Shear Behavior of a Reinforced Concrete Frame Retrofitted with a Hinged Steel Damping System

The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate the effect of a hinged steel damping system on the shear behavior of a nonductile reinforced concrete frame with an opening. For the experimental test, a total of three full-scale reinforced concrete frame specimens were planned, based on the no retrofitting (NR) specimens with non-seismic details. The main research questions were whether the hinged steel damping system is reinforced and whether torsion springs are installed in the hinged steel damping system. From the results of the experiment, the hinged steel damping system (DR specimen) was found to be effective in seismic retrofitting, while isolating the opening of the reinforced concrete (RC) frame, and the torsion spring installed at the hinged connection (DSR specimen) was evaluated to be effective in controlling the amount of deformation of the upper and lower dampers. The strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity of the DSR specimen were slightly improved compared to the DR specimen, and it was confirmed that stress redistribution was induced by the rotational stiffness of the torsion spring installed in the hinge connection between the upper and lower frames.