EXPERIMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE GLOBAL CYCLIC DAMAGE OF FRAMED R/C STRUCTURES

It is accepted that failure criteria for earthquake-resistant structures should be based on energy dissipation as well as on maximum ductility. Even though rational procedures to include low-cycle fatigue in the definition of the design spectra have been derived, major difficulties arise in the definition of the cyclic damageability of the structure. The work conducted so far was mainly based on cyclic tests conducted on simple structural elements, therefore, the extension to the complete structure is not an easy task. A final cyclic test was conducted at the ELSA reaction wall facility on a four-storey full-scale reinforced concrete frame designed according to Eurocode 8, at the end of a series of pseudodynamic tests. The results allow the performance during the pseudodynamic tests to be assessed and the cyclic damageability of a complete structure to be investigated. The effects of low-cycle fatigue on a high-ductility structure turned out to be more important than expected.