Flexural and longitudinal shear performance of precast lightweight steel-ultra-high performance concrete composite beam

In this study,the flexural and longitudinal shear performances of two types of precast lightweight steel–ultra-high performance concrete(UHPC)composite beams are investigated,where a cluster UHPC slab(CUS)and a normal UHPC slab(NUS)are connected to a steel beam using headed studs through discontinuous shear pockets and full-length shear pockets,respectively.Results show that the longitudinal shear force of the CUS is greater than that of the NUS,whereas the interfacial slip of the former is smaller.Owing to its better integrity,the CUS exhibits greater flexural stiffness and a higher ultimate bearing capacity than the NUS.To further optimize the design parameters of the CUS,a parametric study is conducted to investigate their effects on the flexural and longitudinal shear performances.The square shear pocket is shown to be more applicable for the CUS,as the optimal spacing between two shear pockets is 650 mm.Moreover,a design method for transverse reinforcement is proposed;the transverse reinforcement is used to withstand the splitting force caused by studs in the shear pocket and prevent the UHPC slab from cracking.According to calculation results,the transverse reinforcement can be canceled when the compressive strength of UHPC is 150 MPa and the volume fraction of steel fiber exceeds 2.0%.

Experimental study on out-of-plane seismic performance of precast composite sidewalls of utility tunnel with grouting-sleeve joints

The precast composite reinforced concrete wall with the advantages of fewer joints,superior impermeability and rapid construction provides an efficient and environmental friendly alternative in the construction of underground utility tunnels in the last few years.To investigate the seismic performance of precast concrete composite walls of utility tunnels with grouting-sleeve connection under out-ofplane loads,a series of quasi-static cyclic tests were performed on the full-scale sidewall specimens with different axial compression ratios in this study.The experimental results including the failure modes,crack distributions,and the influence of different connections on the out-of-plane seismic performance of precast concrete composite wall were carefully examined and compared with those from the cyclic tests of the cast-in-place sidewalls of the utility tunnel.The test results show that the seismic performance of the precast concrete composite sidewall specimen,such as the hysteresis curves,the ultimate bearing capacity,stiffness degradation pattern and the ductility ratio,is basically the same as that of the cast-in-place specimen,indicating that the seismic performance of the prefabricated structure is equivalent to that of the cast-in-place structure.Moreover,the grouting-sleeves of the joints can effectively transfer the reinforcement stress until the failure of the precast concrete composite sidewall specimens,which exhibits excellent out-of-plane ductility and serviceability.