## 2 Basic Characteristics of Novel SCPC Connection
### Mechanical Behavior Analysis of Hysteretic Dampers  
The hysteretic dampers improve the seismic energy dissipation capability of the novel beam-column connection due to their good plastic hysteresis performance, which generates large stresses and large deformations after yielding. Figure 2 shows the construction of the hysteretic damper. For the novel frame, the high initial stiffness of the hysteretic damper can increase structural stiffness to limit the structural displacement under the minor earthquake and generate significant plastic deformation after yielding to dissipate the seismic energy under the major earthquake. Therefore,  
Figure 1: Details of construction of the novel self-centering precast concrete (SCPC) connection. the hysteretic damper must have relatively large initial stiffness and the good seismic energy capability. The section size of the hysteretic damper is determined according to the required stiffness and yield strength. The steel plate of the hysteretic dampers with a rectangular slot only occur in-plane deformation and can effectively avoid out of plane bulking. Three-dimensional solid element models are established using ABAQUS software to clearly determine the hysteretic behavior of the novel SCPC joint. The eight-node, hexahedral linear reduced integral solid elements C3D8R are adopted to accurately simulate a hysteretic damper. The 2-node linear 3D truss elements T3D2 are used to simulate the reinforcement and unbonded tendons. Figure 2(a) displays the three-dimensional numerical simulation model of the new joint in ABAQUS and the hysteretic curve of new joint with a hysteretic damper under the cyclic loading, respectively. Energy consumption coefficient \(\beta_{E}\) is an important performance index to measure the energy consumption capacity of novel SCPC connection [27]. \(\beta_{E}\) is the ratio of the hysteresis loop area of the SCPC joint and that of the two line elastoplastic system with the same bending strength. From Figure 2(b) we can see that the hysteretic curve \(M\)- \(\theta_{r}\) is a typical double flag-shape, where \(\theta_{r}\) is the connection rotation at the beam-column interface. The hysteretic loops become much plumper and the energy consumption coefficient \(\beta_{E}\) is 0.42, which indicates that the energy consumption capacity of the new connection with hysteretic dampers is sufficient. To validate the numerical model and study the seismic behavior of the novel joint, the cyclic loading test of a full-sized novel SCPC connection specimen with hysteretic dampers was conducted. The details of the cyclic loading tests setup is shown in Figure 4. The hinge support was installed on the strong floor and the precast column was hinged. The displacement of the column top was constrained by the support beam and reaction wall. A 50t MTS actuator was fixed on the strong floor  
Figure 3: Three-dimensional model of hysteretic dampers and hysteretic curve of the novel joint. Figure 2: Details of the hysteretic dampers. to apply the cyclic loading on the beam end. The horizontal displacement transducers were installed on the upper and lower surfaces of the beam end to measure the deformation of the beam end. \(M\) was the moment at the beam end. The connection rotation \(\theta_{r}\) was calculated by the absolute length of opening and compression between the upper and lower of beam end and the distance of the horizontal transducers. Figure 5 shows the comparison of hysteresis curve between the numerical simulation and test results. The numerical simulation results agree with the experimental data on the whole, such as gap opening and closing, energy consumption and self-centering characteristics. For the novel beam-column connection, the simplified hysteretic model of connection under cyclic loads is shown as Figure 6. As shown in Figure 6a, the theoretical hysteresis curve of the self-centering system taken by PT tendons is modelled with an idealized bilinear elastic spring.