Anchorage capacity of bent looped wire ropes in precast concrete wall elements for T‐ and L‐ connections

Abstract Within the last decade, a construction‐friendly design principle using flexible wire ropes instead of traditional u‐bars for connecting wall elements has gained popularity. However, anchoring wire ropes in T and L connections remains a complex challenge. Here, the wire ropes stick out of the side of the wall element and are bent in the anchorage zone. This paper presents the findings of an extensive experimental program with 40 specimens, investigating the anchorage capacity of wire ropes in wall elements under these conditions. The study reveals that specially designed reinforcements significantly increase the anchorage capacity, while traditional wall reinforcements have minimal impact. Failure mechanisms primarily involve concrete cone failures, providing valuable insights for construction‐friendly connections. Based on the observed failure mechanism, the paper presents an analytical failure mechanism. The model is based on the upper‐bound theorem of plasticity theory. The model predicts both the capacity and the failure mechanism with satisfactory accuracy.