Experimental evaluation of bending-moment performance about steel plate-concrete structures with mechanical splice

Abstract

The steel-plate composite (SC) structure is recognized as effective for achieving the synergy of reinforced-concrete (RC) and steel structures and shortening the construction period. These advantages attract the attention of engineers, especially with regard to nuclear power plants. The application of the SC structure to nuclear power plants is increasing. Nuclear power plants composed of SC members must have connections between SC and RC members. This paper focuses on the connections between SC and RC walls and presents the results of performance tests on mechanical splices connecting SC walls to RC walls. In the performance tests, two types of splices were used as specimens: the existing type presently applied to nuclear power plants and a type that was improved by considering the modularization and workability using prefab SC members. The specimens were constructed in full scale and were able to simulate the real SC members of existing nuclear power plants. In the tests, the bending-moment capacity of the connections against lateral loads caused by static loading was estimated. The results of the performance tests indicate the real strength of the mechanical splices and the suitability of design assumptions applied to the design members of the mechanical-splice specimens.