Shear Capacity Analysis of PRC Coupling Beams with RC Slabs

The coupling beam serves as a critical energy dissipation component within the shear wall or core tube structural systems of high-rise buildings. Nonetheless, coupling beams are susceptible to brittle shear failure under intense seismic conditions. In engineering practice, coupling beams are frequently poured with slabs, so the mode of stress and failure of coupling beams may differ. This article intends to investigate the failure mode and shear stress mechanism of plate-reinforced composite (PRC) coupling beams with reinforced concrete (RC) slabs in greater detail. ABAQUS finite element (FE) software was used to numerically simulate the small span-to-depth ratio PRC coupling beams with slabs, based on the results of five pseudo-static loading experiments. The tension development of concrete, steel bars, and steel plates was analyzed, and parameter analysis was performed on the PRC coupling beams with slabs. The parameter analysis primarily focuses on the effects of span-to-depth ratio, steel plate ratio, and longitudinal reinforcement ratio of coupling beams on the seismic behavior of PRC coupling beams with RC slabs. Based on the softened strut-and-tie model of reinforced concrete and the multistrip model of steel plates, a theoretical calculation method for the shear bearing capacity of the small span-to-depth ratio PRC coupling beams with slabs is proposed. By comparing experimental and FE results with calculated values, the results are validated and found to be in acceptable agreement. Therefore, the shear bearing capacity equation proposed in this article for the small span-to-depth ratio PRC coupling beams with slabs is relatively reasonable and provides a useful reference for engineering calculations.