Reinforced concrete beam-column joints cannot be considered in isolation, but must be considered as an integral
part of the frame. It is preferable that these regions remain strong so that energy will be dissipated in the adjacent
members rather than in the joint. Despite this preference for the joint to remain strong, it is inevitable that there
will be some participation of inelastic shear and bond mechanisms in the hysteretic behaviour of a moment
resisting frame. Shear forces in joint cores are much greater than in the adjacent columns and the moment
gradient in the joint core is much larger than in the adjacent column or beam [Cheung et al, 1993].