• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.651-669
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• 2016

The behavior of shear connectors plays a significant role in maintaining the required strength of a composite beam in normal and hazardous conditions. Various types of shear connectors are available and being utilized in the construction industry according to their use. Channel connectors are a suitable replacement for conventional shear connectors. These connectors have been tested under different types of loading at ambient temperature; however, the behavior of these connectors at elevated temperatures has not been studied. This investigation proposes a numerical analysis approach to estimate the behavior of channel connectors under fire and compare it with the numerical analysis performed in headed stud and Perfobond shear connectors subjected to fire. This paper first reviews the mechanism of various types of shear connectors and then proposes a non-linear thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) model of channel shear connectors embedded in high-strength concrete (HSC) subjected to fire. Initially, an accurate nonlinear FE model of the specimens tested at ambient temperature was developed to investigate the strength of the channel-type connectors embedded in an HSC slab. The outcomes were verified with the experimental study performed on the testing of channel connectors at ambient temperature by Shariati et al. (2012). The FE model at ambient temperature was extended to identify the behavior of channel connectors subjected to fire. A comparative study is performed to evaluate the performance of channel connectors against headed stud and Perfobond shear connectors. The channel connectors were found to be a more economical and easy-to-apply alternative to conventional shear connectors.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.481-492
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• 2018

The steel-plate concrete composite beam is composed of a steel plate, concrete and shear connector to combine two inhomogeneous materials. In general, the steel plate is assembled by welding an existing composite beam. In this study, the SPC beam was composed of folding steel plates and concrete, without a headed stud. The folding steel plate was assembled by a high strength bolt instead of welding. To improve the workability in a field construction, a hat-shaped cap was attached to the junction with a slab. Monotonic load testing under two points was conducted under displacement control mode to analyze the flexural strength of the SPC beam using a cap as the shear connector. Five specimens with shear connector types, protrusion length, and different thickness of steel plates were constructed and tested. The experimental results were analyzed through the relationship between the shear strength ratio and flexural strength in KBC 2009. The test results showed a shear strength ratio of more than 40 %. In the case of using a cap-like specimen as the shear connector, the flexural strength was 70% of the value calculated as a fully composite beam. In addition, the cap showed a smaller shear strength than the stud, but the cap served as a shear connection. When the thickness of the steel plate was taken as a variable, the steel plate exhibited a bending strength of approximately 70% compared to a fully formed steel plate, and exhibited similar deformation performance. Local buckling occurred due to incomplete composite behavior, but local buckling occurred at a 5% higher strength for a relatively thick steel plate. The buckling width also decreased by 15%.