Examination of erection safety of precast beam assembly using a slanted beam section based on assembly test

Abstract

Assembling precast frames subjected to heavy construction loads may require a significant crane operation time when they were assembled by conventional steel joints having a straight beam cut. This study proposed a method that will provide a facile and rapid assembly of heavy precast frames, having the temporary bolting be established as noncritical path. Lower flanges of wide flange beam installed at end of precast beams were partially removed to prevent bottom flange of steel beam from running into flanges of L-shaped guide pockets when steel beam was inserted in L-shaped guide pockets. Permanent connections are made by bolting L-shaped guide pockets. Stable behavior was observed during an erection test of the proposed connection. This study also aimed to investigate an assembly safety of steel beam-column joints with a skewed beam section based on a nonlinear finite element analysis. Strain and stress analysis also demonstrated that stable structural behavior of joint elements was ensured during an assembly of precast frames.

Keywords

• l-shaped guide pockets
• precast beams with skewed steel beams
• strain evolutions
• assembly of beam-to-column joints
• temporary splicing plates