Following the 2010/2011 Canterbury (New Zealand) earthquakes the seismic design of buildings with precast concrete panels has received significant attention. Although this form of construction generally performed adequately in Christchurch, there were a considerable number of precast concrete panel connection failures. This observation prompted a review of more than 4700 panel details to establish representative details used in both existing and new multi-storey and low rise industrial precast concrete buildings. The detailing and quantity of each reviewed connection type in the sampled data is reported, and advantages and potential deficiencies of each connection type are discussed. Following the Canterbury earthquakes, it was observed that brittle failure had occurred in some grouted metal duct connections used for precast concrete wall panels, resulting in recommendations for more robust detailing of this connection type. A set of experimental tests was subsequently performed to investigate the in-plane seismic behaviour of precast concrete wall panel connections. This testing comprised of seven reversed cyclic in-plane tests of fullscale precast concrete wall panels having wall-to-foundation grouted metal duct connections. Walls with existing connection detailing were found to perform adequately when carrying low axial loads, but performance was found to be less satisfactory as the axial load and wall panel length increased. The use of new recommended detailing was observed to prevent brittle connection response and to improve the robustness of the reinforcement splice. A parametric investigation was conducted using the finite element method to predict the failure mode of metal duct connections. From the results of the parametric study on metal duct connections it was identified that there were three possible failure modes, being reinforcement fracture, concrete spalling without metal duct pull out, and concrete spalling with metal duct pull-out. An alternative simple analytical method was proposed in order to determine the type of connection failure without using a time-consuming finite element method. Grouted sleeves inserts are an alternative connector that is widely used to connect wall panels to the foundations. The two full-scale wall panels were subjected to reversed cyclic in-plane demands until failure of either the connection or the wall panel. Wall panel failure was due to a combination of connection reinforcement pulling-out from the coupler and reinforcement fracture. In addition, non-embedded grouted sleeve tests filled with different quality of grout were conducted by subjecting these coupler assemblages to cyclic and monotonic forces.
A photograph of a collapsed brick wall resting against a tree.
A photograph of a concrete wall with steel reinforcement visible inside
A photograph of earthquake damage to a wall in a stairwell.
A photograph of a concrete wall with steel reinforcement visible inside
A photograph of a damaged wall outside the Hotel Grand Chancellor.
A photograph of a cracked wall inside the Hotel Grand Chancellor.
Cracks in a wall of the National Library on Salisbury Street.
Cracks in a wall of the National Library on Salisbury Street.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Knox Church, Victoria Street wall".
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "Great Wall of Sumner containers".
A photograph showing the cross-section of a double brick wall.
A photograph of street art on a wall near Brighton Mall.
A photograph of details in a wall of the Cranmer Courts.
Volunteers adding shelves to the Pallet Pavilion walls for potted plants.
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "Great Wall of Sumner containers".
A damaged brick building, the side wall of which has collapsed.
Spray-painted message on a fence reading "Stay clear wall unsafe".
Graffiti on a wall exposed after demolition of the adjoining building.
Do not demo" spray-painted on the wall of a building.
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "Great Wall of Sumner containers".
A photograph showing street art on a wall above roof level.
Damage to the wall of a building in the city centre.
A photograph of a collapsed brick wall resting against a tree.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Brougham Street painted concrete wall".
A cracked and slumped containing wall that is ready to collapse.
A damaged brick building, the side wall of which has collapsed.
A photograph of a mural on a retaining wall in Lyttelton.
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "Great Wall of Sumner containers".
A photograph of a colourful painted wall in Re:START mall.