Experimental investigation on seismic behaviour of slab-column connections

Code design of slab-column connections to resist seismically induced drifts is currently based on empirical relationships for both moment and deformation capacity. The results of tests on slabcolumn connections are however sensitive to the conception of the test setup. This paper presents a new setup configuration as well as first results of an experimental campaign carried out at EPFL. Within this campaign slabs without shear reinforcement will be subjected to constant vertical loads and increasing seismic moments. Parameters investigated are the vertical loads, the longitudinal reinforcement content of the slabs, the column size and the loading history (monotonic vs. cyclic). Results of the first three out of sixteen tests showed that the drift capacity of relatively thick slabs is smaller when compared to thinner ones tested by other researchers [7]. The influence of the gravity induced shear force on the seismic moment and deformation capacity of the connections is found to be well pronounced. A comparison of a monotonic and cyclic test for high vertical loads showed that the deformation capacity of the cyclically loaded slab is smaller than of the monotonically loaded one.