Non-linear behaviour of welded stitch plate connections in jointed precast building cores

Reinforced concrete (RC) walls and building cores are widely used lateral load resisting systems for low, mid and high-rise buildings in lower seismic regions, such as Australia. Traditionally, RC walls and cores were constructed using monolithic cast in-situ elements. However, in recent years, precast concrete walls and cores have become increasingly popular, particularly jointed precast building cores. Precast building cores consist of individual rectangular panels that are cast off-site and then transported and erected on-site. The panels are connected together using welded stitch plate (WSP) connections, which are used to transfer vertical shear forces between adjacent panels to allow the individual panels to act compositely together as one element. This paper presents the findings of a recent experimental and analytical study into the performance and behaviour of WSP connections in jointed precast building cores in lower seismic regions. The paper will initially provide an overview of the experimental assessment performed on a typical WSP connection using the MAST system at Swinburne University of Technology. The paper will then conclude with an introduction into the current analytical work currently being performed to better understand the behaviour of these connections.