Experimental investigation on the influence of drying on the seismic performance of three-story RC buildings

The drying of concrete has been recognized as a key phenomenon in the deterioration of concrete structures. Nevertheless, the complex conditions of real RC structures may lead to unforeseen responses observed from existing laboratory experiments on RC members. To clarify the influence of drying, a quasi-static cyclic loading experiment was conducted for one-third scale, three-story RC buildings under wet (saturated) and two-year-dried conditions. The significant decrease in the initial stiffness emphasized the influence of drying on the structural performance regarding residual stress and drying shrinkage cracks affecting the stress-transferring process. In addition, the different deformations of the frame structure indicated the influence of drying on the failure mode. The localized damage occurred early in the wet specimen due to the stress concentration. By contrast, the dried specimen showed only distributed damage during the same cycle. These influences emphasize the impact of drying, which should not be neglected in structural designs. • Drying of concrete deteriorates structural performances of concrete structures • Drying impact was examined by altered seismic performances of 3-story RC buildings • Drying of concrete significantly decreases the initial stiffness of RC structures • Local deformation and failure mode of RC structures were altered due to drying • Key phenomena are shrinkage stress and cracks affecting the stress distribution