This paper is concerned about the lateral load response and associated working mechanism of a precast reinforced concrete shear wall involving horizontal connections. An assembling method is proposed using dry connection through a horizontal steel connector (H-connector) and high strength bolts. To investigate the effectiveness of such an assembling method, two identical wall-connector assembly specimens have been constructed and tested under monotonic loading and cyclic loading, respectively, while subjected to a constant vertical compression. The test results showed that the performance of the shear wall assembly was generally satisfactory in terms of ensuring the full development of the shear wall strength and ductility. To assist in the interpretation of the experimental results and enable further study on the design approach, a detailed mechanism analysis has been subsequently conducted. The stress in H-connector flange and shear force transferred through each high strength bolt has been deduced on the basis of mechanism analysis. The further sliding analysis within the bolted connections agrees well with the experimental results and therefore confirms the derived formulae for H-connector and high strength bolt.high-strength bolt, horizontal steel connector, precast shear wall, relative sliding, working mechanism 1 | INTRODUCTION Precast reinforced concrete (RC) construction is common in many parts of the world. Typically, it involves the mass production of repetitive and often standardized units, namely columns, beams, floor, and roof elements, and wall panels. Advantages of precast construction include less labor cost and shorter construction time, as well as better quality control. Precast RC structures with special detailing and treatment at the connections are also popular in seismic regions, and lessons are continuously being learned. 1 However, comparing with other precast components, precast RC shear wall is relatively under-developed, and this has become a bottleneck problem in the precast construction of medium to high rise buildings in seismic regions.As it is well known, shear wall is an essential structural member to resist lateral seismic loading in high rise buildings. 2 Due to the need of maintaining high lateral stiffness and resistance, precast RC shear wall poses particular challenges to the assembling techniques. Although there has not been a well-established approach, researchers worldwide have carried out investigations on various kinds of prefabricated RC shear walls. In general, the assembling approaches adopted in these RC shear walls can be classified broadly into two main categories, namely "dry" and "wet" methods.A series of experimental and analytical studies were performed on the unbonded posttensioned (UPT) precast concrete wall system. 3-6 The UPT system is normally Discussion on this paper must be submitted within two months of the print publication. The discussion will then be published in print, along with the authors' closure, if any, approximately nine months after the pr...

This article is concerned about precast reinforced concrete shear walls and the methods of assembling shear wall panels to form a reliable load transfer system. An assembling method is proposed using dry connection through an H-shaped steel connector (H-connector) and high-strength bolts. A preliminary design, including the H-connector design and bolt design, has been carried out based on the force analysis on the vertical connection in the wall assembly. On the basis of the finite element analysis verified by an experimental study, the preliminary design has been confirmed and a monolithic coefficient ( ζ) has been used to evaluate the cooperative working performance of the two parallel shear walls. Then this article continues to carry out a finite element parametric study on the mechanical behaviour of the precast reinforced concrete shear walls with varying parameters, which includes the bolt specification, the frictional coefficient on the contact surface within the bolted connection and the thickness of the H-connector flange. The lateral load bearing capacity, lateral stiffness and cooperative working performance of the wall assemblies involving these varying parameters have been broadly analysed.

An assembling method of precast shear walls was previously proposed using steel–concrete composite bolted connectors. To further investigate the effectiveness and mechanical behavior of the proposed composite connector, 11 specimens were fabricated and tested under monotonic tensile loading. The test results provided comprehensive data (e.g. load, deformation, failure mode) on the effects of variation in the thickness of steel cap plate, concrete strength, bolt tension, and bolt diameter. Two typical failure modes were observed in the test: bearing failure and bolt shear failure. Finally, the equations for calculating the ultimate strength and yield strength of steel–concrete composite bolted connector are proposed in this article by reference to those of conventional bolted connection. The proposed calculations are demonstrated to be accurate enough through verification with the experimental data.

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