BEHAVIOR OF STEEL-CONCRETE COMPOSITE BEAMS WITH FLEXIBLE SHEAR CONNECTORS

Abstract. The strength and the stiffness of the connection between concrete slab and steel profile in composite beams depend basically on the number of shear connectors encased in the concrete and their properties. In the case of flexible shear connectors the contribution of friction between the slab and the steel profile may be relevant for serviceability limit states and also for ultimate limit states, provided that the beam span is relatively short and the slab stiffness is relatively large compared to that of the steel profile alone. These conclusions were drawn from previous analytical and numerical models allowing for the shear connectors ’ flexibility and friction between the slab and the steel profile. The main proposal of this paper is to present the results obtained from experimental tests carried on composite beams with flexible connectors with and without friction contribution. It is shown that the results of all tests validate the conclusions obtained by the analytical and numerical approaches.