Evaluation on the Behaviors of Precast Concrete Beam-Column Connections for Apartments

The precast concrete beam-column connectors to retrofit an apartment building were investigated experimentally. Five precast concrete beam-column connectors were considered to develop a modified model which was adapted to domestic construction conditions from the DDC(dywidag ductile connection) of Germany. Special H-shape steel hardware was used to decrease the width of column and beams for the construction of external frames in apartments. It was found that the DDC had high joint strength and ductility, however failed in inclined shear crackings in the columns. The modified one showed better behaviors in tests because they did not show critical column crackings at failure. The test result of modified one with grouting was compared to that of the one without grouting within the duct. The one with grouting showed higher strength and ductility in failure than that without grouting.