Mechanical couplings are commonly used in today's construction industry to connect two rebars. Overlapping armor is very difficult and time-consuming. Furthermore, some costs can also be saved with mechanical clutches. Furthermore, it saves material and is very useful in areas where reinforcement is crowded.
What is a mechanical clutch?
It is a replacement for reinforcing overlays. As we all know, depending on the position in which we overlap the reinforcement, we need to provide a compression lap length, a tension lap length or a modified tension lap length depending on the position in which we overlap.
If we do this, Reinforcement Limitation we cannot avoid overlapping. Additionally, according to the Earthquake Safety Details Reinforcement density increases at connection points.
A mechanical clutch solves this problem and only takes a few minutes.
On the construction site or in the factory, we can overlap reinforcement without specifying typical overlap lengths.
As you can see in the image above, we do not need to additionally specify typical overlap lengths. We can easily connect the rebars without much effort.
The component used to connect the reinforcement is called a mechanical coupling. They are sometimes called rebar couplings.
Why do we need mechanical clutches?
It offers more advantages to the construction industry in several aspects.
- Improves structural integrity
- Technically more advanced
- No calculations for overlapping reinforcement
- This saves designers time
- Reduces material costs
- Improves the quality of construction work
- Reduce construction time
- Reduce gain congestion
- No booster cranks
Disadvantages of mechanical clutches
- Technical knowledge of the topic is required
- Close attention with adequate work supervision is required
- Poor quality connections can lead to structural defects.
Different types of mechanical clutches
There are basically two types of reinforcement sleeves.
- Train couplings
- Compression sleeves
Couplings are mainly used to transmit tensile forces. However, they are also used to transmit compressive forces. Additionally, couplings are usually tension tested.
The following figure shows the different types of couplings available in the construction industry.
Illustration of the Standard Method of Detailing Structural Concrete.
Seven types of couplings can be used to connect the stiffeners.
Each of these types can be used in construction depending on the application and needs.
The following figure shows the actual location of copper on site. These steel couplings make construction easier. Additionally, couplings are offset during on-site installation to avoid weak connections.
These couplings can be used for beams, slabs, columns, shear connections, etc. The application must be approved by the construction engineer or in accordance with the recommendations of the civil engineer.
Different standards/guidelines can be used for design and construction such as ACI Committee Report 439, BS 8597:2015 etc.
Furthermore, testing must also be carried out in accordance with guidelines before construction begins. The main thing tested is tensile strength.
