Universitas Indonesia

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1. Background

Reinforced concrete structure is the most widely used structural

material in the world. Famous for being a cheap building material which

components are accessible, it has been used in many structures, such as

bridges and buildings. Reinforced concrete consists of Portland cement

concrete and reinforcing steel bars, which creates such structural properties

which capable in resisting both axial load and bending moment.

Among many structural systems available, structural rigid frame is

one of the most well-known among engineers and used extensively in many

buildings. Structural frame consists of beams and columns bound together so

it may support the load which is induced to it, along with the weight of the

frame itself. Since the column and beam should be tied together to perform

structural function, beam-column connection is used.

In reinforced concrete beam-column connection in rigid frames, it is

usually assumed that the connection itself is rigid; that means the beam

rotation is restrained in respect to the connection. In fact, the connection

between the beam and column itself may not always behave that way. Semi-

rigid behavior may occur to the connection due to loss of stiffness, which is

caused by crackling of the concrete, which may be caused by many reasons;

such as repeated loading or earthquake. If the connection behaves semi-

rigidly, the beam may rotate to a certain degree in respect to the whole

connection, depending on the stiffness of the connection. Unfortunately,

unlike semi-rigid connection properties in steel, the semi-rigid behavior in

reinforced-concrete beam-column connection is yet not known well,

especially due to a wide range of combinations between reinforcement and

the dimension of the beam and column itself.

This paper is written based study which is done in order to

comprehend the semi-rigid behavior in reinforced concrete beam-column

1Christopher Kevinly

Universitas Indonesia

joins. To understand the semi-rigid properties in the beam-column

connection, exterior beam-column connections with different reinforcement

configuration and dimension are taken into analysis. Hopefully, by doing this

research, the behavior of reinforced concrete beam-column joint can be

comprehended better.

1.2. Aim and Objective

The aim of this research is to study the semi-rigidity of reinforced

concrete beam-column connection designed to withstand earthquake forces

based on SNI 1728:2012 and SNI 1728:2002 seismic code in accordance to

SNI 2847:2013 and SNI 2847:2002 structural concrete code respectively due

to bending moment through the moment-rotation relationship of the

connection. The result of this research can be gained by doing laboratory-

scale experiment or finite-element modeling by using software, depending on

the availability of funds. The objectives of this research are:

Planning the model of the connection sample, along with its

dimension and reinforcement configuration.

Modeling the connection through Drain-2DX software

Constructing the laboratory-scale sample.

Analyzing the results to get the rotational stiffness of the

connection modeled and tested.

Comparing the numerical result with the experimental results

1.3. Scope of Assessment

In this assessment, the problem is limited to the analysis the semi-

rigidity of beam-column external connection due to the bending moment

caused by semi-cyclic loading. The rotation of the beam due to shear and

axial force is not assessed in this paper.

The beam-column connections which are assessed are taken from a 6-

story building, which design complies with indonesian building codes (SNI

2847:2013 and SNI 2847:2002 for concrete structures, along with SNI

1726:2012 and SNI 1726:2002 for seismic design)

2Christopher Kevinly

Universitas Indonesia

1.4. Problem Statement

How will reinforced concrete beam-column joint behave

against the loading?

How will be the function of rotational stiffness of the concrete

beam-column joint built to withstand seismic force according

to SNI 1728:2012 and SNI 1728:2002 by using SNI 2847:2013

and SNI 2847:2002?

How will the numerical result and the experimental result

differ?

1.5. Presentation Outline

The result of the research will be presented in five chapters. The

chapters which will be written along with its details are:

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter contains the general view of the research, along

with its aim, scope and hypotesis.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This chapter contains the overview of the theorem used in

order to do this research.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

This chapter explains the methodology which is used in this

research. The methodology itself may be numerical finite-

element modeling or laboratory-scale experiment.

Chapter 4: Analysis and Discussion

This chapter contains the result of the experiment and

numerical modeling, along with their data processing. The

results from both of them are then compared.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

This chapter concludes all the process which has been done in

this research, along with the results and conclusion. This

chapter also contains the suggestion for future researchers.

3Christopher Kevinly