Cyclic behaviour of end-plate beam-to-column composite joints

An experimental research program on end-plate beam-to-column composite joints under cyclic loading is presented. The major focus relates to the identification of the contribution of the concrete confinement in composite columns to the behaviour of the joint, on internal nodes and external nodes, together with an assessment of degradation of strength and stiffness in successive loading cycles. From the experimental results it was possible to identify the various failure modes and to fit the corresponding hysteretic curves to the Richard-Abbott and Mazzolani models. These curve-fitting exercises highlighted the need to adapt both models, either for improved ease of application, or to deal with some aspects previously not covered by those models.