Steel-Plate Composite Wall-to-Wall T-Joints: Joint Shear Strength

Steel-plate composite (SC) walls are used in the containment internal structures (CIS) of safety-related nuclear facilities. CIS are typically composed of multiple SC walls intersecting each other and forming SC wall-to-wall joints. These joints should preferably be designed to be stronger than the connected SC walls so that the walls develop flexural yielding prior to joint failure. To ensure that flexural yielding of the connected SC walls occurs first, it is important to estimate the shear strength of the SC wall-to-wall joints. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the fundamental behavior and the strength of SC wall-to-wall T-joints. The test parameters included in the investigation were the detailing of the joint region, which they included the presence and number of tie bars and distribution of stud anchors. The results from the investigation suggest that the structural behavior of SC wall T-joints is remarkably similar to the behavior of reinforced concrete beam-column joints. In addition, it appeared that the effects of detailing the joint region on the behavior and strength are not significant. The measured joint shear strength compared favorably with the design equations for reinforced concrete beam-column joints.