column point of contraflexure Frame sub-assemblage

V2 V1
M1 > M2

Chord forces

V2 V1 T1 > T2

C1 > C2
 Sway to left

Cracking for sway to right

Under earthquake load reversals

joints can experience X-shaped
cracking

Joint loads and forces resulting from lateral loads

X-type cracking in an interior joint under reversed cyclic loading
Under lateral loads, longitudinal steel is subjected to very
heavy bond stresses within the joint region

C2 T1

T2 C1
 τb

C1 T1
l

Σo τb l = C1 + T1
Min. = 25 x 20 = 500 5-20 T + 2-25T

3-20T
X
(Direction 1)
 Vjh = Cb + Tb – Vcol

Horizontal shear forces in an interior joint

 Vjh = T – Vcol

Horizontal shear forces in an exterior joint

Horizontal shear forces in a corner joint
In structural design, every joint has to be checked for:

1. Shear strength corresponding to sway in either direction

2. Anchorage of reinforcement in the joint

3. Axial load capacity

4. Strong column-weak beam requirement

 Calculation of forces acting on a joint

(These shall be calculated using the NOMINAL strength of

members framing into the joint)
Design shear at support A
shall be larger of these Shear due to support
two values moment (equilibrium shear)

Shear due to support moment

(equilibrium shear) Shear due to factored gravity loads
 These moments to be calculated based upon actual
For sway to right longitudinal steel provided in the beam at ‘A’ and ‘B’

To calculate plastic moment capacity of beam

For sway to left section assuming stress in steel = 1.25 fy
 Vcol
Tension at top, Calculate
hogging moment capacity, M2n
-
-
Tension at bottom, Calculate
sagging moment capacity, M1n

Vcol

Vcol = M1n + M2n / l

 The tensile chord in the
beam is made up of
5 bars of 25 mm dia.

Ast is known and so the

tensile chord force can
be found
 From equilibrium, ∑Fx = 0

To account for the effect of

strain hardening, the stress
in the steel bar can be taken
higher than the yield stress.
Peak stress considering
strain hardening is = 1.25 * fy

1.25fy nominal moment

fy MU
= 1.4 Mu

nominal moments acting on the joint face

Ast

Mn
V3 = V4 = (M1n + M2n ) / lc V1

M1n = 1.4 Mu1, M2n = 1.4 Mu2 V2

 ‘B’
300 x 600

300 x 500

(View along ‘B’)

 Only steel areas are given.
Mu values are NOT given.
These will be required for
estimating column shears

Note that moment

capacities are calculated
based upon ACTUAL
steel area provided
in the beam at support
 wj

bj
If nothing works, then
design shear
reinforcement for the
joint. This reinforcement
can be in the form of
closed rectangular stirrups
in plan.

Detailing of column steel

as per envelope BMD

Calculated based on
detailing of beam steel
at support section
 Racking deformation of
Frame (desirable)

Strong column-weak beam requirement aims at preventing storey mechanism

Sway to right Sway to left

Sway to right Sway to left

 500
300
To be on the safe side
we want to minimise
column moment
capacity
Mh = 298 kNm

Ms = 352 kNm

To be on the safe side

we want to maximise
beam moment
capacity

Pu = 0
column
Magnified surface of plane reinforcement bars
Configuration for a pullout test
Pullout test specimens
A pullout test in progress
 Shearing of concrete key between the ribs
Crushing of concrete in front of ribs

(a) Shearing of concrete keys between successive ribs (b) Crushing of concrete in front of ribs
Crushing of concrete in front of the ribs
Shearing of concrete keys between successive ribs
THANK YOU