Evaluation and optimisation of regular RC frame structures of varying heights with graphene oxide

Frame structures are commonly used in places with low seismic activity. Their structural behaviour is characterised by low rigidity and lateral resistance, due to the small sections of the supporting elements (columns), and for this reason, this structural typology requires the help of rigid elements such as filler, structural walls, or other bracing elements. The use of materials in the sections that can improve the resistant behaviour of these structures, such as graphene oxide (GO), offers an alternative solution to the massive use of walls. The results presented here show that introducing small amounts of GO into the composition of the concrete (4% with respect to the weight of the cement used in traditional 30 MPa concrete test specimens) in the sections (beams and columns) improves the mechanical and resistant behaviour of framed structures by between 3 and 15%, and that this effect increases as the structures increase in height. In this research, regular frame structures in plan and elevation of three, eight and 15 storeys are analysed, with proportions of steel equal to 2.5% in the columns and 4% in the beams. Optimisation of the structural sections of the frames using GO concrete, in which the ultimate strengths of the structures with traditional concrete are matched, gives reductions in the amount of concrete in the sections of between 10 and 13%, with the greatest reductions in the highest structures.