A review on precast structural concrete walls and connections

Extreme events, with natural or manmade causes, such as floods, pandemics and wars, have recently brought the need to provide shelter and field hospitals in a very fast and affordable way. Prefabrication can play an relevant role in this context, by offering several advantages compared to on-site construction. The precast structural wall system is a paradigmatic example of how precast structural members can contribute to speed up construction and reduce costs. A new research project was defined to develop with the aim of delivering a new product, a precast structural concrete wall system, where the design of the wall itself and connections are key, keeping in mind not only the above requirements, but also the new demands created by the recent challenges of the construction sector. To reach this goal, first is necessary to survey the existing commercial solutions and developed by researchers and analyse the main scientific and technical documents about precast structural wall systems. Herein, a comprehensive review is presented, aiming at identifying the most relevant aspects regarding precast structural concrete walls and connections. The main advances made in the past and that are being developed in the present are also highlighted. The growing concerns of the prefabrication sector about durability and sustainability were identified as mandatory for new generation of products. To produce prefabricated solutions with less environmental impact is required, beyond the optimization related with cement consumption, connections that are easier to use, to maintain and that allow disassembly, for future deconstruction and reuse. So, innovative improvements are proposed, namely, dry connections and concrete composite walls to be addressed in future work, with the goal of correcting some of the drawbacks found in existing solutions.