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Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1.

Background
Reinforced concrete structure is the most widely used

structural material in the world. Famous for being a cheap

building material which components are accessible, it has been
used in many structures, such as bridges and buildings.
Reinforced concrete consists of Portland cement concrete and
reinforcing steel bars, which creates such structural properties
which capable in resisting both axial load and bending moment.
Among many structural systems available, structural rigid
frame is one of the most well-known among engineers and used
extensively in many buildings. Structural frame consists of
beams and columns bound together so it may support the load
which is induced to it, along with the weight of the frame itself.
Since the column and beam should be tied together to perform
structural function, beam-column connection is used.
In reinforced concrete beam-column connection in rigid
frames, it is usually assumed that the connection itself is rigid;
that means the beam rotation is restrained in respect to the
connection. In fact, the connection between the beam and
column itself may not always behave that way. Semi-rigid
behavior may occur to the connection due to loss of stiffness,
which is caused by crackling of the concrete, which may be
caused

by

many

reasons;

such

as

repeated

loading

or

earthquake. If the connection behaves semi-rigidly, the beam

may rotate to a certain degree in respect to the whole
connection, depending on the stiffness of the connection.
Unfortunately, unlike semi-rigid connection properties in steel,
the semi-rigid behavior in reinforced-concrete beam-column
connection is yet not known well, especially due to a wide range

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of combinations between reinforcement and the dimension of the

beam and column itself.
This paper is written based study which is done in order to
comprehend the semi-rigid behavior in reinforced concrete
beam-column joins. To understand the semi-rigid properties in
the beam-column connection, exterior beam-column connections
with different reinforcement configuration and dimension are
taken into analysis. Hopefully, by doing this research, the
behavior of reinforced concrete beam-column joint can be
comprehended better.
1.2.

Aim and Objective

The aim of this research is to study the semi-rigidity of

reinforced

concrete

beam-column

connection

designed

to

withstand earthquake forces based on SNI 1728:2012 and SNI

1728:2002 seismic code in accordance to SNI 2847:2013 and SNI
2847:2002 structural concrete code respectively due to bending
moment

through

the

moment-rotation

relationship

of

the

connection. The result of this research can be gained by doing

laboratory-scale experiment or finite-element modeling by using
software, depending on the availability of funds. The objectives
of this research are:
Planning the model of the connection sample, along

with its dimension and reinforcement configuration.

Modeling the connection through Drain-2DX software
Constructing the laboratory-scale sample.
Analyzing the results to get the rotational stiffness of

the connection modeled and tested.

Comparing
the
numerical
result

with

the

experimental results
1.3.

Scope of Assessment
In this assessment, the problem is limited to the analysis

the semi-rigidity of beam-column external connection due to the

bending moment caused by semi-cyclic loading. The rotation of

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Universitas Indonesia

the beam due to shear and axial force is not assessed in this
paper.
The beam-column connections which are assessed are
taken from a 6-story building, which design complies with
indonesian building codes (SNI 2847:2013 and SNI 2847:2002 for
concrete

structures,

along

with

SNI

1726:2012

and

SNI

1726:2002 for seismic design)

1.4.

Problem Statement
How will reinforced concrete beam-column joint

behave against the loading?

How will be the function of rotational stiffness of the
concrete

beam-column

joint

built

to

withstand

seismic force according to SNI 1728:2012 and SNI

1728:2002

by

using

SNI

2847:2013

and

SNI

2847:2002?
How will the numerical result and the experimental
result differ?

1.5.

Presentation Outline
The result of the research will be presented in five

chapters. The chapters which will be written along with its details
are:

Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter contains the general view of the

research, along with its aim, scope and hypotesis.

Chapter 2: Literature Review
This chapter contains the overview of the theorem

used in order to do this research.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology
This chapter explains the methodology which is used
in this research. The methodology itself may be
numerical finite-element modeling or laboratory-scale

experiment.
Chapter 4: Analysis and Discussion
This chapter contains the result of the experiment
and numerical modeling, along with their data

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processing. The results from both of them are then

compared.
Chapter 5: Conclusion
This chapter concludes all the process which has
been done in this research, along with the results and
conclusion. This chapter also contains the suggestion
for future researchers.

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