Abstract

The recent earthquakes that occurred in January and May 2020 in Puerto Rico have revealed the vulnerability of industrial buildings that use prestressed concrete double-T beams, due to poor connections and insufficient support lengths between the double-T beams and the supporting beams that are prefabricated. These beams sometimes are supported by concrete brackets representing an additional risk. In the supports, displacements have been observed in the joints causing diagonal cracks and angle separation related to the horizontal transfer between the joists and supporting beams. In these supports there is a lack of capacity due to shear and poor ductility due to the connection made with metal plates embedded in the web of the joists and angles located along the edge of the prefabricated beams.