Experimental Investigations on the Seismic Behavior of Precast Concrete Columns with Novel Box Connections

In this study, two types of novel box connections were developed to connect precast concrete (PC) columns and to ensure load transfer integrity. Cyclic loading tests were conducted to investigate the seismic behavior of the PC columns with proposed connections as well as the feasibility and reliability of novel box connections. The failure mode, hysteretic behavior, bearing capacity, ductility, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation were obtained and discussed. The test results indicated that the all PC columns exhibited the ductile flexural failure mode and that the proposed connections could transfer the force effectively. The adoption of novel box connections could improve the deformation capacity and energy dissipation capacity of PC columns. A higher axial compression ratio could enhance the bearing capacity of PC column with proposed connection but would significantly deteriorate the ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Finite element models were developed and the feasibility of the models was verified by the comparison with the test results.