Performance of RC Precast Continuous Beams Incorporating New Strategy for Design and Allocating Connections

Abstract

The performance of joint connections has always been the key to precast assembly structures. This paper proposes a new type of joint connection that is made by means of pre-embedded steel plates and connected by bolts or welding without any wet work. Located outside the beam-column joint, the connection is arranged around the inflection point of the beam where the bending moment is small. Three precast beams of different cross-sections and a set of cast-in-place concrete contrast beams were prepared and loaded by the anti-symmetric static loading method. The results show that the joint connection changes the failure mode of the specimens, transfers the failure section from the weak point to the non-weak point, and improves the bearing capacity of the specimens. With the increase of the cross-section area of the embedded steel plate at the joint, the bearing capacity and the ductility of the specimens increase. The energy consumption capacity of the precast specimen is significantly higher than that of the ordinary cast-in-place concrete specimen. Since the joint has not been destroyed, the component can be replaced when other parts of the specimen are destroyed.