This paper presents an experimental study on the seismic performance of a novel composite joint between reinforced concrete columns and steel beams (RCSs) for frame structures. In the proposed RCS joint, an H steel profile totally embedded inside an RC column is directly welded to the steel beam. The H steel profile was covered by two supplementary plates to avoid the stirrups resisting the shear in the connection region. Two full-scale joints were built and tested under reversed-cyclic loading at the University of Transport and Communications of Vietnam. Seismic performance in terms of load-bearing capacity, story drift capacity, energy dissipation, and stiffness degradation were evaluated. The test specimen showed a good response to cyclic load reversals.

This paper deals with experimental investigation of the static behavior of a novel RCS beam-column exterior joint. The studied joint detail is a through-column type in which an H steel profile totally embedded inside RC column is directly welded to the steel beam. The H steel profile was covered by two supplementary plates in the joint area in order to avoid the stirrups resisting shear in the joint area. Two full-scale through-column-type RCS joints were tested under static loading. The objectives of the tests were to examine the connection performance and to highlight the contribution of two supplementary plates on the shear resistance of the joint.