Development and Structural Assessment of Joints of Permanent Uni-Wall System and Floor Systems in Substructure

Abstract

Recently the Permanent Uni-wall System (PUS) has been developed which improved the disadvantage of the Cast-In-Place Concrete Pile (CIP) and could be used as permanent retaining wall. In this study, joints between PUS and floor systems were developed. From analyses of the characteristics of design and construction of PUS, shear friction reinforcements with couplers were adopted for shear design of the joints. Twelve types of joints were developed which were classified according to the types of floor structures, wale, and piles of PUS. Two typical joints were tested and the joints showed satisfactory behaviors on the points of shear strength, stiffness, and serviceability. Especially the shear strengths were much higher than the design strengths due to the shear keys which were by-products in splicing shear reinforcements. However, the shear strength of the joint is recommended to be designed by only shear friction reinforcement because shear key is not reliable and too brittle.