Study and Review on Precast Beam-Column

Connections

MTech Training Internship Report

Submitted by

Rishab Choubey

Advanced Concrete Steel and Composites Division

CSIR-Central Building Research Institute

Roorkee-247667 (India)

July 2023

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Study and Review on Precast Beam-Column
Connections

The thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the award of

MTech. Training Internship

By

Rishab Choubey

(Registration No.(0022/CBRI(STM)2022-23))

Under the Guidance of

Dr R. Siva Chidambaram

Advanced Concrete, Steel and Composites Division

CSIR-Central Building Research Institute
(A constituted Establishment of CSIR, New Delhi)

Roorkee-247667, India
July 15, 2023

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 CSIR-Central Building Research Institute

ROORKEE-247667

Student’s Declaration

I hereby declare that the report entitled ("Study and Review on Precast Beam-Column Joints") is
an authentic record of my work carried out at CSIR-CBRI, ROORKEE as a requirement of 2
months of internship training for the award of a training certificate, under the guidance of Dr R.
Siva Chidambaram (Senior Scientist) from June 2023 to July 2023.

(Signature of the student)

Rishab Choubey
Roll No.:(0022/CBRI(STM)2022-23)
Date: …………………………………

Supervisor’s Declaration
This is to certify that the above-mentioned work is carried out under our supervision.

Date: …………………………………

Dr. R. Siva Chidambaram

(Senior Scientist, CSIR-CBRI)

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 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Prof. Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla, the Director of CSIR-CBRI. for
providing me with the valuable opportunity to do my training in the CBRI campus and providing
a word of counsel.
I would like to thank Sh. Nadeem Ahmad, Sr. Principal Scientist Group Leader (Student Training
Mentoring), CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee for giving me this golden opportunity to work in his highly
esteemed organization.
I am grateful to Dr R. Siva Chidambaram, Senior Scientist, CSIR- Central Building Research
Institute, Roorkee. Without his help and guidance, this would not have been successful. He
constantly gave me precious ideas and necessary steps to enhance my learning process in the
ongoing internship training.
I also extend my deep sense of gratitude and sincere thanks to Dr Govardhan Bhatt (Faculty
Mentor) for giving me this opportunity to do my internship at this institute. I would also like to
thank the Civil Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Raipur for giving me
this opportunity to explore, learn and develop my learning capability and skills.
I would like to give special thanks to M.V. Tarun Kumar (PhD Scholar) for his help and precious
time. He was always ready to guide me and give me his precious ideas throughout my
internship.
I would like to express my deepest love and respect to my parents for their unwavering support
and encouragement.

…………………………………

Rishab Choubey
Roll No.:(0022/CBRI(STM)2022-23)
Date:
Place: CBRI Roorkee

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 Abstract
Precast construction has been very popular because of its fast erection of structures and better
quality of construction because of reduced labour input at the site. Precast structures if properly
designed can perform effectively in seismic areas. Recent experiences from earthquakes have
shown that the weakest part of a precast structure is the joints and most failures of these
structures were because of its failure. To overcome this problem and improve the performance
of precast joints much research has been done recently. The main focus of most of this research
has been to improve the ductility, strength and energy dissipation capacity, and hysteretic
performance of the precast joints and try to achieve a performance equivalent to or better than a
monolithically cast structure of similar dimensions and properties. The precast joints can be
broadly classified as dry and wet joints and a combination of both which is called a hybrid joint.
A wet joint uses fresh or wet mortar or some form of adhesive to join the members whereas a
dry joint is mainly dependent on the mechanical connectors such as bolts, weld, steel plates,
etc. Aside from these some special devices and materials are also being used to improve the
performance. This study is focused on analyzing and comparing the different types of
connection methods proposed and studied in the past.

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 Contents
Student’s Declaration ................................................................................................................. 3

Supervisor’s Declaration ............................................................................................................ 3

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 4

Abstract...................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ...............................................................................................................................10

Precast Joints ........................................................................................................................10

Advantages of Precast Joints: ...............................................................................................10

Earthquake-Resistant Design Philosophy ..............................................................................12

Ductility..................................................................................................................................12

Wet Joints .................................................................................................................................24

CORBEL ...............................................................................................................................24

Experimental performance of a new precast beam to column connection using hidden

corbel .................................................................................................................................24

Cyclic performance of emulative precast beam to column connection with corbel using
dowel bar ...........................................................................................................................25

Experimental study on precast beam column connections constructed using RC corbel and
steel billet under progressive collapse scenario. ................................................................26

Influence of the vertical grouting in the interface between corbel and beam in beam-to-
column connections of precast concrete structures–An experimental analysis ...................27

GROUTED SLEEVE..............................................................................................................28

Seismic experimental study on a precast concrete beam-column connection with grout

sleeves. .............................................................................................................................28

Experimental study on a precast beam-column joint with double grouted splice sleeves....30

Grouted sleeve connections used in precast reinforced concrete construction–Experimental

investigation of a column-to-column joint ...........................................................................32

ULTRA HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONCRETE ........................................................................33

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 Experimental study of emulative precast concrete beam-to-column connections locally
reinforced by U-shaped UHPC shells .................................................................................33

Seismic performance of a novel interior precast concrete beam-column joint using ultra-
high performance concrete ................................................................................................35

Experimental study on interior precast concrete beam-column connections with UHPC core
shells .................................................................................................................................36

Experimental study on internal precast beam–column ultra-high-performance concrete

connection and shear capacity of its joint ...........................................................................38

Experimental study on seismic behavior of precast concrete beam-column joints using

UHPC-based connections ..................................................................................................39

Some Other Studies ..............................................................................................................40

Seismic performance of precast wide beam-column connections with asymmetrical

anchorage reinforcement details ........................................................................................40

Hysteretic performance of precast beam-column connections fabricated with high-strength

materials. ...........................................................................................................................41

Seismic performance of a novel precast concrete beam-column connection using low-

shrinkage engineered cementitious composites .................................................................41

Experimental study on seismic performance of precast LSECC/RC composite joints with U-

shaped LSECC beam shells ..............................................................................................43

Seismic behavior of precast concrete beam-column joints with steel strand inserts under
cyclic loading .....................................................................................................................44

Dry Joints ..................................................................................................................................46

Behaviour of a beam to column “dry” joint for precast concrete elements...........................46

Experimental investigation of prefabricated beam-to-column steel joints for precast concrete

structures under cyclic loading ...........................................................................................47

Seismic performance of precast concrete beam-column joint based on the bolt connection
..........................................................................................................................................48

Experimental seismic study of an innovative precast steel–concrete composite beam–

column joint........................................................................................................................48

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 Experimental study on the seismic performance of new precast concrete beam-column
joints with replaceable connection. .....................................................................................50

Experimental study on a novel dry connection for a precast concrete beam-to-column joint
..........................................................................................................................................51

Seismic behavior of a replaceable artificial controllable plastic hinge for precast concrete
beam-column joint..............................................................................................................52

Experimental study on a new type of precast beam-column joint .......................................53

Experimental Study on Seismic Behavior of Precast Bolt-Connected Steel-Members End-

Embedded Concrete (PBSEC) Beam-Column Connections. ..............................................54

Hybrid Joints .............................................................................................................................56

Development and experimental investigation of hybrid precast concrete beam–column

joints. .................................................................................................................................56

Seismic performance of innovative hybrid precast reinforced concrete beam-to-column

connections........................................................................................................................58

Experimental Investigation on Seismic Behaviour of Hybrid Precast Beam–column Joints

with Different Connection Configurations. ..........................................................................59

Development and testing of hybrid precast concrete beam-to-column connections under

cyclic loading. ....................................................................................................................61

Cyclic loading test for interior precast SRC beam-column joints with and without slab. ......62

Experimental seismic study of precast hybrid SFC/RC beam–column connections with

different connection details.................................................................................................64

Development and testing of precast concrete beam-to-column connections ......................66

Energy Dissipation Devices and use of SMA ............................................................................68

A precast beam-column connection using metallic damper as connector: Experiment and

application..........................................................................................................................68

A friction damper for post-tensioned precast concrete beam-to-column joints ....................69

An RBS-based replaceable precast concrete beam-column joint: Design approach and

experimental investigation ..................................................................................................71

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 Influence of mild steel damper design parameters on energy dissipation performance of
low-damage self-centering precast concrete frame connections ........................................73

Behavior of Smart Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Joints by Using Shape Memory

Alloy Reinforcement Under Repeated Loading ..................................................................74

Shape memory alloy plates: Cyclic tension-release performance, seismic applications in

beam-to-column connections and a structural seismic demand perspective. .....................75

Experimental study on re-centering behavior and energy dissipation capacity of

prefabricated concrete frame joints with shape memory alloy bars and engineered
cementitious composites ....................................................................................................75

REFERENCES .........................................................................................................................78

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 Chapter 1

Introduction

Precast Joints

Precast concrete structures can be defined as members pre-fabricated in the factory and
assembled on-site. The connection can be done in a variety of methods and extensive research
has been done recently to improve the connection method of precast structure.

If we look at the past failures of structures during an earthquake, the weakest link has been the
joints which are especially true in the case of precast structures. During an earthquake, the
structure experiences a very complex form of load which leads to a variety of problems and
modes of failure of the structure mainly in the joint. The complexity of the seismic load has led to
a variety of joint proposals in the past and has led to many different types of approaches to
constructing a precast joint.

The joints can be broadly divided into dry and wet joints. The main feature of a wet joint is that it
uses wet or fresh mortar or some form of adhesive to transfer the load from one member to
another and can be used to emulate the behaviour of a monolithic joint with ease. In the case of
a dry joint, the load is transferred through the mechanical properties of the connection material
like a bolt, weld, steel plates, etc. A dry joint is especially complex in terms of load transfer
mechanism and requires more thorough research but it is much easier to assemble a structure
using dry joints and is more efficient as it requires lesser labour input which reduces the
chances for errors.

Advantages of Precast Joints:

Precast joints offer several advantages over other construction methods. Here are some of the
key advantages of precast joints:

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Speed and Efficiency: Precast joints allow for faster construction compared to traditional cast-
in-place methods. Since the components are manufactured off-site in a controlled environment,
construction activities can proceed concurrently, reducing overall project timelines.

Quality Control: Precast joints are fabricated in controlled factory conditions, ensuring a higher
level of quality control. The use of standardized moulds and manufacturing processes helps
minimize variations and ensures consistent product quality.

Durability: Precast joints are designed and manufactured to meet specific performance
requirements, resulting in durable and long-lasting structures. The controlled curing conditions
in the factory environment enhance the strength and durability of the joints, making them
resistant to environmental factors such as temperature changes, moisture, and chemical
exposure.

Flexibility and Versatility: Precast joints offer a high degree of flexibility in design and
customization. They can be manufactured in various shapes, sizes, and finishes to meet
specific project requirements. Additionally, precast joints can be easily interconnected and
integrated with other precast elements, allowing for the efficient construction of complex
structures.

Reduced Labor Requirements: Precast joints reduce the need for extensive on-site labour, as
most of the fabrication is done in the factory. This can help in reducing labour costs and
improving overall construction productivity.

Improved Safety: The use of precast joints minimizes the need for on-site construction
activities, reducing potential safety risks for workers. With fewer activities being carried out on-
site, hazards associated with working at heights, excavation, and heavy machinery operations
can be mitigated.

Sustainability: Precast joints are considered a sustainable construction solution. The

manufacturing process allows for efficient use of materials, reduced waste generation, and
improved energy efficiency compared to traditional construction methods. Additionally, the use
of precast elements facilitates easier dismantling and recycling at the end of a structure's life
cycle.

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Earthquake-Resistant Design Philosophy
For a structure to perform adequately during an earthquake, some design considerations are to
be followed. Some of the principles of earthquake-resistant design are:

1. Failures should be ductile rather than brittle. ductility with large energy dissipation
capacity must be ensured.
2. Flexure failure should precede shear failure.
3. Beams should fail before columns.
4. Members should fail before the joint. The joint should be capable enough to help achieve
the strength of the beam and column.

Ductility
To improve the ductility of the structure following points should be considered:

1. Strong column–weak beam design should be followed. Avoid yielding of columns.

2. Regular configuration of the building.
3. Avoid failure of the foundation.
4. Increasing member ductility.
5. Introduce more redundancy.

Design Guidelines
Fema 461 [Interim Testing Protocols for Determining the Seismic
Performance Characteristics of Structural and Non-structural Components]
Two separate protocols for laboratory testing of structural and non-structural components are presented
in this guideline:

1. Protocol 1: Quasi-Static Cyclic Testing of Structural and Non-structural Components and Systems
2. Protocol 2: – Shake Table Testing of Structural and Non-structural Components and Systems [This
protocol should not be used, if in addition to fragility data, hysteretic data on force-deformation
properties of a component are needed for use in structural analysis.]

Protocol 1:

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This approach is used when building parts or components are put through performance testing
and damage is best predicted by forced deformation, such as in beam-column assemblies.

Two types of testing can be performed:

1. Racking Testing
2. Hysteretic Testing [For components providing structural resistance]
Actuators should be sized to provide reserve capacity for both force and displacement beyond
the maximum anticipated as necessary for the test. Instrumentation calibrations and Data
Acquisition System shall conform to NIST traceable primary standards or other applicable
standards.

A test may be carried out under deformation control or force control (or a combination of the two
when accurate force and deformation data are needed) within the elastic as well as the inelastic
range.

Unidirectional Testing:

It is required that at least one data point will be obtained for the loading at which each damage
state initiates.

The loading history consists of repeated cycles of stepwise increasing deformation amplitudes. Two
cycles at each amplitude shall be completed.

Δo = the targeted smallest deformation amplitude of the loading history. It must be safely
smaller than the amplitude at which the lowest damage state is first observed. At the lowest

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damage state at least six cycles must have been executed. A recommended value for Δo is
around 0.0015 in terms of storey drift.

Δm = targeted maximum deformation amplitude. It is an estimated value of the imposed

deformation at which the most severe damage level is expected to initiate. If the most severe
damage initiates at a drift smaller than the target value, judgment must be used to assess
whether the cumulative damage effect at the actual initiation of damage is indeed comparable to
that which would have occurred if the specimen had sustained the complete loading history. If
required loading history can be continued in increments of 0.3 Δm. A recommended value of this
is 0.03 in terms of storey drift.

Whenever possible, the test should be continued beyond Δm even if the most severe damage
state has been attained.

The amplitude ai+1 is given by:

Bidirectional Testing:

When bidirectional testing is performed the loading path should follow the orbital pattern:

Force controlled loading:

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The reference value to base the amplitude of individual cycles is the maximum force to which
the component or part may be subjected in a severe earthquake.

The loading history should be like:

ACI 374.1-05 [Acceptance Criteria for Moment Frames Based on Structural

Testing and Commentary]
This document defines minimum acceptance criteria for new reinforced concrete moment
frames designed for regions of high seismic risk or for structures assigned to satisfy high
seismic performance or design categories, where acceptance is based on experimental
evidence and mathematical analysis.

The test sequence on the basis of this code is expressed in terms of drift ratio and the initial
ratio is based on the expected range of linear elastic response for the module.

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Test modules shall be subjected to a sequence of displacement-controlled cycles representative
of the drifts expected under earthquake motions for that portion of the frame represented by the
test module. Cycles shall be to predetermined drift ratios as follows:

1. Three fully reversed cycles shall be applied at each drift ratio.

2. The initial drift ratio shall be within the essentially linear elastic response range for the
module. Subsequent drift ratios shall be to values not less than one and one-quarter
times, and not more than one and one-half times, the previous drift ratio.
3. Testing shall continue with gradually increasing drift ratios until the drift ratio equals or
exceeds 0.035.

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Acceptance criteria:
The requirements of this clause apply to each module of the test program and not to an average
of the results of the program.

The following criteria shall be met:

1. The test module shall have attained a lateral resistance equal to or greater than En
before its drift ratio exceeds the value consistent with the allowable story drift limitation
of the International Building Code.
2. The maximum lateral resistance Emax recorded in the test shall have not exceeded λEn,
where λ is the specified overstrength factor for the test column.
3. For cycling at the given drift level at which acceptance is sought, but not less than a drift
ratio of 0.035, the characteristics of the third complete cycle shall have satisfied the
following:
a. Peak force for a given loading direction shall have been not less than 0.75Emax
for the same loading direction
b. The relative energy dissipation ratio shall have been not less than 1/8
c. The secant stiffness from a drift ratio of –0.0035 to a drift ratio of +0.0035 shall
have been not less than 0.05 times the stiffness for the initial drift ratio. The initial
drift ratio shall be within the essentially linear elastic response range for the
module. Subsequent drift ratios shall be to values not less than one and one
quarter times, and not more than one and one-half times, the previous drift ratio.

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Seismic Design code for building in Taiwan:
Drift Limits and Building Separation:
The associated story drift ratio at each floor shall be determined under the following base shear:

The story drift ratio is defined as the ratio of the difference of deflections at the top and bottom
of the story under consideration divided by the story height. The story drift ratio at each floor
shall not exceed 0.005.

Buildings shall be adequately separated from the adjacent structures to prevent pounding during
an earthquake. Pounding may be presumed not to occur wherever buildings are separated by a
distance greater than or equal to 0.6×1.4αy Ra times the displacement caused by the
determined seismic design base shear.

ASCE 7 2002:
The design story drift shall be computed as the difference of the deflections at the top and
bottom of the story under consideration. Where allowable stress design is used, story drift shall
be computed using code-specified earthquake forces without reduction.

The Story drift shall not exceed the values specified in the following table:

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The design inter-story drift obtained from the analyses shall not exceed 125% of the drift limit specified
in the table.

Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance[Part1]

Limitation on inter-storey drift:

1. for buildings having non-structural elements of brittle materials attached to the structure:

2. for buildings having ductile non-structural elements:

3. for buildings having non-structural elements fixed in a way so as not to interfere with
structural deformations, or without non-structural elements:

Where,

dr = Design inter-storey drift defined as the difference of average lateral displacement at top and
bottom storey under consideration. The displacement is calculated as:

Where,

qd is the displacement behaviour factor

dc is the displacement of the same point of the structural system, as determined by a linear
analysis based on the design response spectrum.

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nzs 1170-52004: [Seismic performance of engineering Systems in
buildings]
Structural Types:
1. Ductile Structure is one where structural ductility is greater than 1.25 but does not exceed 6

2. Structures of limited ductility is one where structural ductility level is greater than 1.25 but less
than

3. Nominal ductility Structures is one where ductility factor is greater than 1 but less than 1.25

4. Brittle Structure is one which is not capable is inelastic deformation.

The serviceability limit is satisfied when following two criteria are fulfilled:

1. Deflection criteria

2. Design strength criteria

Structural Ductility criteria

the structural ductility factor for the serviceability limit SLS1 should be between 1 and 1.25 and
for SLS2 the limit should be 1 to 2.

The assignment of ductility factor should be chosen in consistency with the capability of the
associated detailing from the appropriate material Standard.

Deformation control:
Calculation of design horizontal deflection should include the effects of both translation and
torsion and the effect of foundation deformation. P-delta effects shall be considered where
required.

Horizontal Deflection limits:

The design horizontal deflection of any point on the perimeter of a structure shall not exceed
the distance from that point on the structure to the boundaries of adjacent sites, except for
street frontages.

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At any point above the ground, the design horizontal deflection of the structure shall be such
that, when combined with the design horizontal deflection of any adjacent structure at the
same height, contact does not occur.

Inter-storey Deflection Limits

The ultimate limit state inter-storey deflection shall not exceed 2.5% of the corresponding storey
height or as defined by the material standards.

For the serviceability limit state, the inter-storey deflection shall be limited so as not to
adversely affect the required performance of other structure components.

The design horizontal deflections shall not be greater than any separation
provided to avoid contact between adjacent parts of the structure, or between the structure
and its parts and shall be limited so as not to impair their function nor that of other structure
components.

Chinese Code GB50011:

The Chinese seismic code GB 50011 requires that the elastic story drift (Δue) is determined
using seismic load effects of the frequent earthquake level with load factor of 1.0. Δue should
not be greater than the allowable story drift in the following table:

The Chinese code also requires that some structures have to be checked for elasto-plastic story
drift criteria under seismic load effects of the rare earthquake event. Nonlinear static or
nonlinear time history analysis has to be performed to compute the elasto-plastic drift except
that a simplified method may be used for concrete moment frames or concrete columns in a
single-story industrial building with no stiffness irregularity and not higher than 12-stories. A
simplified equation is also given as follows:

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The elasto-plastic story drift, Δup , should not be greater than the allowable elasto-

plastic story drift.

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Japanese Code:
The Japanese seismic code calculates the story drift (δi) using seismic load effects of the
moderate earthquake level. The story drift angle is then calculated as:

Where hi is the story height. Ri should not exceed 1/200. This limit may be exceeded if non-
structural members are designed to sustain the story drift, but in no case should Ri exceed
1/120. The Japanese code has no difference in the drift control requirement for different
occupancies. The allowable story drift specified by the Japanese seismic code is 0.005 hsx.

UBC-1997 Part 2:
Story drifts shall be computed using the Maximum Inelastic Response Displacement, ΔM

Calculated story drift using ΔM shall not exceed 0.025 times the story height for structures
having a fundamental period of less than 0.7 second. For structures having a fundamental
period of 0.7 second or greater, the calculated story drift shall not exceed 0.020 times the story
height.

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 Chapter 2

Wet Joints

Wet joints are the connection between precast concrete elements that are formed using fresh or
wet concrete. These joints are created by placing wet concrete, often referred to as grout, at the
interface between two precast elements to bond them together.

Unlike dry joints, which involve using adhesive materials or mechanical connectors, wet joints
rely on the properties of fresh concrete to achieve a strong bond. The wet concrete is poured or
pumped into the joint, filling the gaps and adhering to the surfaces of the precast elements.

CORBEL
One of the ways wet joints are constructed is by using a corbel. These connections are studied
quite extensively and some of them are discussed here.

Experimental performance of a new precast beam to column connection

using hidden corbel
[1] Bahrami et al. studied a new moment-resisting connection where the beam is connected to
the column with an inverted E corbel. For this purpose, 0.6 scale samples are tested.

Proposed precast connection PC and

monolithic connection MC were loaded
in lateral form according to the protocol
that was taken from ACI T1.1-01. A
constant axial load of 160 kN was
applied to the column. Three fully
reversed cycles were applied at each Figure 1 Schematic arrangement
drift level. Test specimens were ultimately loaded up to the 4.5% drift ratio. The lateral load was
applied with a 150 kN hydraulic actuator to the column top in a reversed cyclic manner. The

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specimens were considered failed when the applied lateral load was reduced to less than 85%
of the maximum lateral load.

In terms of maximum load-carrying capacity, the joint performed similarly to that of the
monolithic specimen which was around 86% and 96% of the maximum load of the monolithic in
positive and negative directions.

For the monolithic specimen, the stiffness decreases progressively down to about ¼ the original
one at 4.5% drift, while for PC it decreases rapidly down to very low values due to the large
gaps left in the connection after any loading cycle.

The loss of initial stiffness for the precast specimen was approximately 75% to 80% at the end
of the last cycle of drift 4.5%. Severe stiffness degradation in the precast specimen was more
pronounced due to bond deterioration of top bars at column holes and gap opening at the beam
and corbel face. Energy dissipation in the precast specimens was higher than of Specimen MC
before the 1.55% drift ratio.

Cyclic performance of emulative precast beam to column connection with

corbel using dowel bar
[2] Rajeswari et al. studied the seismic performance of exterior and interior types of an
emulative precast beam-to-column connection, constructed with grouted steel dowel bar and
cast-in-situ concrete under quasi-static reversed cyclic loading was examined. The design and
detailing were done with STAAD pro and a prototype multi-storey G+7 building was considered
to be constructed in Chennai then a 1/3 scaled specimen was tested under cyclic loading and
hysteresis behaviour was studied.

The exterior and interior types of proposed beam-column connections were designed and
detailed by the Indian standard codes [IS 456, 2000], [IS 1893, 2016] and [IS 13920, 2016].

The test specimens were loaded by a hydraulic actuator (1000 kN) on the column top to
stimulate the building’s gravity and horizontal reverse cyclic loading was applied.

The yield point and ultimate point in a load versus displacement curve were obtained using the
procedure followed in the ASTM code E2126-11. It was concluded that the use of grouted steel
reinforcing bars and wet concreting in the joint area of the emulative precast connection provide
greater rigidity and structural continuity, better energy dissipation, and more ductility than the
monolithic connection.

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Experimental study on precast beam column connections constructed
using RC corbel and steel billet under progressive collapse scenario.
[3] Nimse et al. studied three 1/3 scaled precast samples constructed using different
connections. For prototyping purposes, the connection was considered a part of a 6-storey
building and each specimen included two-span beams and three columns with removed middle
columns.

For design and detailing [IS: 456, 2000], [IS: 1893, 2002], [IS 13920, 2003], [BS: 8110-1, 1997]
were used. At the beam-column junction and column ends spacing of stirrups was reduced to
avoid concrete crushing at the top and bottom of the column.

Initially, beam-column assembly behaved as a fixed beam and deflection at the junction was
very less but gradually beam-column connections lost fixity as the load is increased. It is also
observed that the beam behaves in an almost symmetrical manner with maximum displacement
at the location of the removed column, during the initial phase of loading.

The load-carrying capacity of wet precast connections was higher than that of monolithic
connections and dry precast connections.

From the failure pattern, it was observed that for wet precast specimens, failure initiated at the
interface between the region filled with cast-in-place micro concrete and normal concrete and
further propagated. For the dry precast specimens, failure was initiated near the location of bolts
provided within the connection region, due to inadequate concrete around the bolt region.

From the results of deflections, it was concluded that the type of precast connections adopted
for the study is stiffer as compared to monolithic connections during the initial phase of loading.

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Subsequently, the stiffness of dry precast connections degraded rapidly without much increase
in load.

Influence of the vertical grouting in the interface between corbel and beam
in beam-to-column connections of precast concrete structures–An
experimental analysis
[4] Lacerda et al. studied a beam-column joint consisting of a corbel to support the beam filled
with grout to improve the performance and bending continuity bars crossing the column. For this
4 specimens were tested out of which two samples were filled with grout between the vertical
interface between the corbel and the beam and the other two samples had no grouting.

A slab concrete casting in place was employed to emulate the continuity between precast units.
The materials were tested according to the Brazilian standard codes. A hydraulic jacket
(actuator) was used to apply the concentrated load [F] on the column. Consequently, each
beam was subjected to F/2 caused by the support reactions. For all specimens, the first stage of
loading was applied monotonically in increments of 10 kN. In the second stage of loading (near
the predicted failure of the connection), the loads were applied in increments of 5 kN.

For all specimens, the values of experimental ultimate loads were higher than the predicted
ones. The specimens with vertical grouting (PW1 and PW2) exhibited higher ultimate loads than
specimens without vertical grouting (PWO1 and PWO2). The vertical grouting between the
beam and corbel provided an increase in the compressive area and consequently an increase
of the lever arm of the resultant compressive force acting on the precast beam section. The

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crack widths in specimens PWO1 and PWO2 were higher than in specimens PW1 and PW2,
considering lower stress levels.

The vertical grouting in the interface between the corbel and beam contributes to the increase in
the flexural strength and flexural stiffness of the connections.

The filling in of grout on the vertical interface between the corbel and beam contributed to an
increase in the flexural strength of the beam-column connection 1.4 times when compared to
the specimens without vertical grout. This is due to the increase of the lever arm between the
traction and compression results in the cross-section in the connection region

The filling with grout on the vertical interface between the corbel and beam contributed to the
increase in stiffness of the connection by around 5.06 times when compared to specimens
without grout filling.

GROUTED SLEEVE
A more widely used type of wet connection is a grouted sleeve connection. Much research has
been carried out regarding this type of connection, and some of them have been discussed
here.

Seismic experimental study on a precast concrete beam-column

connection with grout sleeves.
[5] Yan et al. have studied a precast connection which has a rebar connected by a grout sleeve
of two types, the rebars in the beam are connected by a full grout sleeve and the rebars in the
column with a half grout sleeve.

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Configuration detail about the specimen is taken according to the Chinese code “Code for
design of concrete structure (GB 50010-2010)”. Dead load and live load considered for the
beam are 5.6 kN/m and 1.6 kN/m.

A separate test was performed for grout which showed that the damaged part is outside the
grouting sleeve which indicates the tensile strength of the joint of the grouting sleeve is greater
than the tensile strength of the connecting steel bar.

This study evaluates the failure mode from non-ideal failure mode to ideal failure mode, to
reveal the seismic behaviour of the joint as well as the plastic hinge in the beam.

Low-reversed cyclic loading tests were carried out. The Chinese seismic test guidelines were
followed.

The initial flexural cracks were formed at the surface of beams and diagonal cracks at the
middle of the connection core and extended towards the core edge. The final failure of the
connection was reached due to a concrete crush. The shear cracks form in the joint when the
connection yields. In precast the cracks appear more densely than they do in cast-in-place
specimens. With the decrease of the column-to-beam strength ratio, the development of cracks
begins in the beam and then extends to the joint, and finally to the column.

It was observed that axial compression partially improved the shear stiffness which means more
energy dissipation of the joint was transferred to the beam.

It can also be seen that the hysteresis behaviour of the precast becomes worse with the
decrease in the column-to-beam strength ratio and the shear stiffness of the precast was much
larger than cast-in-place joints.

When the λ is smaller than 1.00, the yield range of the longitudinal reinforcement bars is
relatively short.

When λ is larger than 1.00, the yield range of the longitudinal reinforcement bar is relatively
long.

Hysteresis curves of the precast specimens are closer to a Z shape than that of the cast-in-
place specimen. It was seen that when the yield range of beam reinforcement extends into the
joint core region of a beam-column connection, the bonding degradation between reinforcement
and concrete results in a ‘‘slipping plastic hinge” with low energy dissipation capacity.

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It was concluded that the column-to-beam strength ratio value is less than 1, and the failure
mode of the precast specimens is a shearing failure.

A higher axial compression ratio improves the energy dissipation capacity of precast specimens
as well as the shear stiffness of the joint.

However, a higher axial compression ratio restricts the development of the reinforcement yield
range to the joint and reduces the length of the plastic hinge.

Experimental study on a precast beam-column joint with double grouted

splice sleeves
[6] Lu et al. study proposed a double-grouted sleeve connection between the beam and column.
The study aims to improve the construction speed and quality of precast frame structures which
are greatly influenced by weld, tie, prestress, cast concrete requirements, etc. on site.

For the experimentation, seven beam-column connections were designed and tested: six
prefabricated concrete beam-to-column joints and one cast-in-situ. To keep the economics of
the joint in control two low-cost grouts were used which are grouted sleeves with wedge and
grouted sleeves with wedge and thread. Along with these two types of assembly lengths and
two transition bar diameters were also considered.

The flexural tests were first conducted on prism specimens followed by the compression tests
on the broken prisms according to GB/T17671.

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For the test, an actuator with ± 250 mm displacement range and ± 600 kN load capacity were
mounted vertically at the beam-free end to exert static and low-reversed cyclic loading. A jack
with a maximum ability of 3000 kN was placed on the top of the column to acquire a constant
axial compression force. The axial load on the top of the column was maintained at 700 kN
throughout the test.

A two-part test procedure was conducted in the study:

The specimen of BCJ-S was first tested under static loading to acquire basic information about
the proposed precast beam-column joints

the remaining specimens including BCJ-1, BCJ2, BCJ-3, BCJ-4, BCJ-5 and BCJ-C were then
tested under low-reversed cyclic load to obtain the seismic behaviour of the proposed precast
connections.

The mixed loading protocols of load and displacement were chosen in this experiment
according to the seismic test guideline JGJ/T101-2015. Before the specimen yields, a load
control loading scheme was applied, and the loading circle was used only once for every
loading step. After the specimen was yielded, the displacement control was conducted and
repeated three times at the first three loading steps and all repeated two times after the third
loading step.

The deformation capacity of the precast specimens in the ultimate limit state was lower than that
of the control specimen. The ductility and deformation capacity of the precast specimens were
improved with the increase in the assembly length. In addition, threads in the grouted sleeve
hurt the ductility and deformation ability of the joints.

The average ultimate cumulative dissipated energy of the pre-fabricated specimens is 41%
lower than that of the reference specimen because of the larger stiffness of the grouted sleeves
compared to conventional steel bars. With the increase of the assembly length from 0 mm to
425 mm, the energy dissipation ability of the precast specimens was enhanced by 22.8% and
33.2%, respectively, because of the increased plastic hinge length. As the transition bar
diameter increased from 16 mm to 18 mm, the energy dissipation capacity of the precast
specimen was increased by 64.8%.

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Grouted sleeve connections used in precast reinforced concrete
construction–Experimental investigation of a column-to-column joint
[7] Tullini et al. studied the grouted sleeve connection in column-to-column connection. The
specimens in the study were subjected to three monotonic and two cyclic tests. The connection
used is made by lap-splicing [2m] the longitudinal bars of two stub columns. Out of the two
columns, one of them contains steel sleeves and the other has protruding reinforcement which
is inserted in the steel sleeves and then the sleeves are grouted using High-strength shrinkage-
compensated mortar.

The cyclic bending testing was displacement controlled for the last eight cycles with all the other
tests being load controlled. The following tests were performed:

Direct Tension test

For this test a preliminary loading cycle between 0 and 150 kN was carried out to check the
setup of instruments and data acquisition system, then the tensile test was increased
monotonically until failure.

As a result of the tests, the cracks concentrated at the joint section and outside the lap zones.
Conversely, no significant crack pattern was observed along the lap splice.

Four Point Bending test

An asymmetrical four-point bending test configuration was adopted, with each of the vertical
loads being applied at a distance a = 1.4 m from the nearest support. Three preliminary loading
cycles, with the total, applied load ranging between 0 and 100 kN for the first two cycles and
between 0 and 150 kN for the third one, were carried out. After these cycles, the load was
increased monotonically until failure.

As a result, the damage affected the joint section, where the bottom reinforcing bars yielded,
and then broke after an average tensile strain e1 = 7.70% was attained.

Cyclic Bending test

The specimen used for this test was identical to that of the monotonic bending test. A total of
twelve complete loading cycles and a half were carried out in about four hours. The first five
cycles were load controlled, whereas displacement control was used for the subsequent cycles.

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As a result, the damage concentrated at the joint section and was characterized by yielding and
rupture of the bottom projecting bars.

Test with combined bending and axial load

An asymmetric four-point bending test configuration was adopted also in this case. The
specimen was initially subjected to a compressive axial load N = 1620 kN in the absence of
lateral forces. While undergoing compression, the specimen was subjected to three lateral
loading cycles with a force per jack ranging between 0 and 70 kN to check the data acquisition
system. This lateral load was selected to preserve concrete uncracked. Then, the loads were
increased simultaneously up to failure.

As a result, the damage affected the joint section, where the concrete compression strength
was attained. On the specimen’s top side, a spread of the compression failure within an
approximately square region with a dimension of 0.5 m was observed at the end of the test.

Shear test

The damage concentrated at the joint section, where shear yielding of the projecting bars
occurred.

ULTRA HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONCRETE

Ultra High-performance Concrete is also a widely used material in wet connections. The UHPC
can be seen in many kinds of literature and performs quite well in reverse cyclic loading. Some
of the papers are discussed here.

Experimental study of emulative precast concrete beam-to-column

connections locally reinforced by U-shaped UHPC shells

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[8] Tang et al. studied a new Beam-to-column connection which is locally enhanced by
prefabricated ultra-high-performance concrete shells is studied which is used in an emulative

prefabricated concrete frame.

A high-rise building present in China comprised of a precast frame and monolithic shear wall
was selected as a prototype. In the test setup, a displacement-controlled lateral loading
sequence was employed following the ACI 374.1-05 code. 12 loading levels each of the
following drift levels were applied: 0.2, 0.25, 0.35, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3.5, 4.25, 5 per cent

The loading procedure was stopped when the peak strength of the loading cycle dropped to
20%. The precast showed different damage characteristics from that of the monolithic
specimen.

In the UHPC specimen, the beams were damaged at both the bottom and upper areas under
reversal cyclic loading while the bottom areas showed negligible damage as it was protected by
UHPC shells.

The hysteresis loop showed some pinching behaviour which was more severe for the S1 and
PU2 samples. S1 was destroyed at 4.25% drift showing bottom rebars bent under compression.
Sample PU1 underwent 3 loading cycles at 4.25% drift and was destroyed.

All the specimens started to yield at around 1% drift. PU2 showed the best deformation capacity
reaching a drift of 5%.

Specimens achieved drifts greater than 4%, indicating the collapse prevention performance
level. Initially up to 2% drift the strength coefficient of S1 was higher but afterwards, the strength

34 | P a g e
coefficient of S1 dropped significantly and the strength coefficient of PU1 and PU2 became
more than S1.

The stiffness of the samples beyond 0.5% drift was similar. The stiffness degradation of precast
specimens during the loading amplitude below the 2.75% loading drift was more than S1 but as
the specimen reached failure the stiffness of the monolithic sample decreased more severely.
Similarly, except at failure the energy dissipation of the monolithic sample was higher than the
precast sample.

The conclusion was derived that the precast specimen with 600-mm long UHPC shells can
achieve a ductility of 4.87 and a strength of 4% higher than that of the monolithic sample.

Seismic performance of a novel interior precast concrete beam-column

joint using ultra-high performance concrete
[9] Zhang et al. studied a joint in replacing normal concrete replaced by UHPC in the beam-
column joint zone and expected to simplify the joint by reducing stirrups requirements and an
anchorage length value.

For this study, four samples are tested under cyclic loading. For calculating the number of
stirrups ACI 318-14 is followed but as UHPC is being used the requirement is reduced in the
sample 1-3 by 30% and no stirrups were applied in the last sample to study the effectiveness of
UHPC in replacing stirrups. The anchorage length was referred from ACI 314-18 code.

The UHPC material used in this study contains 2.5% (by volume) straight steel fibres. The
diameter and the length of the straight steel fibres were 0.2 mm and 13 mm, respectively. The
tensile strength and the elastic modulus were 2700 MPa and 210 GPa.

An axial force ratio of 0.1 was applied at the top of the column. The loading protocol followed in
the study was referred from JGJ/T 101-2015, a Chinese specification for seismic tests of
building structures. After applying the axial force, the cyclic force was applied only one cycle at
each force level. The force increased 0.2Py each cycle until Py, where Py denotes the predicted
yield load. After that, the loading stage turned into the displacement control stage in which each
displacement level was cycled three times. The applied displacement (Δ) was increased by Δy
(where Δy denotes the predicted yield displacement corresponding to the predicted yield load
Py) each time until failure.

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Overall, in terms of failure modes and hysteretic curves, the four precast UHPC/RC composite
specimens exhibited equivalent seismic performance compared with the cast-in-place
monolithic RC specimen and much better seismic performance than the precast concrete joint
specimen P-RC without stirrups in the joint zone.

It was observed that the load decreased obviously in the later stage, the efficiency of energy
dissipation for four precast UHPC/RC composite specimens can still maintain a high level and
the values of them are comparable to those of the monolithic specimen C-RC.

It can be seen that the stirrups in the joint zone cannot be made full use of, due to the limited
shear deformation and diagonal crack width, indicating that the stirrups may be removed. On
the other hand, the strains in the beam bottom and top longitudinal bars are relatively high,
especially in the plastic hinge zone. The beam longitudinal bars of all the specimens yielded.

All four specimens experienced typical beam flexural failure mode, thus the joint strength is
determined by the beam flexural strength.

The maximum calculated bending moment neglecting rebar strengthening is much closer to the
test value since buckling of beam bottom bars was observed which prevents the rebar from
reaching its ultimate tensile strength.

Experimental study on interior precast concrete beam-column connections

with UHPC core shells
[10] Lin et al. studied an emulsive connection. Emulative connections are designed with the
intent to achieve similar behaviour to that of an equivalent monolithic connection. A major issue
with emulative precast joints is the congestion and difficulty in formwork. To overcome this
problem and simplify the process, an interior precast concrete beam-column connection with
UHPC shells is studied in this paper.

36 | P a g e
A total of 4 specimens were cast, out of which one was monolithically cast and 3 were fabricated
according to the proposed connection. A bubble groove interface was adopted at the inner
surface of the shell and the interface between the column and the beam to increase the bond
strength between normal-strength concrete and UHPC. The samples are named PU-80, PU-45,
PU-30, and C-RC where the number represents the thickness of the shell.

For stirrups design GB50011-2010 code was followed. Specimen PU-45 was designed to
investigate the influence of placing partial stirrups in the precast shell and PU-80 was used to
investigate the feasibility of replacing stirrups with the UHPC core-shell.

The UHPC used in this study contained straight steel fibres with a volume ratio of 1.00%, of
which the diameter and length were approximately 0.2 mm and 13 mm, respectively. The tensile
strength and elastic modulus were 2,700 MPa and 205 GPa, respectively.

For testing protocol, ACI 374.1-05 code was followed. An axial ratio of 0.15 was applied to the
column with the help of four hydraulic jacks at the top of the column. After the axial force was
applied, a displacement-controlled loading protocol was applied. The preloading amplitude was
conducted first to eliminate the potential gap between the members of the loading setup, then a
total of 10 levels were performed, and each loading level was conducted thrice. The test was
terminated when the load decreased to 85% of the peak value during the whole test process or
when a fatal crack appeared.

The precast connection effectively delayed the appearance of diagonal cracks in the joint core
zone and limited the crack widths to under 0.05 mm. The proposed connection showed
satisfactory plump hysteretic performance. As the UHPC core-shell helped constrain the normal

37 | P a g e
concrete joint core with a lower pinching effect, the proposed connection dissipated more
energy in the early loading period.

Experimental study on internal precast beam–column ultra-high-

performance concrete connection and shear capacity of its joint
[11] Ma et al. in their study beam-column connections tested whose regular shape beams and
columns were connected with lap spliced steel bars in ultra-high-performance concrete [UHPC].
For these 5 samples were tested along with monolithic samples under reverse cyclic loading.

The connection between the beam and column with LS-UHPC proposed in this study consists of
straight-bar lap splices for column reinforcements and hooked-bar lap splices for beam bottom
reinforcements.

The six samples tested were 3/4 scale interior beam–column connections. A precast beam–
column connection with a strong joint (RUJ-2) was designed to investigate the reliability of LS-
UHPC in joints. Four precast beam–column connections with weak joints (RUJ-3–RUJ-6) were
designed to estimate the shear capacity of the joint.

The distance between the hinge support and the loading point in the column is 2325 mm and
the distance between the reaction point of the beams is 3200 mm. A 1000-kN hydraulic jack
fixed on a one-way slide steady was exerted on the top of the column. A hydraulic actuator
connected to the reaction wall was used to provide the lateral cyclic load on the secondary top
point of the column. A loading procedure consisting of force-controlled steps (in 5-kN
increments) before the specimen yielded and displacement-controlled steps (in 10 mm
increments) after the specimen yielded was used in the test. The increment of 10 mm instead of
yielding displacement is selected. The test was completed when the lateral load dropped to
85%.

It was observed that the damage-resistance property of the joint was improved by the increases
in the fibre volume fraction and stirrup volume ratio, which is advantageous for the creation of a
plastic beam-end hinge.

38 | P a g e
Experimental study on seismic behavior of precast concrete beam-column
joints using UHPC-based connections
[12] Xue et al. studied the seismic behaviour of precast beam-column joints where the
longitudinal rebars of columns are connected using UHPC with a lap length of 15 times the
rebar diameter (15db). UHPC exhibits higher mechanical strength, durability, fatigue
performance and ductility than normal concrete and/ or high-performance concrete and can
reduce the rebar demand in the joint zone.

Four full-scale samples are tested out of which 2 are precast samples with the proposed joint
and 2 are monolithic samples. A 13-storey building is considered with an earthquake
acceleration of 0.1g and beam-column joints are considered by isolating the joint from the
building from the point of contra flexure. The design is based on the specification provided in the
provisions GB/T51231-2016, GB 50010–2010 and GB50011-2010. The samples also satisfied
the criteria in the specifications of ACI 318–19 and EC2 (2004).

The UHPC used in this paper was provided by the Wuhan HuaXin company (China) with
LAFARGE Group technology. The water-binder ratio was fixed at 0.12.

For testing cyclic lateral load was applied following the criteria of JGJ/T 101–2015 and a
constant axial load corresponding to the load experienced in the 13-storey building was applied.
Before the cracking of specimens, the load control was selected; after cracking, the
displacement control was employed. When displacement-controlled, three cycles were
performed in each drift level, and the drift level was augmented by n•H/200 (n = 1, 2 and 3, H =
3000 mm) until the load decreased to less than 85% of the peak load.

It was observed that the recorded load–displacement curves exhibited arch-like, and stable
hysteretic behaviour was captured until a 32.5% drift ratio for interior joints and exterior joints.
However, significant pinching was also observed, which led to the anomalous shape of the
overall curve. The precast interior and exterior joints exhibited lower dissipated energy than the
corresponding monolithic joints. The skeleton curve shape of precast specimens was similar to
that of monolithic specimens, especially for exterior joints, it could be concluded that the precast
beam-column joints with UHPC-based connections could achieve a comparable bearing
capacity to the corresponding monolithic joints.

UHPC-based rebar lap splice connections offer larger tolerances and simpler operation than
traditional connection approaches such as grouting sleeves and grouting-anchoring lap splices.

39 | P a g e
precast joints failed by the crushing of concrete at the bottom of the beam end similar to
monolithic joints. The stable hysteretic behaviour was captured, and the maximum drift ratio of
interior and exterior joints could reach 3.0% and 2.5%. However, it should be mentioned that the
beam-column subassemblies in this paper cannot meet the 3.5% limiting drift recommended by
ACI 374.1-05.

The arch-like load–displacement curves and stable hysteretic behaviour were captured, and the
maximum drift ratio of interior and exterior joints could reach 3.0% and 2.5%, respectively and
the ductility of precast and monolithic interior joints was 4.3 and 3.7, and the corresponding
value was 2.7 and 3.0 for exterior joints.

Some Other Studies

Seismic performance of precast wide beam-column connections with
asymmetrical anchorage reinforcement details
[13] Zhang et al. studied a precast wide beam-column connection and the effect of asymmetric
anchorage reinforcement is analysed. The problem with a Wide beam-column connection is that
the connection is relatively small and requires a lot of reinforcement causing congestion.

For the study, 3 samples are fabricated out of which 2 are precast samples and 1 is RC samples
with monolithic construction. ACI 318-19 was followed for the construction of precast members.

The testing protocol given in ACI 374 2R-13 was adopted under displacement control, where
three repeated cycles were applied in each target lateral displacement. The loading point was
located at the top of the column, and the lateral load was applied through a hydraulic actuator
horizontally mounted on a strong reaction wall with an effective column length of 3,070 mm,
which is measured from the centreline of the actuator to the bottom hinge. A constant axial load
of 1,000 kN was also applied.

To further investigate the connection a numerical FEM model was also made and analysed.

According to the findings of the experiments, symmetrical continuous bars going through the
joint region cannot connect as well as asymmetrically arranged hooked and headed bars that
are terminated in the joint.

It was observed that a certain amount of axial compression is beneficial to the PC-wide beam-
column connections' strength, ductility, and capacity for energy absorption, however, an
excessively high axial compression ratio could have adverse effects due to the early eccentric

40 | P a g e
compression failure of the column. The ideal axial compression ratio in this investigation is close
to 0.1 for PC-wide beam-column connections. When a significant amount of axial compression
is anticipated, rigorous seismic design is advised.

Hysteretic performance of precast beam-column connections fabricated

with high-strength materials.

[14] Xue et al. studied the cyclic behaviour of precast connections made of high-strength
materials is studied. The study employs a 100 MPa grade HSC beam-column connection
incorporating rebars with a nominal yield strength of 500 MPa. The test specimens’ model was
isolated at the points of contra flexure from the bottom story of an 18-story precast concrete
frame located within moderate seismic regions in China. The specimen was checked to satisfy
both ACI 318-19 requirements. ACI 363 R-92 and CEB-FIP report on HSC specify HSC as
concrete with a minimum compressive strength fc of 41 MPa and 60 MPa, respectively.

The specimens are loaded axially with a compression ratio of 0.4. Four specimens are prepared
2 precast and 2 cast in place. After 70 days of specimens’ wet curing, until a stable strength of
HSC was available, the reversed cyclic loading test was performed using a multi-function testing
system (MFTS).

All beam-column subassemblies collapse via flexural failure of the beam end, although there is
no visible damage to the joint core or column. Precast connections and CIP connections both
have a similar capacity to disperse energy. The precast connections, in its opinion, might reach
ductility that is on par with that of the analogous CIP connections.

Seismic performance of a novel precast concrete beam-column connection

using low-shrinkage engineered cementitious composites
[15] Gou et al. in their study, a Low Shrinkage Engineered Cementitious Composite is used in
beam-to-column connection to reduce the complexity of the reinforcement and improve the

41 | P a g e
seismic performance of the joint. The ECC itself has some issues regarding shrinkage which
also leads to the loss of interface strength, so to overcome a low shrinkage ECC is proposed in
this study.

The study involved two stages, first, 3 small-scale beam samples were tested to assess the
feasibility of the use of ECC and then 7 full-scale beam-column samples were cyclically tested.
For designing the beam ACI318-14 was used.

For the first test, the beam was monotonically loaded at the midspan. The result of the test
indicated that the LSECC was suitable for the beam-column joint, U-shape rebars effectively
controlled the surface cracking and cast-in-situ LSECC significantly enhanced the anchorage
performance of the bottom longitudinal rebars with 90-degree hooks.

Next, the joint sample was tested in a self-balancing reaction frame. The joint was loaded by
two positive jacks to rotate clockwise and by two negative jacks to rotate anti-clockwise. The
loading history consisted of a force control stage followed by a displacement control stage. At
the force control stage, only one cycle was applied at the load levels of 0.25Py, 0.5Py, 0.75Py,
and 1.0Py where Py denoted the predicted yield load. After the joint yielded, displacement
control was applied with the ends of the beams subjected to the cycles of loading at the levels of
Dy, 2Dy, 3Dy ..., where Dy denoted the yield displacement corresponding to the yield load Py.

The following observations were derived from the tests:

1. The LSECC material in the joint zone can help improve the ductility, shear resistance,
and damage tolerance capacity.
2. Adding a few transverse stirrups in the joint zone can effectively enhance the crack
resistance and energy dissipation capacity of the precast LSECC joint and help control
the bar slip.
3. The beam longitudinal bars with larger diameters can bring both higher loading capacity
and shear stress level in the joint zone, thus causing larger joint shear deformation.
4. When the anchorage length of beam longitudinal rebar decreases, more severe diagonal
cracks occur and the shear strain increases significantly in the joint zone.
5. A moderate increase of the axial load on the column can help restrict the bar slip and
improve the energy dissipation capacity of the joint.

42 | P a g e
Experimental study on seismic performance of precast LSECC/RC
composite joints with U-shaped LSECC beam shells
[16] Gou et al. in their study low shrinkage engineered cementitious composite [LSECC] is used
which exhibits s stable strain hardening and multiple cracking properties with a dry shrinkage
even lower than that of normal concrete, using U-shaped precast LSECC beam shells.

In general, ECC improves the tensile strain-hardening and the ductility of the joint but the drying
shrinkage of ECC is very high and hence can damage the interface between ECC and normal
concrete. To overcome this problem LSECC is proposed. In the test, 5 samples are tested out of
which 4 are precast samples and 1 is monolithic to compare the properties of the proposed joint.

The proposed beam-column joint consists of:

1. Precast RC column
2. Precast RC beam with LSECC-shaped beam shell
3. Cast-in-place LSECC in the joint core, beam topping and beam shell
The LSECC material used in this study contains 1.7% (by volume) Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Fiber
and ordinary Portland cement was used. Silica fumes with an average particle size of 0.15 μm
and silica sand with an average particle size of 0.1 mm were employed.

The test setup consisted of 4 actuators 2 on each side to apply opposite displacement to
generate rotation along with a hydraulic jack to apply a constant axial load of a ratio of 0.28. The
cycles are employed following the code JGJ/T 101-2015 starting with a load control before joint
yielding. In each cycle of the load control stage, the loading is applied only once and after the
joint yields, the loading will be switched to displacement control. The displacement increments
are set to be the yielding displacement as suggested by the specification. In this stage, two to
seven times the yielding displacement is applied and each cycle is repeated once.

For the specimen C-ECC, a pinching effect is observed above a drift ratio of 3%, because of the
slippage between the top longitudinal reinforcement and LSECC in the joint area. overall shape
of the load–displacement curve of PU-ECC1 is similar to that of the specimen C-ECC and the
pinching effect becomes significant above a drift ratio of 3% because of the large cracks
observed in the beam section adjacent to the column face. For PU-ECC2 with 30% of the
required transverse reinforcement, the pinching effect is observed above a drift ratio of 4%
because of the transverse stirrups which help restrict the slip between the top rebar and
LSECC. The overall shape of the load–displacement curve of PU-ECC4 is similar to that of PU-
ECC1.

43 | P a g e
It was demonstrated that the ACI-specified limit on the shear stress level for conventional well-
confined RC joints can be safely applied to the proposed precast LSECC/RC composite joint
without any confining stirrups. The slippage of longitudinal bars is detected in all the specimens.
This phenomenon did not affect the load capacity and ductility, but it causes a pinching effect
and weakens the energy dissipation capacity.

Seismic behavior of precast concrete beam-column joints with steel strand

inserts under cyclic loading
[17] Yu et al. studied 9 full-scale samples out of which 8 precast and 1 cast-in-place were tested
under cyclic loading. A new type of wet precast concrete beam-column connection is proposed

that can solve the high-precision assembly and component transportation problems.

The design principle of code GB 50011-2010 was followed. The specimen with cast-in-place
connections (XJ)was designed by GB50010-2010.

The cyclic test was performed with a constant axial load corresponding to the axial ratio of 0.2.
The hybrid control method, including load control and displacement control, was adopted by
GB/T 50152-2012. The load control mode was applied in the elastic stage of loading, whereas
the displacement control mode was applied after entering the yield stage. The specimen was
considered as overpassing the limit state and the testing was terminated if the peak load
decreased to less than 85% of the maximum load during the test.

44 | P a g e
The comparison of the hysteresis curves of the nine specimens showed that:

1. At the early stage (elastic stage), all specimens with prefabricated joints had similar
curve trends, wherein little energy was dissipated, and these trends were similar to the
trend of the cast-in-place specimen. It is found in the cast-in-place specimen that, when
the load was applied in an upward direction, the hysteresis curves of the precast
specimens did not exhibit the obvious yield stage (corresponding to a certain pinch in the
curve) since the steel strand has no yield stage.
2. Similar ultimate bearing capacities and hysteretic curve shapes of the specimens
showed that the unbonded steel bar at the bottom of the joint had little influence on the
hysteretic properties of the specimens.
3. It was possible to enhance the deformation ability and bearing capacity by introducing
additional reinforcement in the core zone of the joint, thereby improving the seismic
performance of the specimen.
4. A comparison of the hysteresis curves of the nine specimens showed that the ultimate
bearing capacity of the prefabricated joints with the steel strands as the reinforcements
was higher than that of the cast-in-place joint specimen.
The energy consumption of the prefabricated joints was much higher than that of the cast-in-
place specimen. Also, the stiffness of the prefabricated joints was larger than that of the cast-in-
place connection when the specimen entered the yield stage. The stiffness of specimens PC1,
PC2, PC7 and PC8, which contained additional reinforcement in the core area of the joint, were
larger than the stiffness of other prefabricated joints, indicating that the additional reinforcement
in the core area of the joint had some contribution to the stiffness of the specimen.

Before the specimen entered the yield stage, the energy consumption of all prefabricated joints
was weaker than that of the cast-in-place joint. However, as the load application continued, the
overall energy consumption of the prefabricated joints was greatly improved before reaching the
ultimate load, and the energy consumption of some specimens exceeded that of the cast-in-
place joint.

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 Chapter 3

Dry Joints

A dry precast connection is characterized as a connection that does not involve the use of wet
concrete or mortar to connect the members of the structure. Instead, the connection transfers
the forces through the mechanical properties of the connection made up of dry fixings. There
are several advantages to using a dry connection like fast construction as there is no need to
wait for the drying of the concrete, improved quality, reduced reliance on the quality of the cast-
in-place concrete and the ability to disassemble the structure which can reduce the wastage to a
great extent.

Many dry connections have been proposed and tested in recent years; some are studied in this
report.

Behaviour of a beam to column “dry” joint for precast concrete elements.

[18] Metelli et al. tested a type of dry joint in which the jointly used high-strength threaded steel
bars and fibre-reinforced concrete, grouted in a “Z” shaped beam-column interface which was
expected to increase the shear resistance of the connection.

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The test was carried out by imposing a horizontal δx drift at the top of the column, with an
average speed rate of about 7 mm/min. Twenty-three cycles of increasing amplitude had been
imposed until a maximum δx drift equal to 91.3 mm had been reached. Next to a drift equal to
0.5 %, 1 %, 1.25 % and 2.5 %, three drift cycles were carried out. The joint failed at a drift ratio
of 2.5% [91.3 mm]. It was observed that the dissipation capacity was limited due to the brittle
failure of the joint.

Experimental investigation of prefabricated beam-to-column steel joints for

precast concrete structures under cyclic loading
[19] Zuohua et al. studied a novel precast beam-to-column steel joint which had a Low-yield-
point (LYP) steel as a damper to provide energy dissipation. They investigated the effects of the
thickness of the non-energy-dissipation segments (NEDS) and the length of the EDS. It was
expected that the LYP 100 used as a damper will improve energy dissipation and will be
capable of more deformation to consume energy during an earthquake.

All test specimens were designed by GB50010-2010 and requirements of ACI building code and
Eurocode 8 were also met simultaneously.

For the test, an axial compressive load of 1375 kN was applied along with lateral cyclic load with
a loading period of 4 min. The loading history included a force control stage before the
specimen yields and a displacement control stage after the specimen yields.

It was concluded that the proposed joint was more ductile, has better energy dissipation and no
significant strength degradation. Most parts of the precast specimen remained in an elastic
state.

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Seismic performance of precast concrete beam-column joint based on the
bolt connection
In his study, [20] Ding et al. studied a new type of semi-rigid connection made up of bolts and
the column consisted of a corbel to support a T-beam. The effect of two grades of bolts namely
grade 5.6 and 8.8 was investigated which were designed according to the Code for Seismic Design
of Buildings (China GB 50011-2010).

For the test the column was loaded with a compression ratio of 0.15 [150 kN] and the bolts were
pre-tensioned with a force of 200 kN. The lateral cyclic load was repeated only once up to
yielding and three times after yielding at each displacement.

It was observed that the bearing capacity of the prefabricated beam-column junction is directly
connected to the strength grade of a bolt. The yield-bearing capacity and ultimate bearing
capacity of the joint grow as the bolt's strength grade rises. The rate at which the suggested
joint's stiffness degrades could be decreased by raising the bolt's strength grade. The bolt's
strength grade can be raised, which can enhance the proposed joint's ability to dissipate energy.

Experimental seismic study of an innovative precast steel–concrete

composite beam–column joint
[21] Jianxin Zhang proposed three precast composite interior beam-column joints. The first type
of eight high-ductility steel rods was bolted with the steel end plate, the second type was
composed of steel end plates, a steel web plate, and stiffening plates and the third type was
composed of a square steel tube and a built-in cross-orthogonal plate. The Chinese codes GB
50010-2010, GB/T 50081-2016, and GB/T 228–2010 were followed for specimen design,
material properties, steel plates and bar tests.

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A constant axial load of 460 kN was applied to the sample which corresponds to a compression
ratio of 0.15. The loading pattern was by JGJ/T 101–2015. The entire loading process was
divided into two stages: one controlled by load and the other by displacement.

It was observed that for SPC-R significant deformation was concentrated in the steel end plates
and the other precast specimens exhibited typical flexural failure with the damage concentrated
at the beam end. It could be preliminarily deduced that the energy dissipation of the two
specimens was realised by the band plates and crushing of concrete, rather than the end plates.
Also, the proposed composite joints had higher seismic performance than the monolithic joint.
Among the precast specimens, SPC-P exhibited the best hysteretic behaviour. This indicates
that this type of precast specimen is good in terms of bearing capacity and energy dissipation.
There was no noticeable improvement in the displacement ductility ratios of the precast
specimens compared with the RC specimen owing to an improvement of 18%–42% in the yield
displacement of SPC-P and SPC-C.

The proposed composite joint with extended band plates and embedded steel skeleton had
improved significantly in terms of energy dissipation capacity. The proposed configurations of

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precast specimens effectively alleviated stiffness degradation. Furthermore, SPC-C showed the
best stiffness degradation ratio before failure. RC-M showed the highest slope of strength
degradation ratio curve among the precast specimens. This indicated that the monolithic RC
specimen was weak at resisting strength degradation. For SPC-P and SPC-C, the stiffening
plates, vertical web plates, and cross diaphragm also entered the inelastic stage. This indicated
that energy dissipation occurred in these parts as well. Also, the steel skeleton was effective in
improving the shear strength of the joint.

Experimental study on the seismic performance of new precast concrete

beam-column joints with replaceable connection.
[22] Wei Huang et al. proposed a connection which was expected to resist earthquakes such
that the damage or inelastic deformation is concentrated to the multi-slit device so that after the
earthquake the device can be replaced and the structure becomes functional with less time.

Inspired by the failure mechanism of the plastic hinge at the end of the traditional concrete
beam, the proposed connection is composed of an ideal hinge and multi-slit devices (MSDs).
Different from other connection forms, the MSD is used as one of the main structural members
in the structure rather than an additional device. It is installed in the negative moment zone at
the beam end to provide flexural capacity for the joint, and it provides additional energy
dissipation capacity through the plastic flexural deformation of steel.

The cast-in-place specimen was designed using ACI-ASCE 352 code recommendations. As for
the proposed connection, two devices (MSD01s) were fixed in the connection zone, and then
the beam-column joint was assembled to form precast specimen P2-01. Two devices (MSD02s)
were fixed in the connection zone, and then the beam-column joint was assembled to form
precast specimen P2-02. Except that the MSD used in specimen P2-01 is different from that of
specimen P2-02, the materials and construction forms used by the two specimens are the
same.

The loading protocol recommended by ACI’s T1.1-01 was followed for the testing. An axial load
with 620 kN (the axial compression ratio was 0.18) was applied to the end of the horizontal
column by a hydraulic jack. The loading protocol started with a drift ratio (0.15% and 0.20%)
within the elastic stage and three cycles were performed at each drift level in both positive and
negative directions.

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It was observed that plastic deformation and damage were mainly concentrated on the steel
strips of MSDs in the precast specimens P2-01 and P2-02, and the precast beam and column
components remained within the elastic stage during the entire loading process. This indicates
that the damage to the precast beam-column joint can be controlled at the specified position.
And the performance of the proposed joints was better than the cast-in-place samples in terms
of load-carrying capacity, deformation capacity, energy dissipation capacity, and ductility.

Experimental study on a novel dry connection for a precast concrete beam-

to-column joint
[23] Zhong et al. proposed a novel precast concrete beam-to-column frame with a bolted
connection. They tested full-scale samples under reverse cyclic loading.

For testing two vertical cyclic loadings were applied at the beam ends, and a constant
compressional loading of 960 kN was applied at the top of the column by employing an MTS
electro-hydraulic servo control system. JGJ/T 101-2015, Specification for Seismic Test of
Buildings code was followed for the testing protocol. The first stage of loading was controlled by
a force with an increment of 5 kN, and each level of the loading is repeated only once until the
specimen yielded. After entering the displacement control stage, a 15 mm increment was taken
and repeated three times for each loading level. The loading was stopped until the load drops
below 85% of the ultimate load.

It was observed that the rubber washers between the bolts and the steel plates decreased the
initial stiffness of precast specimens. This phenomenon was not remarkable after entering the
plastic stage. Due to rubber washers between the bolts and steel plates, the stiffness of the joint
region can be decreased by 60%.

All specimens had almost the same ultimate bearing and deformation capacity, and all of them
were bending failures in a malleable way with the plastic hinge in the beam. The thicker the
rubber washers, the more obvious the stiffness decline. So, the rubber washers at the joint
region can be used as an effective method to reduce the initial stiffness of the beam.

It can be concluded that too-thick rubber washers in the connection region may have a bad
effect on the seismic performance of the structure.

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Seismic behavior of a replaceable artificial controllable plastic hinge for
precast concrete beam-column joint
[24] Another study on replaceable connection was performed by Huang et al. where they
proposed a novel precast beam-column joint with Artificial Controllable Plastic Hinge (ACPH)
and tested the connection under reverse cyclic loading. The ACPH was manufactured as an
easy-to-rotate artificial plastic hinge.

The ACPH had the following characteristics:

1. The ACPH can dissipate energy by tension and buckling of thin plates. The energy-
dissipation system is easy to install, replace and maintain thanks to bolted connections
between the energy-consuming system and structures.
2. Lugs and pins in connection systems are made of high-strength steel to avoid the
components breaking during the earthquake, which enables the ACPH to have a strong
rotation capacity.

The biggest advantage of the APHJ is that plastic deformation is required only for the ACPH
while other members can be designed for the strength without complex ductility details.

The design of all specimens met the requirements of the code for the seismic design of
buildings (GB 50011-2010) and the design of steel structures (GB 50017-2017).

For the testing, a constant load of 450 kN was applied to the column to simulate the dead load
of the structure and a horizontal hydraulic actuator with ± 250 mm maximum displacement and
1000 kN capacity was selected for the horizontal loading. The yield displacement simulated by
ABAQUS models of the specimens APHJ-0-0, APHJ-1-300, and APHJ-1-600 N were
approximately 10, 8, and 16 mm, respectively. Keeping this in mind, before the specimen’s
displacement reached 8 mm, the displacement amplitude increased by 2 mm after each cycle.

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The displacement amplitude increased by 4 mm after three cycles until the displacement loaded
to 32 mm. After the displacement reached 32 mm, the displacement amplitude increment was
raised to 8 mm until the column end’s bearing capacity was decreased to 80% of the peak
bearing capacity.

It was indicated that the ACPH brings steel into full play and provides considerable bearing
capacity. The location of the ACPH has a significant impact on the working process and failure
state of the precast structure. The farther the distance between ACPH and the column surface,
the more number and longer length cracks occur on the beam section between ACPH and the
column surface. Besides, except for the bearing capacity, the seismic performances of APHJ
including the ductility and energy dissipation capacity were weakened at different levels as the
distance increased.

The hysteresis curve of the cast-in-situ joint showed a more obvious pinching phenomenon,
while that of specimens with the ACPH were approximately close to square. The energy
dissipation capacity of specimens with the ACPH was remarkably superior to that of the cast-in-
situ specimen.

Experimental study on a new type of precast beam-column joint

[25] Zhang et al. studied a dry connection with steel connectors. The precast concrete column is
continuous and the precast concrete beam is fixed on the column with a steel concealed corbel
and a beam top steel connector. The two steel connectors are standard parts processed in the
factory and both of them are single-sided open steel boxes.

For this study, a precast sample and a cast-in-place sample having the same dimensional
measurements are tested under cyclic loading. The compressive strength of concrete is tested
by referring to the code GB/T50081-2002 and the tensile samples are tested concerning
GB/T228-2010.

For the testing program, four hydraulic jacks are driven by an electric hydraulic pump to apply
an axial load to the column. The MTS servo-hydraulic actuator is suspended on the reaction
frame, and the spherical hinge of the actuator connects the cantilever end of the beam to control
the vertical displacement of the beam.

A quasi-static cyclic loading experiment with displacement control is performed on the beam-
column joint, and the axial load of the column is kept constant at 120 kN. The displacement load

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gradually increases, and each displacement level repeats two cycles until the specimen fails. In
this study, a 20% reduction in the bearing capacity was considered as the failure point, and the
loading will be stopped.

It was concluded that:

1. The cracking displacement of precast joints is slightly larger than that of cast-in-situ
joints.
2. For the proposed joint the energy dissipation capacity is worse than that of the cast-in-
situ joint.
3. The yield displacement of the precast joint is larger than the cast-in-situ joint.
4. The energy dissipation of the precast joint is lower than that of the cast-in-situ joint.

Experimental Study on Seismic Behavior of Precast Bolt-Connected Steel-

Members End-Embedded Concrete (PBSEC) Beam-Column Connections.
[26] Wang et al. developed a precast bolt-connected steel-members end-embedded concrete
(PBSEC) beam-column connection which is all dry assembly with the purpose to solve problems
with the dry-connected joint. The precast beam end and the precast column end of the joint are
pre-embedded with profiled steel during prefabrication in the factory, and high-strength bolts
connect the top and bottom edges of the joint area. A steel pin connects the joint’s centre to
bear the beam ends shear force.

The proposed joints had the following advantages:

1. The structure was simple, and the force path was clear.
2. The damage to the structure was controllable.
3. There was no wet operation in the assembly process, and the all-dry construction
method was adopted

The prototype structure of the tests was taken from a plane frame structure with two spans and
three floors. For testing of reinforcement, the Chinese code GB/T 228.1-2010 was referred and
for the concrete Chinese code GB/T 50081-2002 was referred.

The loading protocols were taken from the Chinese code JGJ-T101-2015. In the code, there are
two schemes, the beam-end loading test scheme was adopted. The steel bars exerted axial
pressure on the top of the column to simulate the constant vertical load that the frame column

54 | P a g e
bears in the actual structure. In this test, an average tensile force of 140 kN was applied to each
steel strand. The test’s target displacement at the actuator’s loading point was the beam’s
vertical displacement.

Before applying a vertical cycle load to the loading end of the beam, a vertical load of 560 kN
was first applied to the top of the column and kept constant during loading. Before the joints
were formally loaded, a displacement of 2.2 mm (0.1%) was preloaded to check whether the
test loading equipment, displacement gauges, strain gauges, force sensors, and data
acquisition instruments were working properly. During the formal test, the inter-story
displacement angle of 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1%, 1.25%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, 3%, etc. was
applied to the loading end of the beam, respectively. The displacement amplitude of each stage
was reciprocally loaded three times, and the loading speed was determined according to the
displacement amplitude of each stage, which was approximately 2 mm/min. When the loading
process of the joint reached the peak bearing capacity, and the bearing capacity was less than
85% of the peak bearing capacity, it could be considered that the joint had reached the limit
state, and the test was terminated.

The failure modes of the four PBSEC joints are generally similar, mainly the buckling failure of
the connecting steel plates, while the beams and columns are still elastic. The hysteresis curves
of the PBSEC joints do not have slip characteristics. They are bow-shaped and full in shape,
showing high energy dissipation capacity. it is found that the energy dissipation capacity of joint
J1-235-10 is better than other joints, reflecting its excellent energy dissipation performance,
indicating that the joint using 10 mm thick Q235 steel can obtain the most suitable failure mode
and obtain the best energy dissipation performance.

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 Chapter 4

Hybrid Joints
Hybrid joints in precast construction refer to the connections between precast concrete
elements that utilize a combination of mechanical fasteners and concrete bonding. These joints
are designed to provide both structural integrity and load transfer between the precast elements.

These types of joints typically involve the use of mechanical connectors, such as bolts, dowels,
or threaded rods, along with concrete bonding agents, such as epoxy adhesives or grouts. The
mechanical connectors provide immediate load transfer and alignment, while the concrete
bonding agents enhance the long-term load transfer capacity of the joint.

Hybrid joints offer several advantages in precast construction. They provide immediate load
transfer, allowing for faster construction and reduced downtime. They also offer better structural
performance by distributing loads more evenly and reducing stress concentrations. Additionally,
hybrid joints can accommodate limited movements or deformations due to factors such as
thermal expansion, shrinkage, or seismic activity. The Hybrid joints exhibit qualities of both dry
and wet joints.

Several studies have been carried out to utilize the benefits of hybrid joints in construction and
provide a better and more economical solution for the industry. Some of the studies are
discussed here.

Development and experimental investigation of hybrid precast concrete

beam–column joints.
[27] Zhang et al. carried out a study in which a new innovative hybrid connection was
investigated consisting of an energy-dissipated connection plate and an I-shaped steel
connector to connect the beam and column, and steel fibre concrete was used to improve the
performance of the joint as the SFC has advantages in terms of tensile strength and strain
characteristics.

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For the test, a monolithic sample and 4 hybrid precast full-scale samples were tested under
reverse cyclic loading. For the precast connection, two types of forms are proposed where one
is connected using bolts using the upper and lower flange cover plates in the flange and double
web connection plates at the web and the other one was to connect by welding in the flange and
by bolting using double web connection plates at the web. The samples are designed
considering a prototype four-story building with a story height of 2.8 meters and a span equal to
3.4 m. The design of the joint specimen was such to ensure a strong joint according to design
standards GB 50011-2010 and JGJ 138-2016. The precast specimen PCJ4 was designed to
ensure that strong joint behaviour would occur, PCJ3 was designed to study the steel skeleton
form, and The joint PCJ1- PCJ2 specimens were designed so that an improved joint failure
would occur. The control joint specimen was designed to initiate joint failure to determine the
strength and stiffness and for comparison to the precast specimens.

For the SFC 1.0% steel fibre was used which improved the tensile deformability by 3%. The
reinforcement bars and steel plates were tested under direct tension according to GB/T228–
2010.

During the test, a constant compressive force of 460 kN [compressive ratio = 0.15] was equal to
the dead load and live load transferred from the upper floors of the prototype building based on
GB 50011–2010. Two actuators of ± 500 kN capacity were used to provide reversed cyclic
loading to both ends of the beams. The loading rate was approximately 1 mm/s for all five
specimens.

The loading protocol consisted of two phases: a load control phase and a displacement control
phase according to JGJ/T 101–2015. At the beginning of the loading, load control was applied.
The loading was repeated only once at a load of 0.25Py, 0.50Py, 0.75Py, and 1.0Py then, the
loading was switched to displacement control. The amplitude of displacement was increased as

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a multiple of yield displacement and repeated three cycles at each displacement. The test was
stopped until the applied load reduced below 80% of its peak load.

The average ductility of specimens CCJ1, PCJ1, PCJ2, PCJ3, and PCJ4 were 2.51, 2.20, 2.01,
2.71, and 2.73, respectively, which exhibited moderate ductility according to the ASCE/SEI. The
strength degradation ratios of all the joint specimens were between 0.1% and 20.4%, which
could meet the requirements of strength degradation ratio based on ACI374.1–05. As a result of
the study the new type of hybrid beam–column joint with energy-dissipated connection plates
and SFC demonstrated outstanding strength and stiffness, excellent energy dissipation and
rotation capacity, mitigated stiffness degradation, and a wide hysteretic curve under different
steel skeleton forms in precast columns.

Seismic performance of innovative hybrid precast reinforced concrete

beam-to-column connections
[28] Ghayeb et al. studied the seismic behaviour of an innovative hybrid precast concrete beam-
to-column connection using steel tubes, steel plates, and steel couplers, by applying reversed
cyclic loading. Grouted steel couplers were used to connect the main steel bars of the upper
and lower columns, and the coupler ducts were then grouted using “Emcekrete HP100”. The
samples are scaled down to ½ with the help of similitude law. ACI-318-19, Eurocode 8,
Eurocode 2, Eurocode 3, Eurocode 4 and AISC 360-16 were followed.

The RCC, PRCC, and HPRCC1 samples had 20 strain gauges on each sample, while in the
HPRCC2 and HPRCC3 samples, 26 strain gauges were attached to the steel bars and steel
plates in each sample. The column was subjected to an axial load corresponding to 10% of the
column's compressive strength with the help of a hydraulic jack. Cyclic loading was applied to
the cantilever beam edge by a load cell of capacity ± 450 kN. The loading procedure consisted
of displacement–controlled steps beginning at a 0.25% drift followed by steps of 0.35% 0.50%,
0.75%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, 3.0%,3.5%, 4.0%, 4.5%, 5.0%, 5.5%, and 6.0% drift. Three
cycles were applied for each drift ratio in positive and negative directions.

It was observed that the performance of these connections was better than the RCC connection
because of the increased moment capacity resulting in less damage to the beam and joint
areas, as well as a lower crack width at the failure stage.

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The maximum loads in the positive direction were achieved for the RCC, PRCC, HPRCC1,
HPRCC2, and HPRCC3 connections at drift ratios of 2%, 2%, 2.5%, 4.5%, and 3%,
respectively. The maximum loads in the negative direction were reached at drift ratios of −2%,
−3.5%, −3.5%, −5%, and −3.5% for the RCC, PRCC, HPRCC1, HPRCC2, and HPRCC3
connections, respectively.

The proposed connections had better performance compared to the RCC and PRCC
connections in terms of failure modes, loads, displacements, ductility, energy dissipation,
strength, and stiffness. The flexural crack resistance and initial crack size of the hybrid
connections were significantly improved. The plastic hinges of the hybrid connections were
enhanced due to being located outside the connection zone, particularly for the HPRCC2
connection using a steel plate and bolt system. The displacement, load, moment, and drift ratio
results of the hybrid connections were higher than the results for the RCC connection. The
average ductility results of the HPRCC2 and HPRCC3 connections were higher than the
monolithic connection. Higher energy dissipation and damping ratio results were found. The
stiffness of the hybrid connections was higher than that of the RCC and PRCC connections.

Experimental Investigation on Seismic Behaviour of Hybrid Precast Beam–

column Joints with Different Connection Configurations.
[29] Zhang et al. studied the behaviour of a novel type of precast hybrid connection which
involved a concrete column with an embedded steel skeleton, a concrete beam with an
embedded H-steel, and a connection device including steel band plates and high-strength bolts
and was subjected to reverse cyclic loading.

The beam–column connections were designed to satisfy the principle of ‘strong column and
weak beam’ according to Chinese codes and provisions. Three precast samples [PC1, PC2,
PC3] and one monolithic sample [RC] were tested. Out of these samples, 2 precast samples
used the new type of joint.

460 kN axial load was applied gradually on the top of the column so that the axial compression
ratio was 0.15 and remained constant throughout the entire loading process. With the axial load
applied, the cyclic load was applied using an actuator. Specification JGJ 101–2015 was used as
the loading protocol. The loading was repeated only once at a load of 0.4Fy, 0.8Fy, and 1.0Fy, in

59 | P a g e
which Fy is the yield load determined by observing the strains of the reinforcement bars in
RC/PC beams.

Specimen PC1 exhibited a similar overall cracking pattern to the control specimen RC1.
However, the crushing and spalling observed in the concrete cover in specimen PC1, which
exhibited a higher load and displacement value, was more severe than those of specimen RC1
owing to the joint PC1 having a higher shear strength.

The failure modes of specimens PC2 and PC3 with the square steel tube were similar and
typical bending failure of the beam end occurred in the precast PC2 and PC3 specimens. The
proposed PC2 and PC3 joints with the square steel tube were reliable and enabled an effective
force transfer between the various parts and exhibited an adequate energy dissipation capacity.

The hysteresis behaviour was also similar for PC1 and RC1 along with a similar curve for PC2
and PC3. In specimens PC2 and PC3, the hysteretic loop area was fatter, and the pinched
response was less obvious than those of specimens PC1 and RC1 because of the full
development of plastic hinges at the end of the beams.

The skeleton curves of each specimen were linear and coincident in the elastic phase. On
average, the peak loads of connections PC1, PC2, and PC3 were 8.2%, 23.3%, and 40.1%
larger than those of specimens RC1 and the average ultimate displacements of connections
PC1, PC2, and PC3 increased by 21.4%, 35.3%, and 43.0%.

The stiffness of each specimen decreased similarly owing to the similar overall cracking pattern.
The strength degradation of the PC joints was slower than that of the RC joint. The PC
specimens exhibited similar cumulative energy dissipation to specimen RC1 in the initial stages
but higher cumulative energy dissipation in the middle and later stages. The proposed PC joints
exhibited better energy dissipation capacity owing to the steel connectors.

the proposed PC2 and PC3 connections exhibited a higher displacement capacity because the
square steel tube made the plastic hinge away from the column surface and because of the fully
developed plastic deformation in the connection part. The bending moment capacity of the PC
joints was enhanced with the H-steel in the beams and the square steel tubes in the joint region,
which strengthened the connection. The precast connections had a much greater shear stiffness
than the monolithic joint.

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Development and testing of hybrid precast concrete beam-to-column
connections under cyclic loading.
[30] Ghayeb et al. studied a new novel hybrid precast joint and the joint performed better than
dowel precast connection and pinned precast connection in terms of dissipated energy, strength
and stiffness. One of the major benefits of the proposed connection in comparison to the
traditional precast connection is accountability.

To mimic the actual site condition an initial load equivalent to about 10% of column strength was
applied. In the test, two vertical actuators of 250 kN capacity were placed in the frame. A minor
drift ratio of 0.25% was used at the beginning and it was sustained with drift ratios of 0.35%,
0.5%, 0.75, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3% and up to 9.5%, where the increment of the drift ratio after
1% is 0.5% for each drift ratio. At every value of a drift ratio, the cyclic load was applied three
times. The loading rate of the reversed cyclic quasi-static tests is around 1 mm/s.

To measure the development of the rotation at the joint zone a tilt meter was also placed at the
centre of the connection zone.

The first crack for the RC sample is obtained at a drift ratio of 1.5%. The first crack is obtained
at a drift ratio of 5.5% and 6.5% in the PC1 and PC2 specimens respectively.

The ductility ratio of the PC1 has a lower value than 2.0, and PC1 can be considered to be a low
ductile connection, whereas the ductility ratio of the PC2 was greater than 2.0. Thus, PC2 can
be considered a moderate ductile connection. Also, the ductility of RC connections is considered
moderate ductility connection. PC2 has a strong capacity that is greater than PC1.

Also, it was observed that the strength ratio of PC2 was close to the RC strength samples.
Meanwhile, the drop in the strength of the PC1 sample was higher than PC2 sample. The
precast connection in the PC2 sample showed a similar and close result to the flexural strength
of RC samples.

The precast connection PC1 has lower results in terms of energy dissipation and the ratio of
relative energy dissipation. Hence, it is recommended to be used under low seismic areas only.
Meanwhile, PC2 can be utilized under a moderate seismic zone due to the stiffening of the
connection resulting from the use of steel angles and high-tensile steel studs. In addition, RC
connections are prone to a wider crack width, which could enable them to dissipate more
hysteretic energy at large deflections.

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It was concluded that the drift ratio increased by 1.3 and 1.9 for the PC1 and PC2 specimens
respectively, relative to that for RC. The strength degradation ratio of the precast connections
was found to be acceptable.

Based on the results obtained from the final analysis, the flexural crack resistance for the PC2
specimen increased by a factor of 3.6 and 2.75 compared to that of the RC1 and RC2
respectively.

It was observed that the plastic hinge developed outside the joint area, which was located at a
distance of 175 mm from the centre of the joint for the PC1 specimen. However, the plastic
hinge was located at a distance of 1050 mm from the column face for the PC2 specimen. In
general, failure outside the connection zone is desirable to prevent a sudden collapse of the
building structure. The precast connection’s ductility fulfilled the requirements of standard
building codes. The PC2 specimen has higher ductility compared to PC1.

The hysteretic energy dissipation and stiffness were found to be acceptable under the ACI
building code. The decrease in the shear link spacing in the RC2 specimen improved the
performance of the beam.

Cyclic loading test for interior precast SRC beam-column joints with and
without slab.
[31] Gao et al. studied a new precast SRC beam-column joint designed using a steel bracket.

The test parameters were the connection method and the use of RC slab which were studied
under cyclic lateral loading.

The beam-column joint specimens were designed according to Chinese codes and provisions
such as GB 50010-2010, GB 50017- 2003, and JGJ 138-2016.

To mimic the actual site scenario a constant axial load of N = 644.4 kN was applied to the
beam-column specimen using a hydraulic jack. The displacement-controlled cyclic load was
applied using two vertical actuators connected to the ends of both beams. One load cycle was
applied at every 2 mm increase up to 10 mm, and then three load cycles were applied at every
5 mm increase up to 20 mm. Finally, three load cycles were applied at every 10 mm increase
until specimen failure.

It was observed that the slab increases the secant stiffness of the beam-column joint specimen.

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The energy dissipation of specimen JD-7 was greater than that of other specimens. Particularly,
the specimen JD-7 exhibited better energy dissipation performance after Δ = 60 mm.

In terms of structural performance following observations were made:

According to GB50017-2003, flexural moments were calculated:

1. The calculated positive and negative bending moments of the steel beam are 109 kN m,
which are less than the peak strength of 132.8 kN m (JD-1), 130.0 kN m (JD-3), and
117.9 kN m (JD-5)
2. The calculated positive bending moment of the composite beam is 257.1 kN m, which is
greater than the peak strength of 183.2 kN m (JD2), 179.7 kN m (JD-4), 148.1 kN m (JD-
6), and 226.9 kN m (JD-7).
3. The calculated negative bending moment of the beam is 177.2 kN m, which is greater
than the peak strength of test results of 141.9 kN m (JD-2), 133.0 kN m (JD-4), 121.2 kN
m (JD-6), and 156.6 kN m (JD-7) due to the separation between the steel beam and PC
slab.
4. For specimens without a slab, the joint shear strength was 917.9 kN, which was less
than the joint shear demand Vu = 1069.6 kN (JD-1), 1047.0 kN (JD-3) and 949.4 kN (JD-
5).
5. For specimens with slab, according to JGJ 138-2016, the slab contribution to the joint
shear strength Vn was neglected. Thus, the joint shear strength was the same as the
value of 917.9 kN, which was less than the joint shear demand Vu = 1387.3 kN (JD-2),
1334.4 kN (JD-4), 1149 kN (JD-6), and 1636.1 kN (JD-7).

Due to large shear demand, many diagonal cracks were observed in specimen JD-7. Although
the joint shear demand of specimens JD-2 and JD-4 was greater than the joint shear strength,
diagonal cracks were little observed in the joint because the joint shear strength was affected by
the RC slab.

6. For specimens with slab, the joint shear strength Vn is 1073.2 kN, which is close to the
test results of JD-6 (1149 kN). As a result, significant joint diagonal cracks did not occur.

From the study following conclusion was drawn that the slab increases the positive and negative
bending moments, which increases the joint shear demand. On the other hand, the slab also
contributes to the joint shear strength because it increases the effective joint volume. Diagonal
cracks in the joint of specimens JD-2, JD-4, and JD-6 were less significant than those of

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specimens JD-1, JD-3, and JD-5. This indicates that the contribution of the slab to the joint
shear strength is greater than the contribution of the slab to the joint shear demand, which
decreases the joint shear damage partially.

Experimental seismic study of precast hybrid SFC/RC beam–column

connections with different connection details

[32] Zhang et al. studied a new type of hybrid steel-to-concrete connection by combining ductile
SFC with steel connectors to facilitate construction. The study focused on:

1. Effects of connection methods

2. Plastic hinge relocation methods
3. Steel fibre usage in the core area and assembly segment

end-plate connection forms in the precast column on the strength, deformation, ductility,
stiffness, energy dissipation, and shear capacity of the proposed PC hybrid connections.

Steel fibre enhanced the tensile strength, however, had a slight effect on the compressive
strength of the concrete.

In this study, the tested specimens represented a full-scale interior beam–column connection
obtained from a 2.8 m high middle story of a four-story prototype building. the axial load of the
column was constant and reflected the dead and live loads of the prototype building.

The SFC consisted of Portland cement, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, polycarboxylate-
based high-range water-reducer admixture, water, and fibres.

At first, a constant axial load of 460 kN was gradually applied on top of the column which was
axial load ratio of 0.15.

The loading rate of the reversed cyclic tests was approximately 1 mm/s.

The loading protocol included two stages:

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 1. A load-controlled stage
2. A displacement-controlled stage

In the load-controlled stage, the loading was repeated only once until the specimen yielded.

In the displacement-controlled stage, the displacement amplitude was repeated three times at
each control level and increased by an integral multiple of the yield displacement. Failure was
considered when the load fell below 80%.

Under reversed cyclic loading, the specimens progressed through four states:

1. Crack emergence and development

2. yielding
3. maximum load point
4. Failure

The displacements were measured at the beam-end loading point.

In the early stage Load vs Displacement, the hysteresis curve of all the specimens was almost
linear before flexural cracks occurred and was small implying the joint exhibited elastic
behaviour.

Entering the elastic-plastic stage, the hysteresis curve showed non-linear behaviour and the
loop area increased indicating an increase in energy dissipation capacity.

It was seen that the steel fibre enabled the specimens to delay crack occurrence and
propagation and had a significant influence on stiffness retention capacity.

It was observed that the precast connections and monolithic connections had good
displacement ductility.

Both precast joints and monolithic specimens were regarded as rigid connections. In addition,
the precast connections had higher rotational stiffness than that of the monolithic specimen.

Connections PJ4 and PJ5 were much stiffer than the other precast specimens and the cast-in-
place joint because the steel plates and SFC improved the shear strength and restricted the
shear deformation in the connection zone.

Cumulative energy dissipation versus displacement for precast connections with SFC was
similar to that of the precast connections and monolithic connection with NC in the initial phase
until achieving a displacement of 40 mm.

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Compared with the cast-in-place joints of each study, the PJ4 precast connection and the hybrid
connection with end plates and bolt rods exhibited a much greater hysteresis loop area.

The hysteresis characteristics of the proposed connection were similar to the cyclic performance
of the hybrid connection with end plates and bolt rods, while the pre-stressed joint exhibited a
small hysteresis loop area and an obvious pinch phenomenon.

When compared to the hybrid connections and prestressed joints, the proposed SFC and steel
connector plate connection exhibited better energy dissipation owing to crack propagation and
the yielding steel connectors.

For the hybrid beam–column connections without SFC, the joint shear strength demand was
1229.8 kN, which was smaller than the joint shear strength capacity of 1486.4 kN (PJ1) and
1506.7 kN (PJ2).

It was concluded that the precast SFC beam–column connections with steel plates exhibited
higher strength, greater deformation capacity, and greater energy dissipation than that of the
precast NC joints with highly ductile rods because they transferred force more effectively and
uniformly. PJ3 and PJ6 joints had a better energy dissipation ability. However, the PC joints with
highly ductile rods and NC exhibited a slightly higher total cumulative energy dissipation,
indicating a satisfactory energy dissipation ability.

Development and testing of precast concrete beam-to-column connections

[33] Choi et al. studied a new hybrid connection characterized by ductile connection, steel
connectors, and engineered cementitious composite (ECC). ECC cast to the joint improves
tensile deformability and provides enough toughness against shear stress caused by horizontal
loads.

Two types of beam-column connection are developed in this study: one is to connect beams
and columns at a certain distance (0.3d) from the column face and the other is to join beams
and columns at the column face.

Linear analysis of a moment-resisting frame system indicates that the upper and lower columns
at a connection show two different bending moment distributions, however, a moment-resisting
frame showing non-linear behaviour has a high possibility of the flexural yielding of columns

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even though a structure is designed with the strong column-weak beam concept. For this
reason, Bracci and Dooley suggested that the column-to-beam strength ratio be 2.0.

A cyclic load test was carried out to evaluate the seismic performance of the inside joints of the
half-scale specimens. The specimens were pinned at the column base and roller supported at
the beam ends and column top. Each specimen was first loaded axially to the level of 0.1fgac.
The top column displacements were recorded in each direction.

The yield displacement was defined as the average of the two-column displacements of the top
of the column divided by 0.75.

the initial cracks formed at the beam-column interface and the flexural cracks propagated
transversely in beams and extended longitudinally away from the column face with very similar
crack spacings most of them being perpendicular to the member axis.

Increasing the ECC area using the steel connector and the ECC to additionally reinforce the
area of the beam plastic hinge improved strength by approximately 15%.

It was observed that the connection suggested in this study maintained over 75% of the initial
strength at the last cycle when a drift ratio was 3.5%.

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 Chapter 5
Energy Dissipation Devices and use of SMA

A precast beam-column connection using metallic damper as connector:

Experiment and application
[34] In the following study two type metallic dampers were used in a novel beam-column
connection. The two types of dampers used were dog-bone damper and double flange damper.
Both the Dampers are similar with the double-flange damper having two extra flanges which
gives the flange resistance to out-of-plane buckling and the failure occurs by in-plane bending.
The main purpose of the dampers is to absorb and localize the deformation by formation of
plastic hinge.

The sample was subjected to cyclic loading with the help of an actuator with the maximum force
and displacement of 100 kN and 250 mm in both directions.

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It was observed that the flexural strength and energy dissipation of the sample with double-
flange damper was more than the dog-bone sample and performed better in terms of strength
degradation.

The failure of both the dampers was different. The dog bone sample experienced out-of-plane
buckling whereas double-flange sample failed in in-plane bending.

The dampers were then used in a precast beam-column connection. It was seen that majority of
damage was observed to be localized to the dampers with a few small cracks in the precast
section. The PC connection with double-flange damper had better strength and deformation
capability.

A friction damper for post-tensioned precast concrete beam-to-column

joints
[35] In this paper, the experimental and analytical study was carried out on a new type of friction
damper for unbonded post-tensioned precast concrete building moment frame structures in seismic
regions. For this 80% scale beam-column specimens were tested under reversed cyclic loading.

The greatest issue with the use of unbonded post-tensioned precast frames in seismic regions
is that their displacement demands during a severe earthquake may be larger than acceptable
as a result of small energy dissipation. The friction damper is expected to improve on this issue.
The friction damper uses the gap opening displacements at the interface between the beam and
column member to provide supplemental passive energy dissipation. The dampers use the
friction developed between adjacent metallic surfaces as gaps open and close at the beam-to-
column interfaces in an unbonded post-tensioned precast frame.

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The test beam and column fixture are joined using two unbonded post-tensioning tendons and
Dywidag® multi-plane anchors. Each tendon is comprised of three to seven low-relaxation
ASTM A-416 strands with a nominal diameter of 0.6 in. (15.2 mm), a cross-sectional area of
0.217 in2 (140 mm2), and an ultimate stress of 270 ksi (1861 MPa). High strength Fiber
reinforced grout is used at the beam-to-column interface to provide good matching surfaces
between the precast beam and the column fixture. To prevent bond between the strands and the
concrete, the post-tensioning ducts are not filled with grout.

Two types of friction interface are used in this research:

1. leaded-bronze against stainless steel

2. leaded-bronze against alloy steel
In one of the damper pairs, thin gauge stainless steel sheets are attached with epoxy to both
surfaces of the damper components connected to the beam. These tests are designated as the
LB-SS friction interface type. The remaining tests, using the second pair of dampers with
leaded-bronze surfaces acting directly against machined cast-steel damper surfaces (with no
stainless-steel sheets), are designated as the LB-CS friction interface type.

The results from the experiments without and with dampers are evaluated for conformance to
the ACI T1.1-01 Standard. Six series of beam-column subassembly tests (a total of 55 reversed
cyclic tests) using six precast concrete beam specimens were conducted with the following
design parameters varied:

1. Damper normal force

2. type of friction interface
3. area of beam post-tensioning steel
4. initial stress of beam posttensioning steel
5. beam depth.
The results showed that the maximum moment resistance of the smaller beam with dampers
was larger than the resistance of the deeper beam without dampers. It was concluded that the
proposed friction dampers contribute significantly to the beam end moment resistance, which
may lead to the design of smaller beams in practice. The results also indicated that the inelastic
energy dissipation per loading cycle got larger as the damper normal force was increased. It
was also observed that the differences in resistance and stiffness between the envelope curve
and the last hysteresis loop of the specimen without dampers were much larger than the
differences for the friction-damped specimen, thus, demonstrated the reduced deterioration due
to the use of the dampers.

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An RBS-based replaceable precast concrete beam-column joint: Design
approach and experimental investigation
[36] The main purpose of the joint proposed in this paper is to control the location of the plastic
hinge by providing a reduced section beam element which can be easily replaced post-
earthquake acting as a fuse.

For this purpose, cyclic test of two half scale samples were conducted along with monolithically
cast specimen with same parameters as the proposed joint specimen. Another test was
conducted after replacing the RBS after testing to check the repairing capability of RBS, this test
was conducted three times for a sample.

The reduced beam section (RBS) steel beam was designed according to AISC-358. The design
of the end-plate and high-strength bolt are mainly based on the Chinese code GB 51022 and
JGJ82-2011. Chinese code GB 50017-2016, Q235 and Q345 were employed for the RBS beam
and the other steel elements, respectively. Steel plates and reinforcements were tested in

71 | P a g e
accordance with GB/T 228–2010. The compressive strength test for concrete was performed
according to GB/T 50081-2002.

For the test the column was loaded by a 1500 kN actuator for applying cyclic loading. The
loading history calls for a force control stage before the specimen yielding, and a displacement
control stage after yielding. In the force control stage, the loading was repeated only once at the
1/3 and 2/3 yield load to check whether each instrument worked normally. After that, in the
phase of displacement control, two cycles loading were employed to the specimens with an
increment of 0.25% drift ratio. In addition, testing of three repaired RBSJ specimen (RBSJ-1,
RBSJ-2 and RBSJ-3) was considered to employ the same loading protocol.

It was observed that the three repaired specimens exhibited approximately equal ductility
compared with the original RBSJ specimen. All strain values of embedded reinforcements in the
RBSJ specimen were always kept below the yield strain, which indicated that the proposed
design method effectively transferred the plastic damage to the RBS beam, whereas the RC
components remained in the elastic stage. The proposed connection design and the post-
earthquake replacement method were reliable to ensure satisfactory strength. The RBS-based
joint provided a more stable energy dissipation capacity than MJ specimen under large
displacement amplitudes.

The RBSJ specimens exhibited full hysteretic curves, whereas the hysteretic curves of MJ
specimen had an obvious pinching effect. The RBSJ specimen presented a basically similar
stiffness and strength behaviour compared to the MJ specimen and the RBSJ specimen
presented a basically similar stiffness and strength behaviour compared to the MJ specimen.

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Influence of mild steel damper design parameters on energy dissipation
performance of low-damage self-centering precast concrete frame
connections
[37] In this paper, a low-damage self-centring precast concrete frame connection [LDSCPC]
joint specimen and five mild steel dampers with different design parameters are designed and
studied under cyclic loading and finite element analysis method. The joint inherits the principles
of the self-centring beam-column joint in the PRESSS research program. This joint is better in
terms of low damage to the concrete. With respect to this characteristic of the joint, the
specimens after initial loading were replaced with the dampers of different designs and loaded
again.

The reinforcement arrangement of the LDSCPC joint specimen was carried out according to
Chinese Standard GB 50010–2010 and GB 50011–2010. In the study, the size of the energy
dissipation strip includes S, M, and L, and the changes of vertical and horizontal energy
dissipation strips between adjacent sizes are 5 mm and 3 mm, respectively.

A 611 kN axial force on the top of the column was exerted by the jacks arranged at both ends of
the loading beam and the screw steel bars anchored to the ground. The cyclic loading was
applied through a 50T MTS actuator at the beam end. Displacementcontrol loading was
adopted for the cyclic load tests based on the AISC loading sequence for beam-to-column
moment connections.

Considering the stability of PT tendons’ mechanical properties under reloading cases, the
maximum drift adopted was 3%. As shown in Fig. 3, the loading law consists of symmetrical
cyclic story drifts with amplitudes of 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, and 3.0%.

73 | P a g e
There were eight load levels in total, named load levels L1-L8, and each load level was cycled
three times. Test 1 was the specimen’s initial loading, which aimed to make the precast
components entirely run in and develop slight initial damage. After Test 1 was loaded, the loss of
PT force would be supplemented appropriately. FPT was the average force of each PT tendon
at the initial state of each test. Tests 2–6 were the reloading of dampers with different design
parameters, which are the primary analysis objects of this paper. Test 7 was reloading without
mild steel dampers to obtain the contribution of dampers to the joint’s mechanical properties.

As the result of the study, the residual deformation of the mild steel damper was mainly
concentrated in the horizontal energy dissipation strip and its internal angle connected with the
vertical energy dissipation strip. The size of the energy dissipation strip should be M and above.
Increasing the size of the energy dissipation strip could further improve the bearing capacity of
the damper, but the performance improvement was more evident after a 1.5% drift. When the
load level was greater than 1.5% drift, the stiffness of the damper began to degenerate.

Behavior of Smart Reinforced Concrete Beam Column Joints by Using

Shape Memory Alloy Reinforcement Under Repeated Loading
[38] The main aim of the study was to use the Shape memory alloy (SMA) bars as
reinforcements to improve the damping and energy dissipation capacity of beam and column
joints. SMA is a rare and expensive alloy which can bear huge deformation and return to its
original shape when the stress is removed [This property is called pseudoelasticity] and
deformations from heating effects can be returned.

In the experiment, 50% of steel reinforcement was replaced by SMA bars. The alloy used was
nickel-titanium alloy which can undergo inverse deformation of up to 8% strain and dissipate a
medium quantity of energy during repeated loading. As the alloy was very costly only one sample
was tested, and a FEM model was made in the ABAQUS program for further investigation.

From the study, it can be concluded that increasing the SMA will decrease the ultimate capacity
of the joint but increase the deformation capability.

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Shape memory alloy plates: Cyclic tension-release performance, seismic
applications in beam-to-column connections and a structural seismic
demand perspective.
[39] In this study, the hysteretic behaviour of commercial Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) was
examined focusing mainly on the cyclic tension-release behaviour.

SMA is a smart metal with two extraordinary characteristics, namely the shape memory effect
(SME) and the super elastic effect (SE). These two noteworthy features enable the SMAs to
restore the deformed shapes to their undeformed shapes upon either heating or unloading,
thereby realising the self-centring behaviour and dissipating energy during the loading and
unloading process.

For the SMA material, the transformation from austenite to martensite is defined as ‘‘forward
transformation’’, and the transition from martensite to austenite is ‘‘reverse transformation’’.

The SMA plates examined in the current work were made of commercial NiTi-based SMAs, and
the atomic percentage of nickel was 50.95%.

Type A specimen (Coupon specimen) was designed according to ASTM 370, and a gauge
length of 50 mm was considered. As for Type B specimen, it was designed to accommodate a
realistic connection in a steel frame.

It was observed that the self-centring capability of the SMA plates was comparatively less
encouraging than bars and wires examined in the literature.

Experimental study on re-centering behavior and energy dissipation

capacity of prefabricated concrete frame joints with shape memory alloy
bars and engineered cementitious composites
[40] In this study, an innovative prefabricated beam-column joint with shape memory alloy
(SMA) and engineered cementitious composite (ECC) materials were proposed and
investigated. The main purpose of this investigation was to use the super elasticity and shape
memory properties of SMA to improve the characteristics of the joint and its compatibility with
ECC as ECC exhibits satisfactory toughness, high tensile strength, and excellent ductility. For

75 | P a g e
this study, a new type of semi-mechanical sleeve connector was designed to link the SMA bar
with the longitudinal reinforcement of the precast beam.

For the designing of the joint’s lateral load on a six-storey building prototype structure was
selected. One cast-in-suit joint (JD–RC joint) and three prefabricated assembly frame joints
were included in these specimens. An ECC mixture produced using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibre
was used and 14-mm-diameter SMA bars with nominal compositions of Ti49.2 Ni50.8 (at%)
were adopted as reinforcement.

To assess the important properties of the SMA bars, both incremental amplitude and constant
amplitude cyclic loading protocols were adopted. In the incremental amplitude cyclic loading
process, the strain was incrementally increased by 1 % until it reached 6 %; two cycles were
conducted at each strain level. For the constant amplitude cyclic loading, 5 % strain amplitudes
were applied for 30 cycles to observe the performance degradation of the SMA bars.

For the cyclic testing, All beam-column joint specimens are rotated 90◦ from their predicted
position in a typical RC frame. The Chinese protocol JGJ/T 101-2015 was referred for testing.
Before the specimen yields, it was loaded in load control mode and graded once with each level
cycling. After yielding, the specimen was loaded in displacement control mode (two cycles for
each displacement level) using the integer multiple of yielding displacement (△) as the extreme
difference. Loading will be terminated when the load reduces to 85 % of the peak load.

76 | P a g e
 Conclusion
Several papers related to beam-to-column precast connections have been studied and
evaluated in this report and many more studies that are not mentioned here are also available.
An extensive number of studies on precast have been performed in the recent year and has
been an important topic because of the gaining popularity of precast construction in today's
time.

The primary focus of all the papers has been to emulate a monolithic behaviour or to perform
better than an equivalent monolithic joint. It was seen that wet connections were better able to
achieve the goal and also requires a lesser number of steps and reduced complexity as
compared to dry joints which exhibit a much more complex load transfer mechanism.

On the other hand, some of the dry joints can be assembled more easily and can improve the
construction speed.

Hybrid joints have also shown promising results as they can be designed to have the benefits of
both the dry joints and wet joints but are much more complex to assemble.

Some studies have also been performed on the use of energy dissipators and have shown
satisfactory performance. Some studies have also been done on the use of SMA by replacing
the reinforcements. These approaches are costly at this time but can be an immerging
technology soon because of its restoration capability and elastic properties.

A much more thorough study with more papers is required.

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