Influence of reinforced concrete slab on the cyclic response of bolted shear links

High seismic hazard zones are found all over the world, arising concerns about life and economic loss in the event of major earthquakes. Thus, structural engineers must find ways to increase seismic safety without attracting excessive costs. This can be done by implementing the concepts of removable dissipative members and re‐centering capability in a dual structure, obtained by combining steel eccentrically braced frames with removable bolted links with moment resisting frames. Shear bolted links are intended to provide the energy dissipation capacity and to be easily replaceable, while the more flexible moment resisting frames provide re‐centering capability. One of the critiques of bolted shear links is related to the interaction between the dissipative element and the reinforced concrete slab. Using continuous slab over links, besides replacing the damaged link, reinforced concrete slab needs also repair following a major seismic event. Thus, recent research investigates the behavior of flush end‐plate shear links, experimentally quantifying their strength, stiffness, and ductility, with and without reinforced concrete slab. It is established if repairing the concrete slab after link damage is needed for further acceptable seismic performance.