Behaviour of RC shear elements under cyclic loads

This paper presents experimental results from twelve reinforced concrete (RC) specimens subjected to transverse cyclic loads. Characteristics of specimens and testing procedures have been defined on the basis of the following variables affecting inelastic response of RC elements: shear-span to section depth ratio, amount of transverse reinforcement, presence or not of axial load; longitudinal reinforcement was kept constant for all specimens. Arrangement and amount of reinforcement have been defined by assuming that tested specimens are representative of elements belonging to RC framed structures designed without any aseismic criterion. Experimental results have shown a significant influence of the study variables on the inelastic response of tested specimens. In particular, elements characterized by a low shear span ratio and subjected to combined action of shear and axial load have shown a very poor performance in terms of plastic deformation capacity.