• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.741-752
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• 2022

Earlier works have shown that excessive shear stiffness at the steel-concrete interface causes a non-uniform distribution of shear force in composite structures. When the shear studs are wrapped at the fixed end with flexible materials with a low elastic modulus, the shear stiffness at the interface is reduced. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of silicone rubber-sleeve mounted on shear studs on the shear stiffness of steel-concrete composite structures. Eighteen push-out tests were conducted to investigate the mechanical behavior of silicone rubber-sleeved shear stud groups (SRS-SSG). The dimension and arrangement of silicon rubber-sleeves (SRS) were taken into consideration. Test results showed that the shear strength of SRS-SSG was higher than that of a shear stud group (SSG), without SRS. For SRS-SSG with SRS heights of 50 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm, the shear strengths were improved by 13%, 20% and 9%, respectively, compared to the SSG alone. The shear strengths of SRS-SSG with the SRS thickness of 2 mm and 4 mm were almost the same. The shear stiffness of the SRS-SSG specimens with SRS heights of 50 mm, 100 mm and 150 mm were 77%, 67% and 66% of the SSG specimens, respectively. Test results of specimens SSG-1 and predicted values based on the three design specifications were compared. The nominal single stud shear strength of SSG-1 specimens was closest to that calculated by the Chinese Code for Design of Steel Structures (GB50017-2017). An equation is proposed to consider the effects of SRS for GB50017-2017, and the predicted values based on the proposed equation agree well with the tested results of SRS-SSG.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.293-309
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• 2022

Accurate design models for predicting the shear resistance of headed studs in solid concrete slabs are essential for obtaining economical and safe steel-concrete composite structures. In this study, symbolic regression with genetic programming (GPSR) was applied to experimental data to formulate new descriptive equations for predicting the shear resistance of studs in solid slabs using both normal and lightweight concrete. The obtained GPSR-based nominal resistance equations demonstrated good agreement with the test results. The equations indicate that the stud shear resistance is insensitive to the secant modulus of elasticity of concrete, which has been included in many international standards following the pioneering work of Ollgaard et al. In contrast, it increases when the stud height-to-diameter ratio increases, which is not reflected by the design models in the current international standards. The nominal resistance equations were subsequently refined for use in design from reliability analyses to ensure that the target reliability index required by the Eurocodes was achieved. Resistance factors for the developed equations were also determined following US design practice. The stud shear resistance predicted by the proposed models was compared with the predictions from 13 existing models. The accuracy of the developed models exceeds the accuracy of the existing equations. The proposed models produce predictions that can be used with confidence in design, while providing significantly higher stud resistances for certain combinations of variables than those computed with the existing equations given by many standards.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.109-123
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• 2023

Headed studs welded to steel beams and embedded within the concrete of deck slabs are vital components of modern composite floor systems, where safety and economy depend on the accurate predictions of the stud shear resistance. The multitude of existing deck profiles and the complex behavior of studs in deck slab ribs makes developing accurate and reliable mechanical or empirical design models challenging. The paper addresses this issue by presenting a machine learning (ML) model developed from the natural gradient boosting (NGBoost) algorithm capable of producing probabilistic predictions and a database of 464 push-out tests, which is considerably larger than the databases used for developing existing design models. The proposed model outperforms models based on other ML algorithms and existing descriptive equations, including those in EC4 and AISC 360, while offering probabilistic predictions unavailable from other models and producing higher shear resistances for many cases. The present study also showed that the stud shear resistance is insensitive to the concrete elastic modulus, stud welding type, location of slab reinforcement, and other parameters considered important by existing models. The NGBoost model was interpreted by evaluating the feature importance and dependence determined with the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method. The model was calibrated via reliability analyses in accordance with the Eurocodes to ensure that its predictions meet the required reliability level and facilitate its use in design. An interactive open-source web application was created and deployed to the cloud to allow for convenient and rapid stud shear resistance predictions with the developed model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.549-557
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• 2019

The use of shear studs usually placed in the form of mechanical shear connectors makes it possible to adopt composite steel-concrete structures in various structures, and steel-concrete plate composite (SCP) is being seriously considered for the installation of storage tanks exposed to harsh environments. However, manufacturing of SCP must be based on the application of existing design guidelines which require very close arrangement of shear studs. This means that the direct application of current design guidelines usually produces very conservative results and close arrangement of shear studs precludes pouring concrete within exterior steel faceplates. In this light, an improved guideline to determine the stud spacing should be introduced, and this paper proposes an improved ratio of the stud spacing to the thickness of steel plate on the basis of numerous parametric studies to evaluate the relative influence of the stud spacing on the stability of the SCP.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.883-898
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• 2022

A hollow-core partially-encased composite beam, named HPEC beam, is investigated in this paper. HPEC beam comprises I-beam, longitudinal reinforcement, stirrup, foam formwork, and cementitious grout. The foam formwork is located on both sides of the web, and cementitious grout is cast within the steel flange. To investigate the shear performance of HPEC beams, static loading tests of six HPEC beams and three control beams were conducted. The shear span ratio and the number of studs on the shear behavior of the HPECspecimens were studied. The failure mechanism was studied by analyzing the curves of shear force versus both deflection and strain. Based on the shear span ratio (𝜆), two typical shear failure modes were observed: shear compression failure when 1.6 ≤ 𝜆 ≤ 2; and diagonal compression failure when 𝜆 ≤ 1.15. Shear studs welded on the flange can significantly increase the shear capacity and integrity of HPEC beams. Flange welded shear studs are suggested. Based on the deformation coordination theory and superposition method, combined with the simplified modified compression field model and the Truss-arch model, Modified Deformation Coordination Truss-arch (M.D.C.T.) model was proposed. Compared with the shear capacity from YB9038-2006 and JGJ138-2016, the calculation results from M.D.C.T. model could provide reasonable predictions.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.411-422
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• 2019

Six shear-critical square tubed steel reinforced concrete (TSRC) columns using the high-strength concrete ($f_{cu,150}=86.6MPa$) were tested under constant axial and lateral cyclic loads. The height-to-depth ratio of the short column specimens was specified as 2.6, and the axial load ratio and the number of shear studs on the steel shape were considered as two main parameters. The shear failure mode of short square TSRC columns was observed from the test. The steel tube with diagonal stiffener plates provided effective confinement to the concrete core, while welding shear studs on the steel section appeared not significantly enhancing the seismic behavior of short square TRSC columns. Specimens with higher axial load ratio showed higher lateral stiffness and shear strength but worse ductility. A modified ACI design method is proposed to calculate the nominal shear strength, which agrees well with the test database containing ten short square TSRC columns with shear failure mode from this study and other related literature.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.15 no.6 s.67
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• pp.611-620
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• 2003

Shear studs with a diameter of 19mm or 22mm are typically used in steel-concrete composite bridge. For the simplification of details in steel bridges, the convenience of removing concrete slab, and the efficient distribution of shear pockets for precast decks, large studs can be an excellent alternative. Through push-out tests on large stud shear connectors that transcend the limitation of current design codes, static behavior was investigated and comparisons with design equations performed. The shear stiffness of the connectors in elastic range and trilinear load-slip curves were proposed after shear tests on 25mm, 27mm, and 30mm studs. The ultimate slip capacity and ultimate strength of large studs were also evaluated, with the test results revealing conservative values for the design shear strength in Eurocode-4. For 30mm stud shear connectors, the welding quality and bearing capacity of concrete slab should be improved.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.967-980
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• 2014

In regions of high shear forces in composite bridges, headed stud shear connectors need to be arranged with a small spacing in order to satisfy the design requirement of resisting the high interface shear force present at this location. Despite this, studies related to groups of headed studs are somewhat rare. This paper presents an investigation of the static behaviour of grouped stud shear connectors in high-strength concrete. Descriptions are given of five push-out test specimens with different arrangements of the studs that were fabricated and tested, and the failure modes, load-slip response, ultimate load capacities and related slip values that were obtained are reported. It is found that the load-slip equation given by some researchers based on a single stud shear connector in normal strength concrete do not apply to grouped stud shear connectors in high-strength concrete, and an algebraic load-slip expression is proposed based on the test results. Comparisons between the test results and the formulae provided by some national codes show that the equations for the ultimate capacity provided in these codes are conservative when used for connectors in high-strength concrete. A reduction coefficient is proposed to take into account the effect of the studs being in a group.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.15 no.6 s.67
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• pp.621-628
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• 2003

Stud shear connectors are the most commonly used shear connectors: up to 22mm studs are usually used in steel-concrete composite structures. To expand the current design codes for stud connectors, large studs with a diameter of more than 25mm should be investigated. Through push-out tests on large stud shear connectors that transcend the limitation of current design codes, fatigue behavior was investigated and comparisons with design equations performed. The shear stiffness of the connectors in elastic range was evaluated through shear tests on 25mm, 27mm, and 30mm studs and compared with those from static tests. The fatigue behavior of large studs was discussed in terms of residual slip and load-slip curves. The initiation of fatigue cracks in the welding part could be detected through the history of displacement range. Test results showed that the design fatigue endurance of S-N curves in current design codes could be applied to large stud shear connector.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.353-368
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• 2016

This paper extends our recent work on the fatigue behavior of stud shear connectors in steel and recycled tyre rubber-filled concrete (RRFC) composite beams. A series of 16 fatigue push-out tests were conducted using a hydraulic servo testing machine. Three different recycled tyre rubber contents of concrete, 0%, 5% and 10%, were adopted as main variable parameters. Stress amplitudes and the diameters of studs were also taken into consideration in the tests. The results show that the fatigue lives of studs in 5% and 10% RRFC were 1.6 and 2.0 times greater of those in normal concrete, respectively. At the same time, the ultimate residual slips' values of stud increased in RRFC to highlight its better ductility. The average ultimate residual slip value of the studs was found to be equal to a quarter of studs' diameter. It had also been proved that stress amplitude was inversely proportional to the fatigue life of studs. Moreover, the fatigue lives of studs with large diameter were slightly shorter than those of smaller ones and using larger ones had the risk of tearing off the base metal. Finally, the comparison between test results and three national codes was discussed.