PRECAST CONCRETE SHEAR WALL CONNECTIONS USED FOR lYIEDIUM AND HIGHRISE STRUCTURES

The precast concrete shear wall system is becoming very popular in North America for low, medium, and highrise construction due to the economical advantages possible with the ease and speed of assembly, and the high quality of the precast panels. The connections between panels are extremely important since they affect both the speed of erection and the overall integrity of the structure. This paper presents the results of a six-year research program conducted to investigate the behaviour and the capacity of fIfteen connection confIgurations used for precast load-bearing shear wall panels subjected to monotonic shear loading and large reversed cyclic loading conditions. Connection configurations include dry-packed plain surface, dry-packed plain surface with continuity reinforcement, dry-packed with two types of mechanical shear connectors in addition to the continuity bars, dry-packed with post-tensioning, and two types of dry-packed multiple shear keys. The research also include connections which support hollow-core slab with and without post-tensioning. The performance of new innovative connections, such as partial or complete debonding of the reinforcement continuity and the use of energy dissipating mechanical connections for the continuity reinforcement, were also examined. Three different levels of load normal to the connection to simulate the effects of gravity load were used. The research flndings of this investigation were implemented in the design and construction of three 32-stories apartment buildings in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The connections considered in this study provided signiflcant savings in construction time and cost. 1 Associate Dean of Engineering and Professor, University of Manitoba 2 Doctoral Candidate, Civil Engineering Department, University of Manitoba 3 Graduate Student, Civil Engineering Department, University of Manitoba PRECAST CONCRETE SHEAR WALL CONNECTIONS USED FOR MEDIUM AND HIGHRISE STRUCTURES S.H. Rizkalla, K.A. Soudki and J. West