Shear transfer at the steel‐concrete interface using different mechanical connectors

The present article is dealing with an assessment of the longitudinal shear at the steel‐concrete interface using several types of mechanical connections. Experimental and numerical tests have been performed to understand better the short and long‐term effects of the influence of the newly defined connectors.

Experimental tests consisted of 12‐column push‐out tests (CoPOT). In the test campaign, four types of surface finishing have been tested: i) reference tests (0v2) without any mechanical shear connectors, (ii) angled, V‐shaped, variant of the novel flat shear connector (Av2), (iii) transversal variant of the novel flat shear connector (Bv2) and (iv) multiple ribs on the flanges having a height of 0.7mm (Cv2). Three specimens for each configuration were tested in short‐term loading. The loading procedure defined in EN1994‐1‐1:2004 Annex B was applied for all the tests. Also, one of each specimen was tested in long‐term loading to observe the effect of concrete shrinkage on the quality of bond performance. No significant differences in behavior were observed between both load sequences and the test results after shrinkage is within the short‐term tests’ margin of variation. Numerical simulations performed using FE software Abaqus®, while applying a simplified definition of the bond, supported the results of the previous investigation.