Experimental investigation on full scale RC beam-column joint of NPP structures

The Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) structures in India are constructed using reinforced concrete. The beam-column joint in these structures are critical sub-assemblages because they ensure continuity of a structure and transfer forces from one element to another. Under seismic excitation, the beam-column joint region is subjected to horizontal and vertical shear forces whose magnitudes are typically many times higher than those within the adjacent beams and columns. In view of the increased incidence of seismicity in the country, the safety of these structures against earthquake loading assumes greater significance. There is a growing need to look into the seismic safety aspect of existing RC frame type structures in NPPs, which have been designed as per codes prevalent at the time of their construction. Seismic performance of such joints has not been studied extensively in India. Therefore experimental testing of full scale joint identical to those available in the existing NPP structures, was carried out to study its behaviour and evaluate its capacity. The size of the beam of the joint was 2000 mm x 610 mm x 915 mm and column 2915 mm x 610 mm x 915 mm. The percentage reinforcement of the beam was 4.95 and column 1.5. Such full scale and heavily reinforced concrete joint was cast successfully in the laboratory and tested under monotonic loading. The paper presents a complete description of the experimental testing, observations made during testing as for cracking, deflection and rotation of joint, discussion of results obtained, etc. Conclusions drawn from the investigation are also presented. (author)