• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.895-905
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• 2022

Composite flooring systems consisting of cold-formed steel joists and reinforced concrete slabs offer an efficient, lightweight solution. However, utilisation of composite action to achieve enhanced strength and economical design has been limited. In this study, finite element modelling was utilised to create a three-dimensional model which was then validated against experimental results for a composite flooring system consisting of cold-formed steel joists, reinforced concrete slab and steel bolt shear connectors. This validated numerical model was then utilised to perform parametric studies on the performance of the structural system. The results from the parametric study demonstrate that increased thickness of the concrete slab and increased thickness of the cold formed steel beam resulted in higher moment capacity and stiffness of the composite flooring system. In addition, reducing the spacing of bolts and spacing of the cold formed steel beams both resulted in enhanced load capacity of the composite system. Increasing the concrete grade was also found to increase the moment capacity of the composite flooring system. Overall, the results show that an efficient, lightweight composite flooring system can be achieved and optimised by selecting suitable concrete slab thickness, cold formed beam thickness, bolt spacing, cold formed beam spacing and concrete grade.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.511-522
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• 2022

An experimental investigation to study the behaviour of connections between cold-formed steel (CFS) joist and plywood structural panel is presented in this paper. Material testing on CFS and plywood was carried out to assess their mechanical properties and behaviour. Push-out tests were conducted to determine the slip modulus and failure modes of three different shear connection types. The employed shear connectors in the study were; size 14 (6mm diameter) self-drilling screw, M12 coach screw, and M12 nut and bolt. The effective bending stiffness of composite cold-formed steel and plywood T-beam assembly is calculated based on the slip modulus values computed from push-out tests. The effective bending stiffness was increased by 25.5%, 18% and 30.2% for self-drilling screw, coach screw, nut and bolt, respectively, over the stiffness of cold-formed steel joist alone. This finding suggests the potential to enhance the structural performance of composite cold-formed steel and timber flooring system by mobilisation of composite action present between timber sheathing and CFS joist.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.397-418
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• 2009

Eight panel specimens were tested in one-way bending to study the behaviour and capacity of composite slab joists consisting of cold-formed steel C-sections and concrete. Various shear transfer mechanisms were implemented on the C-section flange embedded in the concrete to provide the longitudinal shear resistance. Results showed that all specimens reached serviceability limit state while in elastic range and failure was ductile. Shear transfer achieved for all specimens ranged from 42 to 99% of a full transfer while specimens employed with shear transfer enhancements showed a greater percentage and therefore a higher strength compared with those relying only on surface bond to resist shear. The implementation of pre-drilled holes on the embedded flange of the steel C-section was shown to be most effective. The correlation study between the push-out and panel specimens indicated that the calculated moment capacity based on shear transfer resistance obtained from push-out tests was, on average, 10% lower than the experimental ultimate capacity of the panel specimen.