A practical multiscale modeling strategy to model wet-type beam–column connections for seismic analysis of precast RC frame structures

Abstract

Numerical models of beam–column connections are widely used in the seismic analysis of wet-type precast concrete frame structures. However, because of the trade-off between computational accuracy and efficiency, it is difficult to appropriately consider wet-type precast features by using existing numerical approaches. Therefore, this paper presents a multiscale modeling strategy based on OpenSees software, in which frame and solid elements are adopted to model the flexural behavior of precast members (beams/columns) and cast-in-place joint panels, respectively. Moreover, a multiscale interface is developed and implemented in OpenSees to establish the displacement compatibility and force equilibrium conditions of the interface between the frame and solid elements. The proposed strategy can capture the features of wet-type precast beam–column connections, including grouted splice sleeves, bond–slip, pre- and postcast concrete interfaces and shear deformations in the joint panel. The strategy is validated by experimental results on both the member and structural levels. Finally, an inelastic seismic analysis case study is developed to assess the computational efficiency of the proposed strategy.