KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering (2016) 20(5):1903-1912 Structural Engineering

Copyright 2016 Korean Society of Civil Engineers

DOI 10.1007/s12205-015-0658-8 pISSN 1226-7988, eISSN 1976-3808
www.springer.com/12205
TECHNICAL NOTE

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Behaviour of Prestressed

High Strength Concrete Pile-to-pile Cap Connections
Zhijian Yang* and Wenjin Wang**
Received October 30, 2014/Accepted June 29, 2015/Published Online September 18, 2015

Abstract

Six Prestressed High Strength Concrete (PHC) pile-to-pile cap connections were tested to evaluate their damage process and
failure modes under low cyclic loading. The hysteretic behaviour, rotation angle, ductility and bearing capacity were observed and
analyzed. In addition, the effect of connecting forms and cutting-off piles on seismic performance of pile-cap connections was
considered and investigated. The experimental results showed that flexural bending failure occurred in all connections. There were
two main failure modes. One was tensile rupturing of prestressed bars and headings, resulting in loss of bearing capacity of the
connections. The other type was more severe damage due to anchor bar yield and appearance of plastic hinge. Moreover, bond-slip
failure of anchor bars was not observed in the cap, and the length of anchor bars met requirements. The analysis indicated that the
bearing capacity and energy dissipation capacity increased along with the rotation capacity of the pile connections. Nonlinear finite
element models were established to analyze the mechanical properties of these connections using OpenSees. The load-displacement
curves obtained from the numerical analysis agreed with the experimental results. The effects of various parameters on the behaviour
of the connections were conducted based on the numerical model.
Keywords: PHC piles, pile-cap connections, hysteretic behaviour, energy dissipation, seismic performance

1. Introduction damage, including precast concrete, cast-in-place concrete and

Prestressed High Strength Concrete (PHC) piles are fabricated
with centrifugation, steam and autoclave curing at the factory.
With the advantages of convenience in construction, low cost,
high bearing capacity and good reliability, they have been more
and more widely used in recent years. The pile foundations are
designed to bear the vertical and lateral load, therefore it is very
important to provide lateral resistance to structural damage
during earthquake. However, seismic resistance of PHC piles has
been a matter of concern following the typical failure modes
observed during earthquakes (Mizuno et al., 1996, Koushiro,
1997, Kishida and Karkee, 1998, Sugimura et al., 2003, Masatoshi
et al., 2012). Investigations on the earthquake damages indicate
that damage at relatively deeper part of the pile due to
liquefaction and lateral spreading, and most of the cases of
damage to PHC piles close to the top appear to have initiated in
the bending shear mode resulting in the crushing of the
weakened section ultimately.
The 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake with the
magnitude of 7.2 is the most destructive earthquake over 60
years to strike Japan. It was directly hit on a major metropolitan
area, damaging too many pile foundation systems. A survey was
performed by Mizuno et al. (1996) in more than 30 cases of pile
steel pipe piles. The main cause of pile damage was considered
due to inertial forces of the buildings, although soil lateral
displacements were observed in damaged piles. The failure
modes of PHC piles are shown in Fig. 1. It is difficult to inspect
and repair damage which occurs to foundation underground as a
result of severe earthquakes. Therefore, pile-to-pile cap connection
is an important structural joint that should be serviceable during
an earthquake.
To avoid the prestressed concrete pile connections failure
during an earthquake, researchers have investigated the seismic
performance of pile connections. Pam (1987), Joen and Park
(1990) studied the strength and ductility of pile connections with
New Zealand details. A number of research efforts have been
conducted to study the square pile-to-pile cap connections where
the precast, prestressed pile is simply embedded in the cast in-
place pile cap (Harries and Petrou, 2001, Fuziol, 2009, Sweigart,
2010, Ziehl et al., 2012, Larosche et al., 2013a, 2013b). Xiao
(2003) studied the pile-to-foundation connections with piles
embedded into the pile cap with a shallow embedment length,
which are common in the western United States, particularly in
California. Roeder et al. (2001, 2005) reported the seismic
performance of moment resisting precast concrete pile-wharf
connections. Their study revealed that precast concrete pile

*Lecturer, Ph.D. Student, School of Civil Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, China (Corresponding Author, E-mail: faemail@163.com)
**Ph.D. Student, School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China (E-mail: wwj_tumu@163.com)

1903
 Zhijian Yang and Wenjin Wang

pile head. Sstoshi et al. (2007) investigated a method to improve

the performance of semi-rigid connection at pile head by
reducing the stress at pile head, decreasing the cost of foundation
work.
The seismic behaviour of PHC pile-to-pile cap connections has
not attracted such a considerable amount of research in China
yet. Hence, the main objective of the study is to assess the
strength and ductility capability of PHC pile-to-pile cap
connections from both experimental and finite element analysis
perspectives.
Fig. 1. Damage of Precast Prestressed Concrete Piles: (a) Com-
Pressive Failure, (b) Shear and Compressive Failure, (c) Soil 2. Experimental Program
Moved and Cap Remained
2.1 Specimen Preparation
connections were stronger than extended pile sections, but they Six full-scale PHC pile-to-pile cap connections were tested to
degraded more quickly. Axial load on a pile increased connection evaluate their seismic performance. They were designed on the
moment capacity, but resulted in greater deterioration in base of current design standards and practice engineering, and
resistance. Caiza-Snchez et al. (2012) analyzed the cyclic different pile head-to-cap connections were considered. The
behaviour of pile-deck connections with OpenSees. Lehman et diameter PHC pile was 500 mm, which was commonly used in
al. (2013) reported a test of a new pile-wharf connection less the engineering. The piles were 100 mm in thickness, 2000 mm
vulnerable to seismic damage, the results showed that the use of in length and embedded into the cap 100 mm as shown in Fig. 2.
a bearing pad over the head of the pile significantly delays pile The details of the piles are summarized in Table 1.
and connection damage without reducing maximum resistance An 1800 1100 850 mm cap section was employed, and
or inelastic deformation capacity. Fig. 2 shows reinforcement used for specimens. Six anchor bars
The Japanese researchers have conducted the study of PHC of CT-1 were welded to square steel plates (h = 5d + 20 mm) that
pile-to-pile cap connections, because the connections were were welded to the anchor plate connected with the pile head and
damaged during seismic events. Seiji et al. (1989, 1990) reported
the experiment and analyses of the shear transfer mechanism in
a PHC pile-to-pile cap connection, and examined the effects of
quantity of spirals, yield strengths of longitudinal reinforcement
and axial forces of the pile on the shear strength and the
deformability of connection. Katsunori et al. (2003) proposed a
simplified pile-to-pile cap connection for precast concrete pile,
the pile head was embedded into the cap with 100 mm depth
without anchor bars, and plain concrete was filled inside up to
the depth corresponding to 600 mm (1D). The test results
showed that the degree of restraint against rotation of simplified
connection is about 0.7 times of usual connection under
stationary axial load condition. Kazuki et al. (2006, 2010)
proposed an improved simplified connection, the pile head was
embedded into the cap up to 100 mm depth with a tapered
clearance around the pile head. The test results indicated that
the simplified connection reduces the bending moment of the Fig. 2. Details of Specimen

Table 1. Parameters of Specimens

Prestressed Stirrup Bent angel of fc Type of
Specimen Connection
steel steel Anchor bar (MPa) pile head
CT-1 Fig. 3(a) 10A9.0 A5@45 15 62.6 Normal
CT-2 Fig. 3(b) 10A9.0 A5@45 75 62.5 Normal
CT-3 Fig. 3(c) 10A9.0 A5@45 90 62.1 Normal
CT-4 Fig. 3(d) 10A9.0 A5@45 15 62.8 Cut-off
CT-5 Fig. 3(e) 10A9.0 A5@45 0 65.6 Cut-off
CT-6 Fig. 3(b) 10A9.0 A5@45 75 60.1 Normal
Note: Where fc is the concrete strength of cap and core filled in the pile.

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 Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Behaviour of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile-to-pile Cap Connections

cap as shown in Fig. 3(a). Six anchor bars of CT-2 and CT-6 (180oC and 1.2 MPa). The concrete compressive strength of the
were welded to the anchor plate and then bent outward into the piles was 82.1 MPa, measured as an average of five 150 150
cap in a 75pattern as shown in Fig. 3(b), but the pile of CT-6 150 mm test cubes. The cap and hollow section was cast with the
was not filled with concrete. Six anchor bars of CT-3 were same concrete simultaneously. Table 1 summarizes the average
welded to the anchor plates and then bent outward into the cap in concrete strength on the day of testing as determined by tested
a 90 pattern as shown in Fig. 3(c). cubes. The yield strength (fy) and tensile strength (fu) of different
Piles are driven to a depth as designed, and this depth seldom steel is listed in Table 2.
coincides with the finished elevation of the cap. Piles beyond the
finished elevation are cut to the proper elevation. Specimen CT-4 2.2 Test Setup
and CT-5 were the connections that pile heads were cut off, and The investigated specimens were anchored to the strong floor
the anchor bars (6-D 18) and spiral hoop (A 6.5 mm@100 mm) for testing, and the experimental setup used for the cyclic lateral
were arranged in the hollow section of the piles (Fig. 3(d) and loading test under constant vertical loading is shown in Fig. 4. In
Fig. 3(e)). actual pile foundation, a cap moves during a seismic event
PHC piles were fabricated with centrifugation, steam and relative to a pile base. In the present study, the pile was displaced
autoclave curing at the factory. The piles had a 40 MPa concrete relative to the deck section. This is the same condition for the
strength at the release of the prestressed stress after steam curing, pile connection as seen in the actual pile foundation except that
and more than 80 MPa concrete strength after autoclave curing the pile length for the tested specimens was based on the length
of the estimated inflection point of the prototype structure. The
Table 2. Material Properties of Steel damage at relatively deeper pile part due to liquefaction and
Diameter fy fu Es lateral spreading has been reported to be a unique feature of
Reinforcement
(mm) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) damage observed in Kobe area. However, most of PHC pile
Prestressed bar A9.0 1335 1484 2.06105 damaged close to the top shows initiation in the bending shear
Stirrup of pile A5 514 605 2.06105 mode and ultimately led to the crushing of the weakened section,
Anchor bar B18 345 524 2.06105 indicating the nature of failure observed during the Miyagiken-
Stirrup of anchor bar A6.5 363 494 2.06105 oki earthquake. Therefore, the existing of soil would strengthen
Reinforcement of cap B18 345 524 2.06105 the connection, and the pile-soil-structure interaction was not

Fig. 3. Typical Connection of Pile to Pile Cap: (a) CT-1, (b) CT-2, (c) CT-3, (d) CT-4, (e) CT-5

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 Zhijian Yang and Wenjin Wang
Fig. 4. Test Setup
Fig. 5. Load Program
considered in the present test. The lateral load was applied to the
pile using an actuator with 600 kN capacity and push/pull stroke
of 300 mm. The actuator was connected to steel jacket that was
placed around the pile to transfer the force of the actuator to the
pile without damaging the pile in this region. The axial load was
500 kN, which was applied with 1000 kN hydraulic jack.
Four displacement sensors with a range of 100 mm were
placed on one side of the pile at 420 mm spacing from the pile
base to monitor the lateral displacements. Rotation of the pile
was monitored using two 50-mm-range displacement sensors
placed on the two sides of the column in the loading plane. Eight
concrete strain gauges were attached to the pile at 200 mm from
the pile base.
2.3 Loading Program
To check the alignment, the axial load was applied with an
1906
interval of 250 kN, and the strain and displacement sensors were
monitored regularly. After the final positioning, the alignment
was checked up to the maximum predetermined axial load.
Then, the lateral load actuator was connected to the specimen
after the application of full axial load. A reverse cyclic lateral
load was applied in terms of load and displacement control as
shown in Fig. 5. Before the specimen yielded, one cycle was
applied at each of the elastic lateral load. At each level of
ductility displacement (y), three full cycles of reverse lateral
load were applied. Test was conducted until either the specimen
failed due to large deformation or the bearing capacity of the
specimen had deteriorated to 85% of the lateral bearing capacity.
3. Test Observations
3.1 Test Phenomenon
The test using six specimens revealed that all specimens
observed had bending failure ultimately. For Specimen CT-1, the
tensile pile showed circumferential cracks (0.2 mm wide), when
the displacement was y, and spalling of the concrete cover at
the compressed pile occurred at the 2y displacement. At the
3y displacement, the pile concrete cover spalled dramatically in
the tensile area. When the displacement was 4y, the horizontal
bearing capacity decreased, and large spalling appeared to the
concrete cover at the compressed pile side. At the -4y
displacement, the crack at the hoop and pile interface dominant
crack, and the concrete of the tensile pile spalled. During the
loading process, tensile rupturing occurred to two prestressed
bars at the interface between the hoop and pile, and the specimen
failed. The failure process and modes of Specimen CT-2 was
similar to Specimen CT-1.
When the displacement was 2y, the pile cap of Specimen CT-
3 had cracks (0.05 mm wide). At the 3y displacement, a
0.2 mm wide circumferential crack appeared to the tensile pile.
During the 3y second reverse cycle, the head of prestressed
bars was broken. When the displacement was -5y, gaps
occurred between the tensile pile hoop and pile cap. The cap
crack was 5 mm in width. The cap cover of No. 4 anchor bar
tended to completely spall. Slight spalling of concrete cover
happened in the compression zone. The cracks subsequently
extended to the side of cap, and part of cracks propagated to the
bottom of cap. At the -7y displacement, the strain of anchor
bars was very small. Anchor bars had bond-slip or tensile
rupturing of welded connections. The compressed pile cap had
very big cracks with side propagation, and the cap was severely
damaged. Specimen CT-6 was similar to Specimen CT-3.
At the 2y displacement, the cracks at the pile-to-pile cap
connection of Specimen CT-4 were connected, and the biggest
crack was 1.5 mm in width. Slighted pulling out showed up in
the tensile side of the pile. When the displacement was -2y, all
of the tensile anchor bars yielded, and the pile was cracking with
a 0.05 mm width. At the 4y displacement, a 0.05 mm wide crack
appeared to the top part of the tensile pile at the 500 mm height,
and the pile was pulled out about 7 mm. At the 6y displacement,
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering
 Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Behaviour of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile-to-pile Cap Connections
Fig. 6. Failure Mode of Specimens: (a) CT-1 (b) CT-2, (c) CT-3, (d)
CT-4, (e) CT-5, (f) CT-6
the concrete cover of the compressed cap spalled, and the tensile
side of pile was pulled out about 11mm. When the displacement
was 7y, large spalling of the concrete cover at the tensile side of
pile happened. The concrete cover of cap at tensile side tended to
completely fall, and the pile had been pulled out 12 mm. At the
8y displacement, significant damage occurred to the pile and cap.
The pile cap had a large-scale uplift. The concrete cover was
flaking. The failure process and modes of Specimen CT-5 was
similar to Specimen CT-4.
Figure 6 shows the failure patterns of specimen CT-1~CT-6.
4. Test Result and Discussion
4.1 Failure Mechanism
The results of test on connections indicated that rotation at the
pile-to-cap connection concentrated at the interface between the
pile and the cap. There are three types of failure mechanism
shown in Fig. 7. For Specimen CT-1 and CT-2, the connection
failed in this order: Crack appeared at the interface between
steel hoop and pile. The prestressed bars or the head of prestressed
bars fractured in the tension. Cover spalling occured on the
Fig. 7. Typical Failure Mechanism: (a) CT-1 and CT-2, (b) CT-4 and CT-5, (c) CT-3 and CT-6
Vol. 20, No. 5 / July 2016
compression side of the pile due to bearing. For Specimen CT-4
and CT-5, the connections failed in this order: Tension and
compression caused gap at the interface adjacent to the end of
pile. Yielding and debonding occurred in anchor bars the due to
tension. Cap spalling occured on the tension side of the
connection due to prying. Cap spalling occured on the
compression side of the connection due to bearing. Cover
spalling occured on the compression side of the pile due to
bearing. For Specimen CT-3 and CT-6, the connection failed in
this order: Tension and compression caused gap at the
interface adjacent to the endplate. Cap spalling occured on the
compression side of the connection due to bearing. Cover
spalling occured on the compression side of the pile due to
bearing. The anchor bars fractured.
4.2 Hysteretic Response
Figure 8 shows the pile end moment versus lateral deflection
responses of all specimens. The deflection was performed in
terms of both pile end displacement. The damage of Specimen
CT-1, CT-2 and CT-3 was due to the rupture of prestressed bars.
The seismic performance of pile determined the hysteretic
response of the connection, and therefore the hysteretic curve
pinched.
Figure 8(d) and 8(e) shows that specimen CT-4 and CT-5 had
better hysteretic behaviour than other specimens. Moreover, the
ultimate displacements of specimen CT-4 and CT-5 were about
1.5 times more than others. This may be attributed in part to the
better deformability of the connection, which offers greater
ductility in the PHC pile-to-pile cap connection without the
failure of the prestressed bar of the pile. According to the
experimental results, anchor bars in the pile yielded and slipped,
which determined the behaviour of the connections.
The connection of CT-6 performed the same as the CT-2
connection did, but the pile of CT-6 was not filled with concrete.
It was obvious that the hysteretic behaviour of Specimen CT-6
was better than Specimen CT-2. The damage in the connection
concentrated in the critical regions of the cap, but not in the pile
for Specimen CT-6. Test results indicated that the concrete filled
in the hollow part of PHC pile cannot improve the deformability
of connections.
Jin et al. (2014) investigated the cyclic behaviour of connection
between footing and concrete-infilled composite PHC pile,
which was similar with Specimen CT-5. Due to the different
shear span ratio, the connections of Jin et al. (2014) appeared to
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 Zhijian Yang and Wenjin Wang
Fig. 8. Hysteretic Moment-displacement Response for Specimens:
(a) CT-1, (b) CT-2, (c) CT-3 , (d) CT-4, (e) CT-5, (f) CT-6
be shear failure, and Specimen CT-5 showed that flexural
bending failure. Both the cap of Jin et al. (2014) and Specimen
CT-5 damaged close to the pile. Otherwise, the shapes of
hysteretic load-displacements were similar, which exhibited a
good cyclic behaviour.
5 Finite Element Analysis
5.1 Establish Finite Element Model
The hysteretic behaviour of the PHC pile-to-pile cap connections
was analyzed using the flexibility method-based fibre beam
element model of OpenSees. The calculation model of the pile-
to-pile cap connections mainly included the pile, pile cap and
pile-to-pile cap connection. When establishing the model, the
pile was assumed to be a cantilever member on the pile cap (Fig.
9). The pile-to-pile cap connection was replaced with a rotational
spring element.
In the test, the connections showed flexural bending failure,
but not shear failure. Thus, shear deformation of the connections
was unconsidered when building the model. The mechanical
behaviour of the pile-to-pile cap connections under the bending
moment was mainly determined by the compressive strength of
concrete and the tensile strength of steel, but not the concrete
tension effect. Therefore, the Concrete01 material of OpenSees
was applied to the model. Stress and strain at the concrete peak
1908
Fig. 9. Finite Element Model
point were determined based on the modified Kent-Park model
presented by Scott et al. The constraint effect of stirrup steel was
considered for the core concrete.
In the modified Ken and Park model the monotonic concrete
stress-strain relation in compression is described by three
regions:
2 2
f = Kfc -------c ----c ( c 0 ) (1)
0 0
f = Kfc [1 Z ( 0 ) ] 0.2kfc ( 0 c cu) (2)
Where 0 is the concrete strain at maximum stress, K is a
factor which accounts for the strength increase due to
confinement, Z is the strain softening slope, fc is the concrete
compressive cylinder strength, fyh is the yield strength of stirrup,
v is the ratio of the volume of hoop reinforcement to the
volume of concrete core measured to outside of stirrups, h is
the width of concrete core measured to outside of stirrups, and
s h is the center to center spacing of stirrups.
The input modulus of elasticity is actually based off of the
expected compressive strength using the relationship as follow:
2
10
Ec = ----------------------- (3)
34.7
2.2 + ----------
fcu
Where Ec is the modulus of elasticity, fcu is the concrete
compressive strength.
The piles are typically reinforced with both prestressed bar and
anchor bar. The uniaxial material model Steel02 in the OpenSees
library was used to describe the behaviour of the prestressed and
anchor bars. The steel stress-strain behaviour was described by
the nonlinear model of Filippou et al. (1983) to include isotropic
strain hardening. The model was computationally efficient and
agreed very well with experimental results from cyclic tests on
steel bars. Application of prestress was performed by defining
the initial stress.
Because the rotation at the pile-to-pile cap connections was
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering
 Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Behaviour of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile-to-pile Cap Connections

Table 3. Comparisons between Experimental and Numerical Results

Experimental ultimate load (kN) Calculated ultimate load (kN) Calculated results / Experimental results
Specimen
Forward direction Reverse direction Forward direction Reverse direction Forward direction Reverse direction
CT-1 242 -200 225 -218 0.94 1.10
CT-2 227 -182 231 -233 1.03 1.29
CT-3 201 -247 232 -236 1.17 0.97
CT-4 245 -222 241 -239 0.99 1.09
CT-5 327 -238 241 -237 0.74 1.01
CT-6 252 -232 232 -233 0.93 1.01

pinched significantly, especially CT-4~CT-6 specimens. The

main reason is that the pile-to-pile cap connections of CT-
4~CT-6 specimens were destroyed during the test, causing
reduced constraint effect between the pile head and anchor
bars. The rotation capacity of connections was increased and
slip occurred to the connections, leading to excessive residual
deformation during unloading process. However, shear slip
was ignored in the calculation model. Therefore, the calculated
curves were a little bit different from experimental curves.
Table 3 shows comparisons of ultimate load under cyclic
loading. The data implicated that the finite analysis results
coincided with the experimental data, which can accurately
simulate experimental results.

5.3 Moment-rotation Relations of Pile Head

Fig. 10. Comparisons between Experimental and Finite Element
Analysis Results of Load-displacement Curves: (a) CT-1,
(b) CT-2, (a) CT-3, (b) CT-4, (a) CT-5, (b) CT-6
mainly decided by bond-slip between anchor bars and concrete,
the zero length element of OpenSees was used to simulate the
inelastic angle in the connecting region. This element (corner
spring) kept connections from geometric deformation, and
meanwhile, considered softening of concrete and slip of bars.
The slip between the anchor bars and concrete was calculated
using the model proposed by Zhao and Sritharan 2007.
5.2 Load-displacement Hysteretic Curves
The load-displacement curves of CT-1~CT-6 connections under
cyclic loading were compared with hysteretic curves (Fig. 10).
As shown in the Fig. 10, the FE analysis results agreed well
with the experimental curves. However, the calculated curves
The moment-rotation relations of pile head of CT-1~CT-6
specimen are shown in Fig. 11, where O is the calculated value,
T is the test result. For CT-1~CT-3, the ultimate rotation is the
corresponding rotation when the bearing capacity of the
specimen had deteriorated to 85% of the lateral bearing capacity.
It can be seen from Fig. 11 that the finite analysis results
coincided with the experimental data, which can accurately
simulate experimental results. For CT-1~CT-3, the prestressed
bars were tensioned to be rupture, the pile end was damaged and
the anchor bars did not yield. The rotation capacity of pile end
was poor, and the ultimate rotation was 0.015rad. For CT-6, the
anchor bars yielded when the specimen failed, the concrete was
crushed, plastic hinge formed at connection zone. The rotation
capacity of pile end was good, and the ultimate rotation was
0.032rad. For CT-4 and CT-5, the anchor bars yielded, plastic
hinge formed at connection zone. The rotation capacity of pile
end was good, and the ultimate rotation of CT-5 was 0.042rad. In
addition, the rotation capacity of pile end increased with rotation,
therefore the pile end of the connection should be ensure to be
with good rotation.
5.4 Energy Dissipation
The recorded lateral load versus deflection relationship may be
described as Fig. 12. Eq. (4) can be used to calculate the
equivalent damping coefficient according to Tang (1989), which
has been adopted in the Chinese specification JGJ 101-96. SABC
and SCDA are areas under curves ABC and CDA shown in Fig. 12
respectively, and SOBE and SODF are areas within triangles OBE

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 Zhijian Yang and Wenjin Wang

Fig. 11. Comparisons between Experimental and Finite Element Anal- Fig. 13. he Versus Relationship: (a) CT-1, (b) CT-2, (c) CT-3, (d)
ysis Results of Moment-rotation Relations of Pile Head: (a) CT-4, (e) CT-5, (f) CT-6
CT-1, (b) CT-2, (c) CT-3, (d) CT-4, (e) CT-5, (f) CT-6

good rotation capacity.

and ODF shown in Fig. 12 respectively.
1 SABC + SADC 5.5 Parameter Analysis
he = ------ ------------------------------ (4)
2 SOBE + SODF In order to investigate the mechanical properties of the pile-to-
pile cap connections and to understand the effects of various
Figure 13 demonstrates that the cumulative equivalent damping
parameters on the connections, the authors performed parameter
coefficient (he) of connections increases greatly with increasing
analysis on CT-2 and CT-4 connection nodes, studying the
displacement. In addition, the finite analysis results coincided
influence of axial load and the number and diameter of anchor
with the experimental data. Equivalent damping coefficients of
bars on the mechanical performance of the connections under
CT-4 and CT-5 were larger than other specimens because of their
cyclic loading.

5.4.1 Axial Load

The other parameters were unchanged and only changed the
vertical axial load. The obtained load-displacement curves are
shown in Fig. 14, N is the axial load. The results showed that the
stiffness and horizontal bearing capacity went up continuously
along with the increase of axial load, while the ductility
decreased. Compared to the connection of CT-4, the increase of
CT-2 connection was bigger, indicating axial load had more
effect on CT-2 connection. Moreover, hysteretic curves pinched
more serious along with the increased axial load, showing a
shear failure trend.

5.4.2 The Number of Anchor Bars

The other parameters were unchanged and only changed the
Fig. 12. Idealized P- Hysteretic Relationship number of anchor bars. The obtained load-displacement skeleton

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 Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Behaviour of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile-to-pile Cap Connections
Fig. 14. Comparison of Numerical Results for Different Axial Load:
(a) CT-2, (b) CT-4
Fig. 15.Comparison of Numerical Results for Different Diameter of
Anchor Bar: (a) CT-2, (b) CT-4
curves are shown in Fig. 15, n indicates the number of anchor
bars. The results showed that the number of anchor bars had less
impact on Specimen CT-2. The change of bearing capacity was
little. For Specimen CT-4, the bearing capacity of connection
node enhanced along with the increased number of anchor bars.
Moreover, the hysteretic curves of two specimens were fuller,
and the energy dissipation capacity increased.
5.4.3 The Diameter of Anchor Bars
The diameter of anchor bars was changed without changing
the other parameters. The generated load-displacement skeleton
curves are shown in Fig. 16, D indicates the diameter of anchor
bars. The results showed that the diameter of anchor bars had
less effect on Specimen CT-2. The bearing capacity barely
changed. For Specimen CT-4, the bearing capacity of connection
node enhanced along with the increased diameter of anchor bars.
Moreover, the hysteretic curves of two specimens were fuller,
and the energy dissipation capacity increased. According to
Prestressed High Strength Pile 10G409, the designed bending
capacity of a 500 mm diameter pile should not be less than
121 kN.m and the shear capacity should not be less than 195
kN. The experimental and analyzed results indicated that both
the bearing and shear capacity of 6B18 were larger than
predetermined values of 10G409. Hence, it is safe to design a
connection based on the present configuration in an actual
engineering. It is not necessary to increase the number or
diameter of anchor bars.
6. Conclusions
The following conclusions were obtained by the low cyclic
Vol. 20, No. 5 / July 2016
Fig. 16. Comparison of Numerical Results for Different Number of
Anchor Bar: (a) CT-2, (b) CT-4
loading test and FE analysis using six PHC pile-to-pile cap
connections
1. In the test, bending failure occurred to all of PHC pile-to-
pile cap connections. There were two types of failure. One is
tensile rupturing of prestressed bars or yielding headings.
The pile body was damaged, resulting in loss of carrying
capacity of connection as shown in CT1~CT-3. The other
form is failure of anchor bars. Serious plastic hinge damage
happened at the pile-to-pile cap connections as shown in CT-
4~CT-6.
2. Specimen CT-4, CT-5 and CT-6 formed plastic hinge in the
connection area, and their rotating capacity was better than
Specimen CT-1, CT-2 and CT-3. Hence, the bearing capac-
ity was bigger.
3. The bearing capacity and stiffness of CT-1, CT-2 and CT-3
was very close, but the hysteretic behaviour of CT-3 was
better. Therefore, connection of CT-3 can be used to reduce
the interference and construction cost in the practical engi-
neering. The behaviour of CT-4 and CT-5 was very close,
but connection of CT-5 can be used to reduce the interfer-
ence and construction cost in the practical engineering.
4. OpenSees was applied to perform the finite element analysis
on the mechanical properties of the connections under cyclic
loading. The computational and experimental results were in
good agreement. The parameter analysis of the connections
showed that the bearing capacity and stiffness of the connec-
tions enhanced along with the increased axial load, while the
hysteretic curves pinched more seriously along with the
increase of axial load. The ductility decreased. When the
number and diameter of anchor bars were increased, the
bearing capacity of Specimen CT-2 did not change obvi-
ously. The bearing capacity of Specimen CT-4 increased.
The hysteretic curves of both specimens became fuller.
Therefore, the connection bearing capacity designed based
on the present configuration in an actual engineering can
meet the requirements, and it is not necessary to increase the
number or diameter of anchor bars.
Acknowledgements
This project was sponsored Tianjin Poly concrete pile Co. Ltd,
whose contribution is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks for Prof.
1911
 Zhijian Yang and Wenjin Wang
KANG Guyi and GU Xiaolu for their useful suggestions. This
project was supported by Innovative Research Team of Higher
Education in Liaoning Province (LT2014012) and Education
fund item of Liaoning province (L2015453).
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