Cyclic loading test for circular reinforced concrete columns subjected to near-fault ground motion

Near-fault earthquake load causes more serious damage in reinforced concrete (RC) structures when compared with far-field earthquake load. Particularly, a short column under the near-fault earthquake load is vulnerable to shear failure, which requires special design consideration to avoid the brittle failure under the near-fault ground motion. In the present study, quasi-static cyclic tests were conducted on four circular RC columns to investigate load-carrying capacity, deformation capacity, failure mode, stiffness degradation, energy dissipation capacity, and deformation components. For the test parameters, shear-span ratio, longitudinal bars diameter, and cyclic loading type were considered. The test results showed that under the cyclic loading to describe the near-fault ground motion, the RC columns were susceptible to premature concrete spalling and shear failure.