Seismic performance of precast reinforced concrete frames assembled by steel sleeves

Abstract This study proposes a novel precast reinforced concrete (PRC) frame connected by steel sleeves and high‐strength bolts. Two precast frames with steel sleeve connections and one cast‐in‐place frame were designed and tested under quasi‐static cyclic loading. The thicknesses of stiffeners and end plates were selected as the two primary control variables. Furthermore, a finite element model was developed and validated against the experimental results. The investigation focused on failure modes, skeleton curves, load‐bearing capacity, stiffness degradation, ductility, and energy dissipation. The results indicated that all specimens experienced similar failure modes, dominated by flexural failure at the beam ends. The precast frames exhibited full bow‐shaped hysteresis loops, demonstrating that the steel sleeve–bolt connection ensured effective load transfer and coordinated performance. The precast frames exhibited higher displacement ductility indices and load‐bearing capacities than the cast‐in‐place frame, though the improvements remained within 10%. Compared with XJ‐1, the initial stiffness of ZP‐1 and ZP‐2 increased by 8.8% and 17%, respectively, while their energy dissipation coefficients decreased by 6.7% and 14.3%. Increasing the stiffener and end‐plate thickness further improved load‐bearing capacity and stiffness but slightly reduced ductility, with a variation of only around 5%. These findings provide valuable insights for the design and practical application of steel sleeve connections in PRC frames.