Experimental evaluation of the effects of reverse cyclic loading rate on the mechanical behavior of reinforced SCC beams

In this paper, the effects of cyclic loading rate on the mechanical behavior of reinforced SCC beams are investigated experimentally. Based on the results of cyclic loading tests of nine beam specimens, hysteresis loops, stiffness and strength degradation, energy dissipation capacity and equivalent viscous damping of SCC beams were analyzed with various rates before and after the yielding limit. Cyclic loading was displacement-controlled and a uniform loading procedure was selected for this test. Test results indicate that SCC beams demonstrate different behavior before and after the yielding zone among the increase of the loading rate.