Bending Resistance of Composite Sections with Nonductile Shear Connectors and Partial Shear Connection

The paper presents the nonlinear section analysis for composite steel-concrete beams with different degrees of shear connection. The analysis is fiber based, i.e., integration over the cross section is performed numerically, and any uniaxial nonlinear material model can be assigned to the steel and concrete parts of the cross section or to the reinforcement bars. The analysis assumed full interaction between steel and concrete and therefore, is suitable for analysis of composite steel-concrete beam cross sections with nonductile shear connectors. Its accuracy is verified on few experimental results. The presented section analysis is used in the parameter study in order to evaluate different methods proposed by design codes for determining the bending moment resistance of composite cross sections with nonductile shear connectors and different degrees of shear connection. The following effects are considered: variation of concrete and steel material models, presence of slab reinforcement, and creep of concrete. Special attention is paid on two different constructional methods: propped and unpropped. The weaknesses of the simplified design method in determining bending moment resistance are identified and recommendations for practical design analysis are formulated.

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