Parameters for shear strength prediction of exterior beam–column joints without transverse reinforcement

The paper presents key parameters to determine the shear strength of exterior beam–column joints without transverse reinforcement in the joint region (referred to as unreinforced exterior joints). A large experimental data set of these joints is collected from published literature based on consistent criteria for data selection. The parametric study from the database indicates that the shear strength of unreinforced exterior joints is mainly influenced by two parameters: (1) joint aspect ratio which is defined as the ratio of beam to column cross-section heights and (2) joint shear index which is dependent on the beam longitudinal tension reinforcement ratio and its strength. The effect of these two parameters on the joint shear strength is investigated using proposed equations that are verified by comparison with the database. Using the parametric equations of the two key parameters, an empirical shear strength model is proposed in this study and validated by accurate shear strength predictions of the test specimens collected in the database. The proposed shear strength model can be adopted to assess the seismic performance of non-ductile reinforced concrete buildings with deficient seismic details in the joint region.