In this study, uniaxial tension tests and high-stress repeated tension and compression tests were conducted on 32 APC (all vertical members precast in concrete structures) connectors. After high-stress repeated tension and compression, the bearing capacities of the connector specimens improved due to the strengthening of the steel bars, and the ductility of the specimens was reduced due to the further development of cracks between the steel bars and the grout. The residual deformation values of the specimens, namely u0 (uniaxial tension) and u20 (repeated tension and compression), were reduced with the increase in the lapping length of the specimens. The longitudinal compressive strain and hoop tensile strain of the middle section of the sleeve near the steel bar side were reduced under the ultimate load state when the specimens were stretched under uniaxial tension and in the last tension process after repeated loading with the increase in the lapping length. The distribution and development of the longitudinal compression stress of the sleeve were analysed based on the bonding stress of the steel bar and concrete. Finally, the ultimate bonding strength and critical lapping length formulas were proposed, which involved the introduction of a grouting defect coefficient ω.

The grouted sleeve lapping connector called the APC connector has the advantages of high fault tolerance, convenient construction, compacted grouting, and low cost, together with realizing full prefabrication of vertical components. In this paper, a quasi-static test of two fully prefabricated L-shaped walls connected with two types of APC connector and a cast-in-place wall was carried out under high axial compression ratio (0.5) to compare their seismic performance. The results indicated that the two types of connectors effectively transferred the rebar stress in the prefabricated walls, and the failure modes and final crack distribution of the prefabricated walls and the cast-in-place wall were basically identical. The failure of the cast-in-place wall occurred at the root of the wall limb, while the failure of the prefabricated walls occurred at the top of the sleeve due to the constraint of the sleeve. The bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation of the prefabricated specimen connected by the type-I sleeve was comparable to that of the cast-in-place wall, while the prefabricated wall connected by the type-II sleeve showed greater bearing capacity, stiffness, and ductility. Finally, some suggestions for seismic design of prefabricated components connected with APC connectors are proposed.