Experimental study of partially shear-connected composite beams with profiled sheeting

For composite beams with profiled sheeting, since there is space limitation in the troughs to weld enough shear connectors, in many cases a partial shear connection is required. In this paper three series of experimental investigations with a total of 13 steel–concrete composite beams are reported. Most of the specimens are of partial shear connections. Series A and Series B are performed on simply-supported beams subjected to positive and negative bending moment. Series C is composed of five continuous composite beams, including four two-span specimens and one three-span specimen. The main parameters considered are the arrangement of shear studs and profiled sheeting, the number of longitudinal reinforcement and the loading conditions. The degree of shear connection ranges from 0.25 to 1.85 in the tests, and some of these values are considerably lower than the limits of Eurocode 4 (1994), which specifies a value of larger than 0.4 for beams with length less than 5 m. The test results are compared with Eurocode 4 (1994) and AISC (1999) specifications as well as theoretical predictions. Generally, the test results agree with the design codes and theoretical predictions. The tests and the calculations have shown that partial shear connections can be used in both positive and negative bending regions in continuous composite beams.