Composite Beams with Formed Steel Deck

During the past forty years, formed steel deck has become the most common floor system used in high rise steel frame structures. A natural consequence of this floor system was the development of composite action between the steel beam and the concrete slab by means of shear connectors welded through the deck to the beam flange. There are two conditions to be considered. The first condition is when the corrugations of the deck run parallel to the beam. It seems reasonable to assume that this condition can be modeled as a composite beam with a haunched slab. The limited experimental work available for this case indicates that the shear connection is not significantly affected by the ribs. A check may be warranted to insure that shearing of the concrete will not occur on a failure planeover the top of the connectors. This report presents the results of 17 composite beam tests conducted at Lehigh University incorporating formed steel deck. These results were analyzed in conjunction with 58 additional tests conducted by other investigators. The purpose of this report was to evaluate shear connector capacity and beam flexural capacity and behavior and to compare such capacity and behavior with existing design criteria