Abstract:
In this study, three cast in situ RC cantilever beams with different shear length / beam effective depth ratios are used for investigating their behavior under displacement controlled cyclic loading simulating earthquakes. Experimentally observed damage states are compared with the respective values proposed by the Turkish Seismic Design Code. It is found that, code based material strain limits remain insufficient to obtain the damage limit state due to buckling of longitudinal steel bars. A new equation for estimating upper strain limits reflecting the contribution of longitudinal bar buckling in compression is derived. The new equation is tested against experimental findings.
