Prospective study on the behaviour of composite beams with an indented shear connector

This paper presents a prospective study on the behaviour of steel and concrete composite beams in which a linear indented continuous shear connector, called Crestbond, is used to establish the connection between the steel beam and the concrete slab and ensure the joint behaviour of these two elements. The work includes an experimental campaign developed at the Structural Laboratory of University of Minho, Portugal, and a numerical study developed with the ATENA 3D software. The experimental tests and the numerical models were developed to evaluate the behaviour of the composite beam and particularly the indented shear connector in analysis. The tested specimens consist on a steel beam with a continuous indented connector, positioned on the upper flange of the beam and continuously welded in its development, and a reinforced concrete slab, in a total span of 3000 mm. During the tests, the connector provided high stiffness and a full interaction between the concrete slab and the steel beam. The beams failure was determined by crushing on the upper part of the concrete slab.The authors acknowledge LEST, the Structures Laboratory of the Civil Engineering Department at University of Minho, Portugal, where the experimental campaign was performed, and the technicians António Matos and Marco Jorge. The authors are also grateful to CAPES, Brazil, for the Grant BEX 1724/14-2.