The behaivor and design of lapped splices in reinforced concrete members subjected to seismic loading has been investigated and more than 80 beam or column type specimens and 20 flat elements were tested. The behavior and design of lapped splices for various spacings of the spliced bars is now addressed. The transition between contact splices and separate anchored bars is examined. The experimental work includes 40 pullout tests and 8 beam tests with cyclic loading simulating seismic action. The analytical investigation extends current work on three-dimensional non-linear analysis of anchored bars. In this research design guidelines will be developed for closely-spaced bars; this is a specific but practical situation in construction.
