Seismic performance of precast column connected with grouted sleeve connectors

Connections using grouted sleeves remain a popular option for precast elements because of their relative ease of construction, but existing knowledge about the seismic performance of such connections is incomplete and poorly understood. In particular, the effects of the grouted splices are intensively studied in this paper. The main objectives of this study are to examine the influence of axial compression ratio on the strain distribution and shearing deformation in the plastic hinge zones based on full-scale experimental results, as well as to discover the flexural strengths of local grouted sleeve and normal cross-section and evaluate the deformation of precast columns based on modified plastic hinge models. Analysis results demonstrated the following: (1) strain and shearing deformation exhibited that the grouted sleeve has good connection performance, but the existing grouted sleeve was of crucial importance for shearing deformation of precast column; (2) flexural strength of the grouted sleeve cross-section was higher than that of the normal cross-section, which expressed that the compressive strength of a grouted sleeve in the cross-section should be considered; (3) a simplified analysis model based on modified plastic hinge length was presented to evaluate the deformation capacity of a precast column connected by a grouted sleeve, and the decreasing trend of displacement ductility compared favorably with experimental values, but the calculated ductility coefficient expressed smaller results when the axial compressive ratio was 0.5 and 0.85.