Comparative experimental study of full-scale H-subframe using a new industrialized building system and monolithic reinforced concrete beam-to-column connection

Industrialized building system (IBS) is a construction process that uses techniques, products, components or building systems that involve prefabricated components and on-site installation. The structural behaviour of a prefabricated frame structure is widely affected by the specifications of the beam-to-column connection. The understanding on the real behaviour of a connection can be assessed by conducting full-scale experimental tests. In this study, a new IBS hybrid steel-concrete connection in a full-scale H-subframe under monotonic loading is investigated. This innovative connection system, consists of precast concrete beam-and-column elements with embedded steel end connectors, is patented as Smart IBS. This paper reports the testing procedures and results of this semi-rigid IBS beam-to-column connection to obtain the important attributes of the connection as well as its comparison with monolithic cast-in-place reinforced concrete model. The height of both H-subframes is 3.3m while the free length of the beam is 3.2m. The incremental loads were applied as two point loads in one-third and two-third of the beam length. The characteristic relationships of the connection such as load to mid-span deflection, strength, stiffness, ductility, failure modes and crack patterns are studied and compared between both structural systems. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.