The mechanical properties of concrete and steel are seriously degraded under high temperature, so that reinforced concrete (RC) members after fire may not be able to satisfy the prescribed performance. In this study, 27 full-scale RC beams were carried out shear tests to investigate the shear behaviour after fire. A total of 20 beams were subjected to fire on three sides in accordance with ISO 834 standard fire curve, and the remaining 7 beams (which were not subjected to fire) were employed as a reference. The influences of fire time, stirrup ratio, shear span ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, and preloading (40% loading level) were considered. The experimental results indicated that the shear failure mode of the RC specimens after fire exposure was similar to that of the reference specimens. Both the residual shear load bearing capacity and stiffness of the RC beams decreased after being subjected to fire. The loss of shear bearing capacity increased with the heating time. In addition, the ultimate load bearing capacity of specimens with stirrups subjected to the same fire exposure time decreased with an increasing shear span ratio.

This article proposes a new type of discrete connected precast reinforced concrete diaphragm floor system that consists of precast flat slabs and slab joint connectors. An experimental investigation of discrete connected new-type precast reinforced concrete diaphragm under a vertical distributed static load was conducted, and the effect of slab joint connectors on the load-bearing capacity was evaluated. Then, a finite element analysis of discrete connected new-type precast reinforced concrete diaphragm, precast reinforced concrete floors without slab connectors, and cast-in-situ reinforced concrete floor were performed to understand their working mechanism and determine the differences in load-bearing behavior. The results indicate that the load-bearing capacity and stiffness of discrete connected new-type precast reinforced concrete diaphragm increase considerably as the hairpin and cover plate hybrid slab joint connectors can efficiently connect adjacent precast slabs and enable them to work together under a vertical load by transmitting the shear and moment forces in the orthogonal slab laying direction. The deflection of discrete connected new-type precast reinforced concrete diaphragm in orthogonal slab laying direction is mainly caused by the opening deformation of the slab joint and the rotational deformation of the precast slabs. This flexural deformation feature can provide reference for establishing the bending stiffness analytical model of discrete connected new-type precast reinforced concrete diaphragm in orthogonal slab laying direction, which is vitally important for foundation of the vertical bearing capacity and deformation calculation method. The deflection and crack distribution patterns infer that the discrete connected new-type precast reinforced concrete diaphragm processes the deformation characteristic of two-way slab floor, which can provide a basis for the theoretical analysis of discrete connected new-type precast reinforced concrete diaphragm.

A precast shear wall with vertical connectors (PSWVC) is proposed, in which the wall panels are assembled through dampers at the vertical seams. Cyclic loading tests were conducted on two full-scale specimens with X-shaped metal dampers and lead viscoelastic dampers. Based on the test results, the better seismic performance of the wall panels with dampers was observed. In addition, a finite element analysis model of shear walls was proposed, and a parameter study was performed to investigate the seismic performance of the PSWVC. Simplified calculation methods were also proposed to predict the strength of shear walls.

To investigate the shear capacity of indirectly loaded reinforced concrete beams under and after fire exposure, load tests were conducted on eight full-scale specimens exposed to fire testing in a furnace chamber, and the effects of additional transverse reinforcement in the junction region between the primary and secondary beams on the shear capacity, fire resistance, failure modes and deflection were analysed. The results indicate that the slopes of the diagonal cracks in post-fire tested reinforced concrete beams without additional transverse reinforcement were shallower than those of a similar reference beam not exposed to fire, and that the ultimate capacities of reinforced concrete beams with additional transverse reinforcement decreased obviously after fire exposure. However, beams with additional transverse reinforcement exhibited increased fire resistance times and reduced strains in their reinforcement, indicating the benefit of conservatively providing such reinforcement. The findings of this study are expected to provide a reference for the improved fire-resistant design of indirectly loaded beams.