DIAPHRAGM

SHEAR CONNECTORS
BETWEEN FLANGES OF
PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
T-BEAMS

Two specific types of connectors used to develop diaphragm action

between flanges of single- and double-tees in floors and roofs
of buildings were tested and analyzed. The specimens consisted
of 2- and 2-in, slabs of lightweight concrete with embedded
reinforcing bars to form the connection. Comparison of ultimate
loads indicates that changing the angle of the embedment bar
has little effect on the strength of the shear connector. For
specimens with topping, the major contribution to the shear
strength is attributed to the shearing capacity of the topping.

William J. Venuti
San Jose State College
San Jose, California

In recent years, structural engineers, manufacturers, and erectors of

precast prestressed concrete structural elements have been concerned
with the structural integrity of diaphragm shear connectors between
flanges of single- and double-tees in
resisting seismic shearing forces.
Many types of connectors are currently being used in prestressed concrete T-beam construction to develop diaphragm action in floors and
roofs of buildings. These connectors
are normally used in the flanges with
a minimum spacing of about 4 ft.
When used in floors, topping is generally placed over the flanges; when
used in roofs; no topping is applied.
Recently, the Department of Civil
February 1970

Engineering and Applied Mechanics

at San Jose State College undertook
a project to investigate the horizontal shear capacity of two particular
types of connectors. The Type A
shear connector (Fig. 1) basically
consists of rebars embedded in the
flanges of the T-beams with legs
bent at 45 deg. and the flat portion
being exposed at the edge of the
flange. When the beams are in place,
a short length of rebar (weld bar) is
welded to each pair of embedded
bars to form the connection. The
Type B shear connector (Fig. 2) is
somewhat similar except that an intermediate 3/s in. thick steel plate
(weld plate) is shop-welded to the
embedment bar at a 60 deg. angle
g^

FLANGE JOINTS

^{--

/^_ REBAR.
IN.
FLANGE

\\

I\
WELD BAR

GROUT
POCKET

Fig. 1. Type A shear connector

with the horizontal. The weld bar is
field-welded to the plates to form the
shear connection.
TEST PROGRAM

The test program involved testing

FLANGE JOINTS

REBAR. IN
FLANGE ^^JJ
WELD PLATE

... : WELD BAR

GROUT POCKET
-_-

__

Fig. 2. 'Type B shear connector

so

pairs of concrete slabs connected to

each other by means of the typical
diaphragm shear connectors. In addition, connections with the legs of
the embedment bars at various angles were investigated. Slabs with a
modified double bar arrangement
were also tested. The objective was
to determine the in-plane shear capacity and failure characteristics of
these connectors. Full scale specimens were used for all tests, that is,
the actual size and shape of the embedded connector was cast into
slabs of a thickness equivalent to the
flange thickness of commercially cast
T-beams. The welded wire fabric
normally used in the flanges of Tbeams was also included. The slabs
were 16 in. wide and 30 in. or 42 in,
long to simulate the portion of flange
that envelops the shear connector.
A typical test arrangement is shown
in Figs. 3 and 4. All loads were applied statically in a single in-plane
direction.
A nominal 5000-psi expanded
shale lightweight aggregate concrete
was used for all test slabs and topping. All slabs were cast in a commercial prestressed concrete casting
yard under normal production conditions. The steel used for the embedment and weld bars was ASTM
A-15 intermediate grade. Welding
conformed to AWS D12.1-61 specifications. Weld bars were 4-in.
lengths of No. 4 reinforcing bars.
The test specimens were as follows:
1. 10 Type A connectors to determine the effect of working
flange stresses on the shear
strength of the connectors. Five of
the specimens were precompressed with helical springs to
simulate flange stresses and the remainder were not precompressed.
See Table 1 for physical properties.
PCI Journal

LOA D

TESTING MACHINE HEAD

" DIAL GAUGE

001

C.

A^

SECTION A-A

I
'w -t
BI

t6
TIE BAR

--

SECTION
C-C

ANCHOR PLATE

ELEVATION

SECTION B-B

Fig. 3. Typical test arrangement

2. 30 Type A connectors with

variations in the slab thickness,
bar size, bar angle, length of weld,
and number of bars. Four of these
specimens had a 2-in. topping. See
Table 1 for physical properties.
3. 24 Type B connectors with
variations in the slab thickness,
bar size, bar angle, length of weld,
and number of bars. Four of these
specimens had a 2-in. topping. See
Table 2 for physical properties.
The weldments for the Type A
connectors were: 3/s in. at 5 in. (both
sides of bars) for the double bar arrangement; %6 in. at 3 in. (both sides)
February 1970

for the 4-in, weld bar in specimens 1

to 10, A, C, KK and LL; and /16 in.
at 4 in. (both sides) for the 4-in, weld
bar in specimens B, D, E, F, G, H,
M and N.
The weldments for the Type B
connectors were: Y/4 in. at 4 in. (both
sides) for the 3/8 -in, weld plate in the
2-in, thick slabs; % in. at 4 in. (both
sides) for the %-in, weld plate in the
2r/z-in, thick slabs; 3/is in. at 4 in.
(both sides) for the double bar arrangement; '1/4 in. at 3 in. (both sides)
for the 4-in, weld bar in specimens
A, B, KK and LL; and 34s in. at 4 in.
(both sides) for the 4-in, weld bar in
69

specimens B, D, E, F, G and H.
All grout pockets were 5 in. long.
TEST RESULTS

Specimens 1 to 10 were tested to

determine the effect of working
stresses in the flange on the shear
strength of the connectors. Specimens 1 to 5 were tested in a precompressed condition, yielding an average ultimate shearing strength of
14,300 lb. The average ultimate
strength of specimens 6 to 10, which
had no precompression, was 14,500
lb. The ultimate strength of the ten
specimens varied between 13,600
and 16,200 lb. Based upon these results it was assumed that the effect
of flange stresses on the ultimate
shearing strength is insignificant.
Hence, all subsequent tests were

Fig. 4. Basic test set-up for shear on a

connector
70

conducted with no precompression

in the slabs.
Type A connector. The ultimate
shear loads and corresponding ultimate shear deformations (relative inplane deflection of the slabs) are
shown in Table 3. Fig. 5 shows typical failures of the Type A connectors. Representative load-deformation curves in Fig. 6 give an
indication of the capacity of the connectors to absorb energy prior to
failure.
Failure in the connector started
with yielding in the embedment bar
at a load close to ultimate. At this
point there were no visible cracks in
the slabs and the load was increased
with increased deformation in the
connector to ultimate load. At ultimate load some hairline cracks appeared in the test specimens. In all
cases, the connector failed gradually
with increased deformation accompanied by crushing and spalling of
the concrete. The 15-in, inclined
length of the embedment bar was
adequate to prevent failure by pullout of the reinforcing bar. However,
failure by pullout did occur in several slabs (Specimens G and H)
where the angle of bend of the embedment bar was 30 deg. Weld failure did not occur in any of the specimens.
Comparison of the ultimate loads
for specimens A (No. 4 bar at 30 deg.
bend), C (No. 4 bar at 60 deg. bend)
and the ten pilot specimens 1 to 10
(No. 4 bar at 45 deg. bend), as shown
in Table 3, shows that changing the
angle of embedment bar does not
significantly affect the ultimate
strength of the shear connector. The
average ultimate strength for specimens G (with a 4-in, weld) is slightly
higher. Of all the specimens tested
with 2-in, slabs, specimens E (double
embedded bars at 30 and 60 deg.)
had the highest average ultimate
PCI Journal

Table 1. Type A test specimens

Specimen
designation

No. of
specimens

Bar
size
no.

1 to 10
A
B
C
D
M
N
KK
LL

10
3
1
3
1
3
3
3
1

4
4
5
4
5
4
5
4
5

Slab
thickness
in.

30
G
H

Angle
a
deg.

2
2
21/2
2
21
2
21/2
2*
21/2*

45
30
30
60
60
45
45
45
45

2
21/2

30
30

2
21/2

30-60
30-60

1
4
5

3
1

^2

E
F

4
4

4
5

* With 2" topping

load and largest deformation at ultimate (0.16 in.). Among the specimens
with 2-in, slabs, specimens F (connection similar to E) had the highest
average ultimate load. However, the
average increase in shear strength
for F was only 8 percent over that of
the E specimens.
Similarly, the 14,500 lb. average
ultimate load for specimens M when
compared with specimens 1 to 10
indicates that an increase in slab
thickness from 2 to 2 1/2 in. does not
effectively increase the ultimate capacity of the connector. On the other
hand, embedment bar size plays a
February 1970

significant role in the load capacity,

with heavier embedment bars having substantially higher strength
values.
For specimens with topping, the
major part of the shearing strength is
due to the topping. The average
strength of the KK specimens (2-in.
slab with 2-in. topping, No. 4 bar at
45 deg.) is 53,200 lb. By subtracting
the average shear value of the connector as determined by tests on
specimens I to 10 (14,500 lb.), it appears that the topping resisted the
difference, or 38,700 lb. Based upon
a topping length of 48 in., the unit
71

shear strength of the topping is 400

psi. The shear strength of the LL
specimen (2%-in, slab with 2-in. topping, No. 5 bar at 45 deg.) is 59,300
lb. With an average shear strength
of the connector alone of 22,500 lb.,
the shear strength of the topping is
36,800 lb. giving a unit shear of 380
psi.
Type B connector. The ultimate
shear loads and corresponding ultimate shear deformations are shown
in Table 4. Fig. 7 shows typical failures of the Type B connectors. Loaddeformation curves for the specimens with topping are given in Fig.
8.
Failure in the connector started by
yielding of the embedment bar just

prior to the ultimate load. At this

stage there were no visible cracks in
the slabs and the load increased with
increased deformation to the ultimate load. In some test slabs at ultimate, there were some hairline
cracks. Not all the shearing load was
taken by the embedment bar. The
weld plate appeared to transfer
some of the shear by bearing against
the side of the grout pocket in the
slab. As a result, the failure of the
shear connector at ultimate load was
sometimes abrupt, with a chunk of
concrete adjacent to the weld plate
being sheared off. Under additional
deformation, crushing and spalling
of the concrete occurred.
The 15-in, leg of the embedment

Table 2. Type B test specimens

Specimen
designation

No. of
specimens

Slab
thickness
in.

Bar
size
no.

Angle
a
deg.

OG

A
B
C
D
KK
LL

3
1
3
1
3
1

4
5
4
5
4
5

2
21/2
2
21/2
2*
21/2*

30
30
60
60
45
45

G
H

3
1

4
5

2
2V2

30
30

2
2V2

30-60
30-60

12

E
F

4
4

4
5

12

* With 2" topping

72

PCI Journal

Table 3. Test results of Type A connectors

Shear
Specimen
No. of
Slab Embed- Average deformadesigna- specimens thickment
ultimate tion at
tion
ult. load
ness bar size
load
in.
in.
no.
lb.

1 to 10
A
B
C
D
M
N
KK
LL

10
3
1
3
1
3
3
3
1

2
2
21/2
2
21/2

4
4
5
4
5

21/2
2*
2*

5
4

21/2

30
G
H

14,500
14,500
24,000
14,800
21,000
14,500
22,000
53,200
59,300

0.16
0.10
0.18
0.14
0.14
0.11
0.15

15,000
22,000

0.13
0.20

24,000
26,000

0.16
0.17

1
2
21/z

3
1

4
5
12

30

E
F

4
4

60

a..

2
2

4
5

* With 2-in, topping

bar was of adequate length to prevent any failure by pullout. However, in one A specimen and one G
specimen, final failure occurred due
to pullout of the embedment bar. In
these slabs, the angle of bend of the
embedded bar from edge of slab was
30 deg. In some tests the embedment
bar ruptured due to excessive final
deformations (over 0.4 in.). This was
assumed to be due to the cold working and welding of the intermediate
plate to the bar at the bend.
It was observed that most of the
February 1970

damage to the concrete was on the

smooth underside of the slabs. Specimen LL (with topping) was loaded
beyond ultimate load and attained
two peaks of 52,500 and 55,000 lb. at
0.14- and 0.23-in, deformations, respectively (Fig. 8). Since the ultimate
load in the B specimen was reached
at a deformation of 0.23 in., it can be
concluded that the first peak value
of specimen LL was achieved without the shear connector strength being fully developed, and the second
peak was achieved due to contribu73

Specimen B

Specimen C

Specimen E

Specimen G

Fig. 5. Typical failures of Type A connectors

74

PCI Journal

30
M,N 150

U)

20

C,D

0
J

10

nK

1n

_20

1K

_2K

^5

.11C

DEFORMATION (IN.)

Fig. 6. Load-deformation curves for Type A connectors

tion of the ultimate shearing force of

the shear connector at a deformation
of 0.23 in.
CONCLUSIONS

Based upon the test results, the

following conclusions were made for
the connectors tested.

General.
1. Working stresses in flanges
have no significant effect on the
shear strength of diaphragm connectors.
2. Shear failures in the connection are due to yielding of the embedded bar and in-line crushing
failure of the concrete arising
from bearing stresses of the embedded reinforcing bars.
3. Pull-out failure of the embedded bar should not occur if bar
is clean and concrete is adequately vibrated.
4. A 346 x 3-in, weld on each side
February 1970

of the weld bar is of sufficient size

to develop the shear capacity of
the connector.
5. Shear failures are not abrupt;
relative deformations of over 0.25
in. can be expected before resistance is appreciably reduced.

Type A connectors.
1. The horizontal shear capacity of a standard Type A diaphragm connector (No. 4 bar at 45
deg.) in a 2- or 2-in, slab is approximately 14,500 lb.
2. The horizontal shear capacity of a standard diaphragm connector in a 2-in, flange spaced on
4-ft. centers, with a 2-in, topping,
is approximately 53,000 lb. In a
21/z-in, slab with a 2-in, topping,
the value can be taken as 59,000
lb.
3. A change in angle from the
standard 45 deg. used in the diaphragm connector does not signifi75

Specimen B

Specimen A

Specimen C

Specimen G

Fig. 7. Typical failures of Type B connectors

76

PCI Journal

6o

50
L
K

40
C')
a

0
0
J

30

5,^

20

10

.05

.10

.15

.25

.20

.30

.35

.40

DEFORMATION (IN.)

Fig. 8. Load-deformation curves for Type B connectors in specimens with topping

cantly change the ultimate shear

value of 14,500 lb.
4. An increase in the length of
the flat of the embedded bar (from
5 in. to 9 in.) does not appreciably
affect the strength of the standard
connector.
5. The shear capacity of a connector with No. 5 embedded bars
is about 50 percent greater than a
connector with No. 4 bars.
6. The shear capacity of a standard connector can be increased
by about 70 percent (to approximately 25,000 lb.) with a double
bar connector as described.
Type B connectors.
1. The horizontal shear capacity of a standard Type B diaphragm connector (No. 4 bar at 45
deg.) in a 2-in, flange is approximately 23,000 lb.
2. The horizontal shear capacity of a standard diaphgram conFebruary 1970

nector in a 2-in, flange spaced on

4-ft. centers, with a 2-in, topping,
is approximately 59,000 lb.
3. An increase in the length of
the flat of the embedded bar (from
5 in. to 9 in.) does not appreciably
increase the strength of the standard connector.
4. The shear capacity of a connector with No. 5 embedded bars
is about 20 percent greater than a
connector with No. 4 bars.
5. The shear capacity of a standard connector can be increased
by about 50 percent (to approximately 38,000 lb.) with a double
bar connector as described.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics at

San Jose State College wishes to express its gratitude to the Prestressed
Concrete Institute and the Pre77

Table 4. Test results of Type B connectors

No. of
Specimen
designa- specimens
tion

Slab Embedthickment
ness bar size
no.
in.

Shear
Average deformaultimate tion at
load
ult. load
lb.
in.

OC

A
B
C
D
KK
LL

3
1
3
1
3
1

2
21/2
2
21/2
2*
21/2*

4
5
4
5
4
5

24,000
30,000
21,000
25,000
59,000
55,000

0.13
0.23
0.13
0.24
0.17
0.23

G
H

3
1

2
21/2

4
5

24,000
33,000

0.14
0.17

36,000
40,000

0.12
0.22

12/2

E
F

4
4

2
21/2

4
5

* With 2-in, topping

stressed Concrete Manufacturers Association of California, Inc., co-sponsors of this research work, for its
generous award of a PCI Graduate
Fellowship. The Fellowship recipient, Mr. David Nazarian, conducted
all of the laboratory testing.

Sincere appreciation is extended

to Mr. Ray McCann, Basalt Rock
Co., Inc., Napa, California, and Mr.
Herb Brauner, Ben C. Gerwick, Inc.,
Petaluma, California, for supplying
the test specimens and for their excellent cooperation.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Please forward your discussion to PCI Headquarters
by Oct. 1 to permit publication in the December 1970 issue of the PCI JOURNAL.
78

PCI Journal