TOPIC OUTCOME:

Describe and illustrate the connection system of

precast concrete structure

JOINTS AND
CONNECTIONS IN
PRECAST STRUCTURE
SYSTEM
Chapter 7
Connections: most important in
precast concrete construction

Earlier: in-situ concrete joints

(extended permanent bearings)

Disadvantage: shrinkage and

flexural cracking (precast to in-situ
interface)
DEFINITION
▪ Purpose:
Individual precast units can be assembled to form
the load bearing structure.
 Transmit forces between structural members
(SLS/ULS)
 Provide stability and robustness
 Able to resist abnormal loads (fire, impact,
explosion, subsidence)
▪ How to form a connection??
 Bolting
 Welding
 Grouting
 Difference between
‘connection’ and ‘joint’ term

Total
Individual
construction,
parts that
always have a Connections Joints form the
structural
connection
function

Entire
Eg: Beam-column situation
construction:
Bearing joint: between the precast beam and precast column
“connection
Assembly is completed by the use of in-situ grout etc.
system”
Definition of ‘joint’ and ‘connection’
Connections design

Considers actions of Fire hazards, accidental

forces (tension, shear, damage, effect of
compression and/or inaccurate
moments) workmanship, durability

• Transfer forces between precast concrete elements to obtain a

structural interaction when the system is loaded
• Must consider the force path in a global view of the whole
connection and the adjacent structural members
Main features in connection
design
Standardisation & simplicity

Strength

Movement

Ductility

Durability

Fire resistance

Aesthetics
Standardisation • Use generic type of connections – welded, bolted and grouted
connection throughout
& simplicity • Least number of pieces

• Adequate strength to resist subjected forces (lifetime)

• Permanent, imposed loads, wind, earthquake, soil/water
Strength pressure
• Volume changes in the precast components or forces required
to maintain stability

• Shortening effects of creep, shrinkage and temperature

Movement or reductions – caused tensile stresses in precast component and
connections
influence of • If the connections restrained movements – resulting stresses
has to be considered in design (harder to accurately evaluate)
volume changes • Reason why – pinned connection is used

• Ability to undergo large deformation without failure

Ductility • Should avoid highly localized stress concentrations, provide

ductile reinf along load paths and provide additional strength
capacity to potentially brittle parts
 • Connections should be designed and constructed to
Durability give similar environmental protection as the
elements connected.

Fire • Connections - weakened by fire can jeopardize the

structural stability
• Should be protected with the same resistance as the
resistance structural frame

• Unhidden connections can either be emphasized and

become a part of architecture
Aesthetics • Or finished as a functional but not expressive member
• No advantage in using more complicated hidden
connection
 Connection and Joints design
criteria
Components Manufacturing

FINAL APPEARANCE
DUCTILE

ECONOMICAL

STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOUR
Manufactured Satisfy visual,
can resist economically and site fire and
ultimate design erection environmental
loads in a Erected fast tolerances, requirements
ductile manner and safely should not
affect the
intended
structural
behaviour
 Examples
Connections Joints
•Beam to slab • Compression joints
•Beam to column • Tensile joints
•Wall to frame • Shear joints
•Slab to slab • Flexural and torsional
•Slab to staircase / walls joints
•Structural steelwork, in situ
Made by:
concrete, timber and
masonry to precast • Dowelling and securing
concrete components with in situ concrete or
grout
✓ Pin-jointed connection
• Welding and bolting
✓ Moment resisting
connections • Using resin anchors in
combination with the
above
 COMPRESSION JOINTS
▪ Compression transmitted between components by direct
bearing, or through an intermediate medium (in situ mortar or
concrete)
▪ Depending on tolerances & importance of accuracy of the load
transfer location.
▪ Example: Vertical load transfer between two columns (one
above another) – requires concentricity between member axes
=> provide intermediate medium of reasonable size
▪ Direct contact (w/out intermediate padding material) is only
permitted according to Cl10.9.4.3(3): where great accuracy in
manufacture and installation, bearing stresses <0.2fck of weaker
concrete
▪ Only parts with solid – compression joint analysis.
(HCS can be considered if ends are concreted solid)
▪ Convex surface!! Contact widths may be small!
▪ Minimum dimension = 50 mm, for direct contact
area. Or 75 mm if agg = 20 mm
▪ Minimum contact area depending on stress
magnitude (recommended 8000 – 12000 mm2)
▪ Irregular surfaces – use joint bedding materials
to avoid damage to contact surfaces
 In situ mortar
 Neoprene bearing pads etc.
▪ Thickness – should be as small as possible
without impeding the normal tolerances
(recommended 10-15 mm)
▪ Bedded bearing usually unreinforced
▪ Mode of failure: crushing of mortar, splitting of
precast components in contact with it
▪ Joint Stress contours through
 The action of forces (tension, shear,ofcompression)
mediums different
stiffness
that takes place at the interface and sizetwo or
between
more structural elements
 Intermediate medium (rubber, steel, felt,
cementitious mortar, epoxy mortar)of which
Elastic response greatly
bearing medium
influenced the design should be similar (<20% difference)
 TENSION JOINTS
▪ Lapping of reinforcement bars or loops to connect
precast members
▪ Precast units have projecting bars, which are
embedded in-situ after casting
▪ Apply the same rule as in-situ concrete for a full
anchorage length
▪ Thus, in precast, projecting bars are usually hooked
a full 180 to avoid lap becomes unacceptably large

Tension joint using direct lapping loops

▪ In vertical lapping, pressurised grout is inserted
through hole beneath to ensure full bonding of steel
bars and concrete (refer Fig 7.23)
 Flush with clean water – clean any debris inside the hole
before grouting
 Use non-shrinking grout and flowable
 2:1 sand-cement mix of 24h strength of 16 N/mm2, 28 days
strength of 50 N/mm2 (high strength grout)

Pressurized Vent hole

Grout direction -appearance of grout
(indication of complete
filling)
▪ Bolting is used extensively to transfer tensile and
shear forces. (yield strength of bolt must govern the
tensile capacity of bolted connections to give ductile
failure)
 Shear capacity is governed by local bearing strength of
concrete and shank of threaded bolt
 Shear bolt failures are brittle – AVOID!
▪ Welding connected through projecting bars, directly
(between bars) or indirectly (using intermediate bar
or plate)
▪ Post tensioning may also be applied as tension joint
 As clamping force across the joint – to resist tension and
shear forces
SHEAR JOINTS
▪ Action in combination with direct or flexural
compression
▪ Never considered in the presence of tension
▪ Occur between panel of significantly large
surface area (floor units, horizontal
diaphragms, walls, shear walls)
▪ Also occurs between precast elements and
cast in-situ infill or topping (composite
floor/beam)
▪ Shear forces may be transferred in following
method:
1. Shear adhesion and bonding
2. Shear friction
3. Shear keys
4. Dowel action
5. Mechanical shear devices

1. Shear adhesion and bonding

 Adhesive bond develops (in tiny crevices and
pores in mature concrete) in fresh cement paste
between cast insitu concrete and precast
concrete surface
2. Shear friction
 Rely on nature of
interface between
contact surfaces
3. Shear keys
 Also known as castellated joint
 Rely on mechanical interlock and development of a
confined diagonal compressive strut across the shear
plane
 Minimum length of key = 40 mm, root depth > 10 mm,
length/depth ratio < 8
4. Dowel action
 In cases of dowel (reinforcing bar, bolt, stud)
placed across joints
 Shear friction and shear key effects are ignored
 The dowel is loaded by a shear force acting in the
concrete
 Failure: local concrete crushing in front of dowel
5. Mechanical shear devices
 Mechanical shear joints to transfer shear
 Achieve by site-welding embedded plates or by
tightly clamping using friction-grip bolts
 Most commonly used: welded plate or bar
FLEXURAL AND TORSIONAL JOINTS
▪ Resolved into a couple generating direct tension,
direct compression and shear
▪ A ‘cold’ joint should not be in compression zone
 Placement of wet concrete on an ex-mould precast
surface with no preparation or applied bonding agents
▪ Main design criterion: adequate anchorage for
tension
 Casting fully anchored steel plate or threaded socket
 BEARING AND BEARING STRESSES
▪ Designed for structural strength and integrity
▪ Main types of bearing:
1. Dry bearing of precast to precast or precast to in-
situ concrete
2. Extended bearings where the temporary bearing
is small and reinforced insitu concrete is used to
complete the connection
3. Dry packed bearing where elements are located
on thin (3-10mm thick) shims and the resulting
small gap is filled using semi-dry sand/cement
grout (Fig (a))
4. Bedding bearing where elements are positioned
onto a prepared semi-wet sand/cement grout (Fig
(b))
Extended bearing

Early type of connection – subject to shrinkage and flexural

cracking in the top of the precast-to-in situ interface,
5. Elastomeric or soft bearing using neoprene
rubber or similar bearing pads (Fig (c))
6. Steel bearing using steel plates or structural
steel sections (Fig (d))

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
▪ Bearing pads
 Purpose:
 To distribute concentrated loads
 To allow limited horizontal and rotational movement
 Prevent direct concrete-concrete contact, which may lead to
unsightly spalling and/or reduction of effective concrete cover
 Commonly applied with double tee floor units and long span
beam where end rotation may be quite large (0.02-0.03
radians)

 Materials:
 Hard natural rubbers, synthetic rubbers (neoprene/chloprene),
lead, steel or felt.
 Connections

Moment
Pinned
Resisting
PINNED CONNECTIONS
▪ Used widely as it is the simplest element to
element bearing
▪ Involve one bearing surface only, no flexural
continuity across the ends of individual
elements
▪ Transfer purely shear forces, both for the
(dominant) gravity and possible uplifting forces
due to overturning
▪ Steel inserts are used to increase bearing
capacity and reduce localised spalling
 Grout for fire and durability protection
Positions of pinned-jointed connections in skeletal
structures
PINNED CONNECTIONS
MOMENT RESISTING CONNECTIONS
▪ Capable to transfer in-plane bending
moments to some degree
▪ Fully moment resisting connections,
simulating monolithic cast in situ frames, are
possible at foundat5ions and between beams
and columns
▪ Cast in situ connections are not fully rigid,
flexural stiffness of 70-90 kNm per mrad (10-3
rad)
Positions of moment
resisting connections
in skeletal structures
MOMENT RESISTING CONNECTIONS
▪ Capable to transfer in-plane bending
moments to some degree
MOMENT RESISTING CONNECTIONS
▪ Continuity of moment is affected by the
transfer of a couple of axial forces
▪ Adjustments may be done at operative site to
achieve the connection purpose
▪ The connections are used mainly to:
 Stabilize and to increase the stiffness of portal and
skeletal frames
 Reduce the depth of flexural frame members
 Distribute second order moments into beams and
slabs, and hence reduce column moments
 Improve resistance to progressive collapse
▪ Moment resisting connections should be
proportioned
 Connections should be designed to experience
only ductile failures
 Avoid brittleness by making sure limiting strength
of the connection is not governed by shear
friction, short lengths of weld, and plates
embedded in thin sections
CONNECTIONS IN SKELETAL FRAMES
1. Floor slab to beam
connections
 2 categories:
 Connections at
supporting joints
 Connections at non-
supporting joints
 Usually designed as
simple supports
 HCS usually laid dry onto
the shelf provided by the
boot of the beam
 Wed bedding bearings
can be used for uneven
surfaces
2. Connections at supports
 Simply supported, but a degree of end restraint may
be present due to couple between the contact plane
and tie back (RC or weld)
 Objective in connection is to transfer vertical loading
form the slab to beam in both normal and abnormal
(fire, accident) loading conditions
 Must fulfill requirements of load transfer, structural
integrity and ductility
 Figure 7.56: Floor slab to external beam
connections using hollow core slabs

Floor slab to external beam

connections using double tee slabs
Fig 7.57: Floor slab to internal beam connections
 Nominal bearing length
▪ Hollow core
 75 mm
 60 mm after considering spalling allowances
 Rigid neoprene strips or wet mortar bedding – uniform
bearing
▪ Double tee
 150 mm
 Should always sits on rigid 100 x 100 mm neoprene (or
similar) pars of 8-10 mm thickness
 Bearing less than 100 mm is not recommended
▪ Plank floor
 75 mm
 Continuity of reinforcement by mesh lapping with
projecting reinforcement in beams or walls
Fig 7.59: Misplacement of
bearing pads to double
tee units
3. Connections at
Longitudinal Joints
 Provided between edges
of precast floor units
and beams (or walls)
running parallel with
floor
 To transfer horizontal
shears, generated in
floor plate by diaphragm
action between floor
slab and beam
4. Floor Connections at Load Bearing
Walls/Components
 Horizontal joints in load bearing walls occur at floor
and foundation levels
 Primary forces – vertical compression from upper
panels & floor diaphragm effect of horizontal shear
 Secondary forces – temperature, long term
shrinkage, creep and end restraints moments
 Wide range of connections
 In situ concrete and tie steel
 Welding
 Combination of both
Fig 7.62: Load bearing
wall-to-wall connections
using reinforced in situ
joints
Fig 7.62: Load bearing wall-to-wall connections using welded joints
Fig 7.64: Continuous connections in floor slab to external wall joints

U-shape site bars

Projecting L-shape
bars
Fig 7.65: Intermittent connections and extended bearings in an ‘open’ floor slab to wall joints