Research on Damage Mechanism and Performance-Based Design Process of Reinforced Concrete Column Members

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

In this paper, the author studied the degradation of the bearing capacity of reinforced-concrete column members under the historical action of random amplitude load through energy-based damage index, and established the correspondence between the damage index and the construction parameter and seismic parameters, and proposed a design flow based on this performance. The article has a regular format, reasonable structure, clear thinking, and it is recommended to accept it after revision. However, there are still some issues in the article that need to be clarified or modified by the author:

1. In formula (1), the meaning of parameters A_k and b_k is not explained.

2. In Figure 2, the color difference of each color is not obvious, the color is not prominent, and it is recommended to modify.

3. In this paper, "The increase of longitudinal reinforcement (F_y,u_y) can significantly decrease the damage." it is recommended to add a quantitative description of the damage reduction value of the number of longitudinal reinforcement on the concrete column members in the paper, and add in the corresponding place at the conclusion.

4. Figure.5 and Figure.6 represent the stirrup ratio calculation results at 7 and 8 degrees of earthquake, respectively, and the rest of the conditions are consistent, it is recommended to merge the plots, so that the effect of seismic intensity is more intuitive to compare the effect as an independent variable.

5. In conclusion part, points 3 and 4 are to express the impact of seismic characteristics on the damage of reinforced concrete column members, and it is recommended to combine the conclusions into one point.

6. The article proposed that energy-based damage indicators are related to multiple factors, and the authors also described the relevant correspondence, could you further clarify which factors contribute more significantly to damage indicators?

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper studied the seismic damage assessment of reinforced-concrete column members, the coupling relationship between the capacity degradation and the accumulated hysteretic energy, and the displacement history considered. They found that the increase in longitudinal reinforcement can significantly reduce the damage and the higher the seismic intensity, the more serious the damage. The study is of general interest in the Civil Engineering and structures community and is recommended for publication if the following comments are addressed in their revised paper.

1.      It is recommended to rewrite the method and conclusion section. Also, please consider completing the discussion section with more comparisons to the previous studies and more explanations about the results.

2.      It is suggested to make a discussion about the result of the figures and explain more the application of these figures.

3.      Was any specific parameter in panel configuration held constant for comparative purposes?

4.      Please rewrite the introduction. Therefore, I suggest the authors do a more comprehensive literature review and cite more papers to reflect the latest advances in this field. In this regard,

Experimental investigation of single and hybrid-fiber reinforced concrete under drop weight test

 

5.      How do you confirm the accuracy of your results? This is very important.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

The article is acceptable according to the corrections made.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your suggestions on improving the quality of our paper.