Experimental Evaluation of Precast Concrete Beam-Column Connections with High-strength Steel Rebars

A novel precast concrete beam-column connection partially reinforced with high-strength steel rebars of a yield strength greater than 630 MPa was introduced to avoid reinforcement obstruction in connection zones. Reversed cyclic loadings were applied to fullscale specimens to evaluate their seismic performance. For the first precast specimen, high-strength steel rebars acted as bottom longitudinal bars of the beams. For the second precast specimen, high-strength steel rebars were used as both bottom longitudinal bars and embedded bars that were anchored into the joint. The results show that the new precast connection exhibits a satisfactory seismic resistance. The anchored embedded bars are not necessary in the new system for a limited improvement in the structural performance. The mechanical equilibrium of the rectangular stress block method can be applied to estimate the strength of the new connection using the design philosophy of strong column-weak beam.