PRECAST CONCRETE SHEAR WALL CONNECTIONS FOR SEISMIC ZONES
K.A. Soudki and S.H. Rizkalla
INTRODUCTION
At present, the precast concrete shear wall system is being designed and constructed in non-seismic
zones. The use of such a system is very limited in seismically active regions due to the lack of
knowledge of how this type of construction performs under seismic loading conditions. The structural
integrity of the precast wall building is greatly influenced by the behaviour of the connections
between the precast wall-elements. Current design codes do not specifically address the seismic
design of the precast connections. The information available in the existing literature is not directly
applicable to precast shear wall connections and does not consider the cyclic behaviour of such
connections. Therefore, in order for precast concrete shear wall panel systems to gain acceptance and
be a competitive construction system in seismic regions, the cyclic behaviour of the connections
between the precast members must be studied.
This paper presents results of an extensive experimental program on the cyclic behaviour of
horizontal connections for precast concrete shear wall panels subjected to large reversed cyclic
inelastic deformations. This research is part of a multi phase experimental program at the University
of Manitoba on the static and cyclic behaviour of precast wall connections. A total of forry-three
prototype precast concrete shear wall panel specimens were used to test fIfteen different connections
including new innovative connections and configurations currently used by the construction industry.
The results of earlier phases on the monotonic shear behaviour of typical precast shear wall
connections were published by the PCI Journal (Foerster, et.al., 1989, Serrette, et.a!., 1989,
Hutchinson, et.al., 1991). The objective of the current research is to study the. behaviour of the
connection under reversed cyclic pure shear loads (West et. al., 1993) and combined cyclic flexure
and shear (Soudki, et. al., 1993). All specimens were subjected to a constant axial load normal to
the connection to simulate gravity loads. The test results were used to determine stiffness, strength,
ductility capacity, energy dissipation, modes of failure, and contribution of the different mechanisms
to the overall behaviour. Based on the experimental results, design recommendations for precast
connections in seismic zones, are presented.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
A total of seventeen specimens were tested in cyclic shear and combined cyclic shear and flexural
loading. Descriptions of the specimens tested are given in Table 1. Details of the nine connection
configurations are shown in Figure 1. Each specimen consisted of two precast panels and a
connection region. The dimensions correspond to a prototype scale of the precast panels used for
highrise construction. All parameters, such as steel details and concrete material, were kept constant.
The dry pack mix consists of 2 parts concrete sand, 1 part normal portland cement, and approximately
0.5 parts water. The mix was placed and compacted into the 20 mm wide joint space between the
two panels and the multiple shear keys.
The specimens subjected to pure cyclic shear loading were tested as shown in Figure 2(a). The
test setup used in the cyclic flexure/shear experimental phase is shown in Figure 2(b). In both cases,
the bottom wall panel of the specimen was fIxed to the rigid floor of the structures lab by post-

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