Design aspects
(I)
Standardization
A standardized connection system will always be beneficial. Structural connections are supposed
to transfer forces. and the magnitude of these forces will vary. Therefore, the idea can be to standardize
a light. medium and heavy-duty type of the same principal solution. each with a given capacity for
force transfer. This makes it easy for the designer to choose a standard solution (saves time and
eliminates possibilities of errors in t11e calculation), and creates repetition for the workmen (less
chance of mistakes). The necessary components for a standardized connection can also be kept in
stock at the plant.
(2) Simplicity
Simplicity is important to achieve a connection detail that is inexpensive and least likely to be
used incorrectly.
Consequently, all connection arrangements should consist of the least possible number of pieces
not embedded in the element. Furthermore. if the same unit can be used for different purposes, the
chance of mistakes is greatly reduced.
(3) Tensile capacity
If a connection must have a tensile force capacity, then, consequently all embedded units must have
sufficient anchorage, and friction can never be part of the utilized force transfer mechanism. The
connection between anchored units must also have a tensile force capacity.
(4) Ductility
Connections should preferably behave in a ductile manner. Ductility can be defined as the ability
to have large plastic deformations before failure. sec Section 3.3.2. In structural materials ductility is
measured as the magnitude of the deformation that occurs between yielding and ultimate failure.
Ductility in building frames is usually associated with moment resistance. In concrete members with
moment-resisting connections, the flexural tension is normally resisted by steel components. either
reinforcing bars or structural steel members. Ductile joints can be achieved by giving the brittle parts
of the joint an extrn capacity, for example by calculating with reduced allowable stress in these
components, see Section 3.6. Typical brittle components are welds, short bolts in tension. bolts
subjected to shear, reinforcement anchorage zones. etc.
(5) Movements
Connections must not hamper necessary movements in the structure. Necessary movements will
in most cases be the deformation of beams and slabs due to loads and/or prestressing forces.
Typically, this problem arises when a vertical facade panel is connected to a beam or slab somewhere
in the span (away from the support). If the connection detail makes the vertical movement of the
beam or slab impossible, this may cause damage to the connection detail itself, or to the elements.
Even if there is no damage. unwanted forces may be introduced in the elements, causing unwanted
deformations. The solution is to construct the connection detail with a sliding arrangement, or it can
be made as a hinge. How to consider the need for movement and restrained deformation is further
explained in Section 3.5.
(6) Fire resistance
Many precast concrete connection details are not vulnerable to fire, and require no special
treatment. Connection where weakening by fire would jeopardize the structure's stability should be
protected 10 give the same resistance as the structural frame. A typical example is an exposed steel
corbel supporting a beam. Methods of fire protection include encasing in concrete. covering with
gypsum boards, coating with intumescent mastic. or spraying with a fire protective paint. There is
evidence that exposed steel used in connections is less susceptible to fire related strength reduction
than fully exposed steel members. This is because the concrete cements provide a 'heat sink'. which
draws off the heat and reduces the temperature of the steel. Design of connections with regard to
fire resistance is treated further in Section 5.1.
(7) Durability
Evade ce of poor durability usually appears as corrosion of exposed steel details. or by cracking
of concrete. Connections objected to corrosion must have steel details adequately covered with
concrete, or should be corrosion protected. Alternatively non-corrosive materials can be used. Design
with regard to durability is treated in Section 4.2.6.
(8) Aesthetics
It must be kept in mind that aesthetics is important. Any structural connection that will not be
hidden, can either be emphasized and become part of the architecture, or should be made in a way that
demonstrates how it functions without being dominating, see Section 4.2.7.
3.2.3 Aspects on connection methods
1l1ere are several ways to obtain tensile capacity in connections. Considering the safety aspect
only, the order of preference is a,; follows:
l) Bolting
2) Grouting reinforcing bars at the site
3) Embedding reinforcing bars in epoxy or polyester at the site
4) Welding
1l1e use of bolts is a simple way to establish a safe connection. but it generally puts strict
requirements on the tolerances. The bolts can be threaded rods or regular bolts.
Grouting at the site will to some extent depend upon the weather to be successful. Generally the
requirements on tolerances are not severe. When the result from a casting operation is successful. a
very sound connection is established. It also provides fire and corrosion protection for the steel details.
Mix proportions, aggregate size and casting procedures will vary with the size. location and
orientation of the operation. Patches permanently exposed will often not be acceptable. Anchoring the
grout to relatively large steel surfaces is a problem that is often overlooked. Large elements such as
steel haunches can be wrapped with mesh or wire. For recessed plates and similar elements headed
studs or wiggled refractory anchors can be welded to plate to provide anchorage for the grout. Gluing
with epoxy or polyester is very dependent upon weather conditions to be successful, especially
temperature. Also the workmanship is of great importance to secure a satisfactory result, like the
mixing of the ingredients and the preparatory cleaning and drying of the contact surfaces. Some types
of glued connections also put some requirements on tolerances. Most types of glue loose most of their
strength when heated to about 80°C.
Welded connections will in most cases fit without any problems. but the quality of the weld is
totally dependent upon the skill of the welder. When welding outdoors the welder must have extensive
knowledge about what kind of electrodes to use under different weather conditions on different
material qualities. and of treatment of the electrodes and materials prior to welding. Also the actual
work may be difficult and laborious to perform; like when fixing a small plate with only ladder access,
with heavy cables and no place to put the clamp. The heat generated when welding may also damage
the quality of the concrete close to the weld. dnnections will in many cases have to be fire
protected.
3.3 Force transfer mechanisms and the
mechanical behavior
3.3.1 Force transfer types
The connection characteristics can be categorized by the type of action it is designed to resist:
- shear
- tension
compression
- flexure
torsion
For many structural connections the behavior is dominated by one of the actions above.
Sometimes connections are classified by this dominating action as 'shear connections', 'compression
connections' etc. However. very often the structural connections should be capable to transfer a
combination or these basic actions.
Shear transfer is required at joints between precast wall cements and between floor cements. At
longitudinal joints between hollow core units shear transfer is required horizontally as well as
vertically. Connections between precast beam elements or floor elements and a cast imi111 topping
may require shear resistance to obtain an adequate behavior in the final state.
The ability to transfer tensile forces is nominally secured by means of various types of tie bars,
anchor bars and other connecting devices of steel. Tensile capacity is often required between wall
elements used for stabilization, between floor elements and between precast floors and their supports.
Depending on the position of the ties these connections can be more or less capable of transferring
bending moments, even if this was not intended by the design. Unintended tensile resistance can
sometimes appear in connections. for instance due to bond between the short end face of a floor
element and the joint concrete in the support joint nearby. Unintended tensile or flexural resistance
may result in undesirable restraints that must be considered in the design, see Section 3.5.2.
Transfer of compressive forces is an important function of connections at horizontal joints in
precast walls, in connections between precast column elements, and at support connections of
precast beams.
Flexural resistance is required for instance when a precast column is fixed at the base, or when
continuity is needed at interior supports of beams or floors. Also for beam/column connections in
moment resisting frames. flexural resistance may be required.
Torsional capacity is needed at support connections of simply supported beams that are loaded
eccentrically with respect to the sectional shear center. This may for instance be the case for one-
sided ledge beams used for precast floors.
Many structural connections should be able to transfer more than one type of basic action. For
instance connections at the short ends of floor elements may need. besides the primary support
action, both shear resistance along the support and tensile resistance across the joint. In support
connections it may also be necessary to combine the ability to transfer forces with the need for
movement.
Design of connections with regard to the ability to transfer forces must be based on the
knowledge and understanding of basic force transfer mechanisms. Some of these are specific in
precast structures. Basic force transfer mechanisms are presented in Chapters 6 - 9 together with
typical connections where they arc utilized.
3.3.2 Mechanical characteristics
The mechanical behavior of a structural connection can be characterised by the relationship
between transferred force (principal action) and the corresponding displacement. for instance
relations between tensile force and elongation (crack opening), bending moment and rotation, shear
force and shear displacement (slip).
A principal load-displacement relationship is shown in Fig. 3-2. In ordinary design, the maximum
resistance S,,11., and the stiffness K=S/11in the service state are of primary interest. Very often the load
displacement relationship is non-linear and a characteristic stiffness to be used for service state
verification can be defined by the secant modulus of a certain appropriate load level.
Fig. 3-2: The mec/umical behal'io11r of a struclllrol co1111ectio11 ca11be characterised by a /oad-displacemelll
relationship for the primary actio11
To evaluate the effect of deformations, movements and possible restraints in the structural
system, it is necessary to have knowledge about the displacements that develop in the structural
connections when they arc loaded. In case of excessive loading, due to unexpected restraint forces or
accidental actions, a ductile behaviour of the structural connections is most desirable.
The parameters 'deformation capacity· and 'ductility' are often misunderstood and confused. The
deformation capacity of n connection refers to the maximum displacement that is possible to reach
before a total degradation, but says nothing about the shape of the load-displacement relationship.
Ductility is the ability of the connection to undergo large plastic deformations without a substantial
reduction of the force that is resisted. The ductility is often expressed by the ductility factor JI, see
also Fig. 5-20.
Various parameters describing deformations can be used to determine the ductility factor, for
instance displacement, rotation. slip, strain. and curvature. The ductility factor says something about
the shape of the load-displacement relationship, but not about the deformation capacity as such.
Connections may have different deformation capacities but still the same ductility.
However, the ductility factor is a rather primitive measure to express the ductility, since it is in
fact anticipated that the load-displacement relationship is ideally elastic-plastic. For general non-linear
load-displacement relationships. there will be problem to define the characteristic deformations uy and
limn that cannot be determined precisely from thecurve.
The parameter 'relative strain energy' 11) is proposed as a more general measure to express the
ductility numerically, IEngstrom (1992)]. This parameter can ea,;ily be defined for any type of load
displacement relationship.
The strain energy W;n, that is consumed when the connection is strained corresponds to the area
defined by the load-displacement relationship. For any value of the displacement II the strain energy
can be expressed as
\\ nt (11) =
J
u
S(11)du (3-2)
0
For the same displacement II the relative strain energy is defined as
i;(11)= n'in,(11)
Smax •II (3-3)
Hence, the expression (3-3) is the ratio between the average force applied during the displacement
u and the maximum resistance Sm:u. This ratio, detennined for the ultimate displacement llu
(defonnation capacity). defines the final strain energy or the strain energy capacity l;(u.).
(3-4)
The relative strain energy capacity will always have a value O!> i;(110) 1,0 and an ideally plastic
behaviour givesu0) 3-3. An ideally elastic behaviour. which is not ductile at all, gives the
value110) =0.5. The higher value of the ratio (3-4), the higher is the ductility of the considered
connection.
Fig. 3-3: Examples of how the related strain e11ergy capacity depends 011 the shape of the load-displacement
relationship, according to Engstrom ( /992)
In connections with a brittle (non-ductile) behaviour, failure typically appears when or very soon
after the maximum resistance is reached, while ductile types of connections can withstand further
Dformations after reaching a resistance corresponding to yielding. This is a very favourable
behaviour in case of overloading by restraint forces. The restraint force depends on the deformations and
is reduced when the connection is yielding. Due to the ductile behaviour, the resistance still remains after
some plastic deformations. In case of accidental actions, fire etc, the plastic deformations due to
overloading make it possible to get favourable force redistribution.
