Assessment of Seismic Behavior of an RC Precast Building

Past earthquakes brought attention to the poor performance of precast reinforced concrete structures. One of the problems observed in those structures is related to the beam-to-column connections. The evaluation of different methodologies for the analysis of beam-to-column connections in industrial buildings is an important aspect that should be studied. The numerical analyses developed allowed the study of the effect that different connection properties have on the frequencies of vibration, members drifts, and seismic coefficients. The connection properties were modeled through a macro-element that considers the friction (between concrete–concrete and concrete–neoprene) and the steel dowels. The results showed that the friction between concrete elements and the consideration of the neoprene in the connection has a small impact on the drifts demands in the columns and seismic coefficient of the analyzed structure; on the other hand, the effect of the steel dowel on the drift demand and seismic coefficient is significant. The comparison of the models with different properties and connections allowed a better understanding of the factors with a higher impact on the results.