Replaceable Beam-Column Joint With Necked Cover Plate for Seismic Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing construction structures in earthquake-prone areas face challenges in managing seismic resistance, stress distribution, and ease of repair, leading to potential widespread damage and increased maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A construction structure with a replaceable beam-column joint featuring a cover plate configuration that includes a neck portion with reduced width, designed to concentrate stress and facilitate easy replacement of damaged components, reducing the need for extensive repairs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional beam-column joint is used in earthquake-prone areas, then the structure needs to be designed for seismic resistance, but stress distribution during earthquakes causes damage to multiple areas including main backbones and welding beads, increasing repair complexity and material requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The beam-column joint is divided into modular components including a replaceable cover plate assembly that can be independently replaced. The joint configuration separates the cover plate from the main structural elements, allowing the cover plate to be replaced without affecting the column structure or web plate, thus reducing repair complexity while maintaining seismic resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The cover plate is designed with a neck portion that has reduced width at specific locations to create predetermined weak points. This local quality variation guides stress concentration to specific areas during earthquakes, protecting critical structures like the column and web plate while allowing controlled deformation in the neck portion for energy dissipation
2Reliability
If extensive reinforcement is provided throughout the beam-column joint to ensure seismic resistance, then the structure can withstand earthquake forces, but the material consumption and construction cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly reinforcing the entire joint, the design provides localized reinforcement only where needed. The cover plate has full width for most portions to provide structural support, but the neck portion has reduced width to allow controlled stress concentration. This localized quality variation achieves seismic resistance while minimizing material consumption compared to uniform reinforcement
Solution Approach 2:
The cover plate assembly is designed as a replaceable component that can be quickly replaced after earthquake damage. This approach prioritizes rapid replacement over permanent repair, allowing the structure to be restored to operational status faster without requiring extensive material consumption for permanent reinforcement of damaged areas
3Stability of the object's composition
If the beam-column joint is designed as a permanent, non-replaceable structure, then structural integrity is maintained, but repair time and material requirements increase significantly after earthquake damage
Solution Approach 1:
The joint is segmented into a permanent portion (column structure, web plate) and a replaceable portion (cover plate assembly). This segmentation allows the permanent structures to maintain their integrity while the cover plate can be quickly replaced after damage, significantly reducing repair time compared to replacing the entire joint structure
Solution Approach 2:
The cover plate is pre-designed with standardized dimensions and connection methods that allow for rapid replacement. The predetermined connection structure between the cover plate and the permanent joint elements enables quick assembly without requiring complex field measurements or custom fabrication, thus reducing repair time while maintaining structural integrity
Data Source
AI summary
A beam-column joint has a joint configuration and a cover plate configuration, and a construction structure including the same. The joint configuration extends along a first direction, having a web plate and a first flange connected to a first side edge of the web plate. The first flange has a first indentation so as to be divided into a first end section and a first extension section. The cover plate configuration includes a first cover plate extending across the first indentation along the first direction to face and cover the first flange, the first cover plate fixedly connected to the first end section and the first extension section. The first cover plate has a first neck portion corresponding to the first indentation, and the width of the first neck portion is smaller than the width of other portions of the first cover plate apart from the first neck portion.