Serviceability performance of steel-concrete composite beams

YesFor composite beams with low degrees of shear connection, additional deflections occur due to slip in the shear connectors, which can be significant for beams with low degrees of shear connection. A design formula is presented for the effective stiffness of composite beams taking account of the stiffness of the shear connectors, which is compared to measured deflections of 6 symmetric beams and an 11m span composite beam of asymmetric profile. It is shown that the comparison is good when using a shear connector stiffness of 70 kN/mm for single shear connectors and 100 kN/mm for pairs of shear connectors per deck rib. Results of push tests on a range of deck profiles confirm these initial elastic stiffnesses. To ensure that the slip at the serviceability limit state does not lead to permanent deformations of the beam, it is proposed that the minimum degree of shear connection should not fall below 30% for un-propped beams and 40% for propped beams of symmetric cross-section.European Commissio

Serviceability performance of steel–concrete composite beams

The use of steel–concrete composite beams in which wide-flanged steel beams act compositely with a concrete or steel–concrete composite slab above is well established in building construction. However, for composite beams with low degrees of shear connection between the beam and slab, significant additional deflections can occur due to slip in the shear connectors. A design formula is presented for the effective stiffness of composite beams taking account of the stiffness of the shear connectors, which is compared to measured deflections of six symmetric composite beams and an 11 m span composite beam of asymmetric profile. It is shown that the comparison is good when using a shear connector stiffness of 70 kN/mm for single shear connectors and 100 kN/mm for pairs of shear connectors per slab rib. The results of push tests on a range of slab profiles confirmed these initial elastic stiffnesses. To ensure that the slip at the serviceability limit state does not lead to permanent deformations of the composite beam, it is proposed that the minimum degree of shear connection should not fall below 30% for unpropped beams and 40% for propped beams of symmetric cross-section