Development of a Non-tearing Floor Solution for Jointed Precast Frame Systems

Abstract

The effects of beam elongation in precast frame systems have been recently demonstrated to be a potential source of un-expected damage up to failure of precast systems, unless adequate detailing accounting for displacement incompatibilities between the lateral resisting systems and the are provided. In this contribution, an innovative floor jointed connection solution with re- centering capabilities is proposed. An efficient floor-to-lateral-load-resisting connection can be obtained able to minimise the problems associated with beam elongation effects while maintaining the low-damage and re-centering characteristics of jointed ductile connections (e.g. PRESSS-Technology). The preliminary results of experimental and numerical investigations on the interaction between diaphragm and lateral resisting frames adopting non-tearing jointed ductile connections are presented. A series of 2/3 scaled beam-column subassemblies have been tested under uni-directional quasi-static loading regime. Both numerical and experimental results provide satisfactory confirmation of the unique flexibility and potentiality of the proposed solution for the development of the next generation of seismic resisting buildings. A large scale test on a two storey 3-D frame system implementing jointed ductile connections with the proposed non-tearing connection solution is under preparation at the University of Canterbury.