Title:
Seismic Response of Reinforced Concrete Walls with Staggered Lap Splices
Author(s):
Charles Kerby and Santiago Pujol
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
123
Issue:
2
Appears on pages(s):
287-296
Keywords:
deformation capacity; earthquake; experiment; lap splice; stagger; wall
DOI:
10.14359/51749175
Date:
3/1/2026
Abstract:
The deformability of reinforced concrete walls with staggered lap splices was studied through tests of six cantilevered walls under constant axial load and cyclic reversals of lateral displacement. The height-to-length aspect ratio of the walls was approximately 3.2. Four walls had staggered laps, one wall had non-staggered laps, and one wall had mechanical couplers. Laps were detailed to yield the spliced reinforcement. Test walls with staggered laps lost lateral load resistance at smaller drift ratios (1.0 to 2.1%) than both the test wall with non-staggered laps (2.3%) and the test wall with mechanical couplers (3.5%). Staggered lap splices resulted in larger strain concentrations than non-staggered lap splices. It was concluded that both staggered and non-staggered lap splices: a) can have reduced strain capacity relative to continuous bars (leading to bond failure before or after yield); and b) alter inelastic strain distributions, causing large reductions in effective plastic hinge length.
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