Steel and Composite Structures
Volume 58, Number 5, 2026, pages 677-700
DOI: 10.12989/scs.2026.58.5.677
Experimental and numerical investigation on HSC slab-RC wall joint with novel rebar-to-steel plate lap-splice connections
Yongwang Lei , Quanquan Guo , Yue Yu
Abstract
The upgrade plan for the next-generation HPR1000 nuclear power plants aims to fully adopt modular construction technology. Half steel plate-concrete composite (HSC) slab-to-reinforced concrete (RC) wall joints are critical connections in modular nuclear power plants, yet their failure mechanisms remain largely unexplored and limited research. This study investigates the shear and force-transfer behavior of HSC slab-RC wall joints through experiments and numerical simulation. Two connection methods were proposed and evaluated: the normal rebar-to steel-plate lap-splice (NR-SL) connection and a newly developed anchored rebar-to-steel-plate lap-splice (AR-SL) connection. Cyclic loading tests were conducted on six large-scale joint specimens, varying the tie-bar steel ratio and connection methods. Comparison results proved that the AR-SL connection has excellent force-transfer performance similar to that of the NR-SL connection, with advantages in both efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The nonlinear finite element models were used to perform parametric analysis, further clarifying the influence of the tie-bar steel ratio, lap length, location, and tensile force ratio of lapped rebars. Finally, based on the force-transfer model, a joint design method was proposed for engineering applications.
Key Words
force transfer; half steel plate-concrete composite slab; joint; lap-splice; nuclear power plant
Address
- Yongwang Lei — 1)School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China 2)College of Transportation and Civil Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou,350108, Fujian China
- Quanquan Guo — School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Yue Yu — China Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation Limited, Beijing 100840, China
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