Probability Identification of Seismic Failure Modes of Reinforced Concrete Columns based on Experimental Observations

To investigate the seismic failure modes of reinforced concrete (RC) columns, a total of 24 RC rectangular columns were tested under combined cyclic lateral displacement excursions and a constant axial load. Three failure modes, i.e., flexure, shear, or flexure-shear failure, occurred when the column parameters varied. Based on this test and a large body of existing experimental observations, a methodology to construct a probabilistic failure mode index model is developed. The methodology properly accounts for the critical influences. The results show that the probabilistic method using a failure mode index to distinguish between the different failure modes is reasonable.