This paper describes the development of the slotted beam detail. The design, construction, testing and results of two large experimental programs investigating the seismic performance of the slotted beam detail, described herein as Phase I and II, are presented. In Phase I a two-storey, two-by-one bay, reinforced concrete slotted beam superassembly was tested under quasi-static cyclic loading. The specimen was designed, constructed and erected to closely replicate New Zealand construction techniques for a typical multi-storey building, which enabled the practicality of the detail to be assessed. A demanding biaxial loading protocol was applied to enable performance assessment of the slotted beam connections. In addition, the three-dimensional interactions between structural elements in the lateral load resisting system were examined. In Phase II five three-dimensional exterior beam-column subassemblies with floor slabs were tested under a similar regime to Phase I. Two subassemblies were directly extracted from the superassembly tested in Phase I and tested to determine the residual capacity of the subassemblies, following a large earthquake. The tests on the remaining three subassemblies investigated viable options for, and performance of, repair retrofit solutions for reinforced concrete slotted beam connections following large earthquakes. The retrofit solutions utilised tension-compression yielding, sliding friction and lead extrusion external energy dissipation devices. The tests also served to assess the performance of the replaceable dampers for new build applications.
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