| Through past experimental testing, the Double Beam Coupling Beam (DBCB) was shown to be a competitive solution to rebar congestion in diagonally reinforced coupling beams (DCBs). This
research expands on previous research on DBCBs and modifies the design to use metallic dissipaters in the form of U-Shaped Flexural Plates (UFPs) in order to enhance the seismic performance of the DBCB. The new design is called the DBCB-M. Large-scale testing of the DBCB-M is incorporated to validate this concept.
The DBCB-M is constructed and tested under symmetric cyclic seismic loading. The DBCB-M proved to limit damage and delay deformation of the plastic hinge zone during small-tomoderate earthquakes. The DBCB-M is a low-damage seismic design technology that works well in the realm of performance-based design. The UFPs proved to absorb the seismic energy
and delay formation of plastic hinges in the beam. The UFPs are cost effective dissipaters that can be easily replaced following an earthquake, if needed. |