Experimental study on tensile mechanism of UHPC grouted sleeve splice

The grouted sleeve splice is a competitive splice in the prefabricated structure that plays a key role in ensuring the stability of the whole structure. Despite the large amounts of experiments performed, its force mechanism has rarely been explored. In this study, a novel method was developed to calculate the constitutive model of grouted sleeve splice, and a comprehensive understanding of the force mechanism was analyzed. Tensile tests of 24 specimens were conducted to explore the mechanical properties of the grouted sleeve splice. The results showed that the anchorage length of rebar with ultra-high-performance grout material can be shorter than that recommended in design standards. The anchorage length and eccentricity of rebars have a significant impact on the mechanical performance of the grouted sleeve splice, which deserves special attention in the structure design and construction. The non-anchorage section of the grouted sleeve splice offers little contribution to the bearing capacity. Based on the concept of equivalent section elastic moduli, a theoretical calculation method was established to reveal the stress–strain relationship of the grouted sleeve splice. The errors between the theoretical model and test results vary from 0.20% to 18.90%. This study provides new perspectives for theoretical research on the mechanism of grouted sleeve splice.