Experimental Study on the Shear Behavior of Precast Wall Concrete Joints with/without Dowel Reinforcement.

The precast shear wall behavior in the serviceability and ultimate limit states depends on the shear and shear-flexural behavior of the joints between the precast components or between the precast component and footing. This study presents a series of tests on the shear strength of joints, which were applied to the interface of precast shear walls. The tested parameters included the joint types, the numbers of shear keys, the existence of high strength steel bars inserted at the joints, and the levels of confining stress. The shear capacity, stiffness, and shear transfer mechanisms of these joints were investigated. It could be concluded that the epoxied and high strength reinforcing joints had consistently higher shear strength than that of dry and plain joints. For the specimens with an inclined angle at the end of the keys of less than 60 degrees, the width of the dry joint opening may be excessively large, resulting in large shear slip and the key not shearing-off under confining stress of less than 1.0 MPa. The tested results were compared with AASHTO and other design criteria. Several formulas regarding the joint shear capacities were also proposed according to the specifications and the tested results.