ABSTRACT
Full-scale cyclic tests on 5 reinforced concrete (R/C) slender column elements were carried out at 2 10'3 and 0.2 Hz at displacement amplitudes sufficient to cause considerable damage. The effect of the loading rate is studied with reference to the envelope of the load carrying capacity, and the distribution of the rotation along the column length. The equivalent viscous damping associated with the hysteretic behaviour was found to be rate independent in the range studied. The structural degradation is represented as a function of the cyclic secant stiffness normalized by the elastic stiffness.
