Influence of Joints in Panelized Structural Systems

Multistory residential structures are partially well suited to panelization and thus industrialization. Compared to the cast-in-place coupled shear wall, the panelized structure is less rigid and not necessarily monolithic. Moreover, joint performance is often critical with respect to both serviceability and safety. For a representative series of apartment buildings with similar floor plans a cast-in-place, a full panelized and a semipanelized (i.e., wall panels only) solution are compared. A finite element procedure (SHWALI) was used for the analysis. The significance of the floor-to-wall interconnection, the horizontal joint and the vertical joint between load-bearing panels are evaluated with reference to the various limiting design states. Relative to codified recommendations for the design and construction of large panel buildings the structural implications of using panelized construction are examined.