Title: Embedded plate connection between hollow-core slabs and concrete walls
Date Published: March - April 2026
Volume: 71
Issue: 2
Page Numbers: 19 - 38
Authors: Kal A. Jackman, Benjamin Z. Dymond, and Brock D. Hedegaard
https://doi.org/10.15554/pcij71.2-01

Abstract

Currently, hollow-core slabs are connected to walls using dowel or welded connections. The existing research on these connections is minimal, and their design capacity is limited. This research project investigated a new slab-to-wall end-bearing connection assembly that consisted of a steel plate and stud embedded in a hollow-core slab void. The capacity of the connection assembly embedded in a hollow-core slab was established by directly loading the assembly until steel or concrete failure. Results indicated that the connection assembly had conservative failure loads compared with predicted values for load applied in various directions. Slab-to-wall subassembly testing was conducted on hollow-core slabs anchored to the tops of cast-in-place walls. The setup was representative of the loading and behavior that this connection assembly would experience in a constructed building. Capacity of the subassembly was established by applying load until the hollow-core slab, wall, or anchor failed. The subassembly results indicated that the wall failed first in concrete breakout. Experimental capacities were conservative compared with capacities predicted using the American Concrete Institute’s Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-19) and Commentary (ACI 318R-19). The combined results from this experimental program indicated that the proposed embedded steel plate and stud connection assembly had sufficient capacity and was easy to install.