Test, modelling and design of a demountable stainless steel bar connection system for precast concrete pavements

To promote the reuse of precast concrete pavement units, an innovative demountable stainless steel bar connection system is proposed in this paper. Monotonic load tests were conducted to investigate the effects of the width of the stainless steel bar connection, the width and the end distance of the stainless steel plate on the mechanical behaviour of the proposed connection system. As localised concrete crushing was observed after tests, the stainless steel bar connection system was updated with an expanded contact area between concrete and steel. Test results revealed that specimens with the updated connection system exhibited high initial stiffness with low concrete compressive stress concentration. Finite element analysis (FEA) was then carried out to further investigate the parameters that affected the structural performance of the updated connection system. According to the deformations of the stainless steel bar connection and high-strength bolts, an analytical approach was developed to predict the design load of the proposed connection system. Design recommendations were finally summarised based on the obtained test and parametric analysis results to guide the demountable connection design.