Seismic performance of a novel precast concrete beam-column connection using low-shrinkage engineered cementitious composites

•Low-shrinkage engineered cementitious composite is adopted in precast joint.•Three small-scale beam specimens are monotonically tested.•Seven large-scale interior beam-column sub-assemblages are cyclically tested.•Factors such as joint stirrups, diameter and anchorage length of beam rebar are studied.•Proposed joint can avoid shear failure and totally or partially replace the stirrups. Precast reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures in areas with high seismicity typically suffer from extremely complicated reinforcement details in the joint zone, thereby leading to significant construction difficulties. Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) is a new type of cement-based materials with tension strain-hardening, multi-cracking and ultra-ductility that can be adopted in the joint zone to simplify the rebar layout and enhance seismic performance. The study proposes a novel precast concrete beam-column connection using cast-in-situ low-shrinkage ECC (LSECC). Three beam specimens were first tested to preliminarily demonstrate the applicability and advantage of the joint. Meanwhile, proper reinforcement details were proposed to prevent interface damage. Then seven large-scale beam-column assemblages were cyclically loaded to examine the seismic performance of the proposed joint and to reveal the influences of quantities of stirrups in the joint zone, rebar diameter in the beam, anchorage length of the bottom rebar and axial load. The cracking pattern, failure mode, hysteretic curves, ductility and dissipated energy, as well as the deformation and strength in the joint zone were analysed in detail. The results indicated that the cast-in-situ LSECC was very suitable for the precast beam-column joint. The LSECC joint with only half of the confining reinforcement in monolithic RC joint exhibited better hysteretic performance with enhanced energy dissipation capacity, improved ductility and less damage. Similar results were obtained for the LSECC precast joint without any stirrups and increased axial load on the column. The other joints without any stirrups in the joint zone showed almost equivalent seismic performance as the monolithic RC joint, despite the slight pinching of hysteretic curves and decrease of dissipated energy after 3%-4% beam rotation which was caused by the slip of top beam reinforcement. Therefore, the proposed joint provides a new option for the design and construction of precast RC frames in high seismic region.