• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.605-619
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• 2009

A comparative experimental study of prestressed continuous steel-concrete composite beams was carried out. Two continuous composite beams were tested, one of which was plain continuous steel-concrete composite beam, while the other was a composite beam prestressed with external tendons. Cracking behavior and the load carrying capacity of the beams were investigated experimentally. Full plasticity was developed in the mid-span section each beam, the maximum moments attained at the internal support sections however were governed by local buckling which was related to the slenderness of composite section. It was found that in hogging moment regions, the ultimate resistance of an externally prestressed composite beam would be governed by either distortional lateral buckling or local buckling, or interactive mode of these two buckling patterns. The results show that exerting prestressing on a continuous composite beam with external tendons will increase the extent of internal force and moment redistribution in the beam. The influences of local and distortional buckling on the behaviors of the composite continuous beams are discussed. The Moment redistribution and the load carrying capacity of the prestressed continuous composite beams are evaluated, and it is found that at the ultimate state, the moment redistribution in the prestrssed continuous composite beams is greater than that in non-prestressed composite beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.183-202
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• 2006

The behavior of steel-concrete composite beams is strongly influenced by the type of shear connection between the steel beam and the concrete slab. For accurate analytical predictions, the structural model must account for the interlayer slip between these two components. This paper focuses on a procedure for response sensitivity analysis using state-of-the-art finite elements for composite beams with deformable shear connection. Monotonic and cyclic loading cases are considered. Realistic cyclic uniaxial constitutive laws are adopted for the steel and concrete materials as well as for the shear connection. The finite element response sensitivity analysis is performed according to the Direct Differentiation Method (DDM); its analytical derivation and computer implementation are validated through Forward Finite Difference (FFD) analysis. Sensitivity analysis results are used to gain insight into the effect and relative importance of the various material parameters in regards to the nonlinear monotonic and cyclic response of continuous composite beams, which are commonly used in bridge construction.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.6
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• pp.751-763
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• 2019

Steel-concrete composition is widely used in the construction due to efficient utilization of materials. The service load behavior of composite structures is significantly affected by cracking, creep and shrinkage effects in concrete. In order to control these effects in concrete slab, an efficient and novel strategy has been proposed by use of fiber reinforced concrete near interior supports of a continuous beam. Numerical study is carried out for the control of cracking, creep and shrinkage effects in composite beams subjected to service load. A five span continuous composite beam has been analyzed for different lengths of fiber reinforced concrete near the interior supports. For this purpose, the hybrid analytical-numerical procedure, developed by the authors, for service load analysis of composite structures has been further improved and generalized to make it applicable for composite beams having spans with different material properties along the length. It is shown that by providing fiber reinforced concrete even in small length near the supports; there can be a significant reduction in cracking as well as in deflections. It is also observed that the benefits achieved by providing fiber reinforced concrete over entire span are not significantly more as compared to the use of fiber reinforced concrete in certain length of beam near the interior supports in continuous composite beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.195-216
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• 2016

The dynamic characteristics of continuous steel-concrete composite beams considering the effect of interlayer slip were investigated based on Euler Bernoulli's beam theory. A simplified calculation model was presented, in which the Mode Stiffness Matrix (MSM) was developed. The natural frequencies and modes of partial-interaction composite continuous beams can be calculated accurately and easily by the use of MSM. Proceeding from the present method, the natural frequencies of two-span steel-concrete composite continuous beams with different span-ratios (0.53, 0.73, 0.85, 1) and different shear connection stiffnesses on the interface are calculated. The influence pattern of interfacial stiffness on bending vibration frequency was found. With the decrease of shear connection stiffness on the interface, the flexural vibration frequencies decrease obviously. And the influence on low order modes is more obvious while the reduction degree of high order is more sizeable. The real natural frequencies of partial-interaction continuous beams commonly used could have a 20% to 40% reduction compared with the fully-interaction ones. Furthermore, the reduction-ratios of natural frequencies for different span-ratios two-span composite beams with uniform shear connection stiffnesses are totally the same. The span-ratio mainly impacts on the mode shape. Four kinds of shear connection stiffnesses of steel-concrete composite continuous beams are calculated and compared with the experimental data and the FEM results. The calculated results using the proposed method agree well with the experimental and FEM ones on the low order modes which mainly determine the vibration properties.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.261-278
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• 2020

In steel-concrete composite beams, to improve the cracking resistance of the concrete slab in the hogging moment region, a new type of connector in the interface, named uplift-restricted and slip-permitted screw-type (URSP-S) connector has been proposed. This paper focuses on the behavior of steel-concrete composite beams with URSP-S connectors. A total of three beam specimens including a simply supported beam with URSP-S connectors and two continuous composite beams with different connectors arrangements were designed and tested. More specifically, one continuous composite beam was equipped with URSP-S connectors in negative moment region and traditional shear studs in other regions. For comparison, the other one was designed with only traditional shear studs. The failure modes, crack evolution process, ultimate capacities, strain responses at different locations as well as the interface slip of the three tested specimens were measured and evaluated in-depth. Based on the experimental study, the research findings indicate that the larger slip deformation is allowed while using URSP-S connectors. Meanwhile, the tensile stress reduces and the cracking resistance of the concrete slab improves accordingly. In addition, the overall stiffness and strength of the composite beam become slightly lower than those of the composite beam using traditional shear studs. Moreover, the arrangement suggestion of URSP-S connectors in the composite beam is discussed in this paper for its practical design and application.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.27-41
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• 2019

Shear lag effect can be an important phenomenon to consider in design of the steel-concrete composite beams. Researchers have found that the effect can be strongly related with the moment distribution, the stiffness and the ductility of the composite beams. For continuous composite beams expected to sustain hogging moment, the shear lag effect can be more distinct as cracking of the concrete slab reduces its shear stiffness. Despite its influences on behaviour of the steel-concrete composite beams, a method for calculating the shear lag effect in steel-concrete composite beams sustaining hogging moment is still not available. Shear lag effect in steel-concrete composite beams sustaining hogging moment is investigated in this paper. A method was proposed specifically for predicting the effect in the cracked part of the steel-concrete composite beam. The method is validated against available experimental data. At last, FE studies are conducted for steel-concrete composite beams with different design parameters, loading conditions and boundary conditions to further investigate the shear lag effect and compare with the proposed method.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2020

In steel-concrete composite beams, to improve the cracking resistance of the concrete slab in the hogging moment region, a new type of connector in the interface, named uplift-restricted and slip-permitted screw-type (URSP-S) connector has been proposed. This paper focuses on the behavior of steel-concrete composite beams with URSP-S connectors. A total of three beam specimens including a simply supported beam with URSP-S connectors and two continuous composite beams with different connectors arrangements were designed and tested. More specifically, one continuous composite beam was equipped with URSP-S connectors in negative moment region and traditional shear studs in other regions. For comparison, the other one was designed with only traditional shear studs. The failure modes, crack evolution process, ultimate capacities, strain responses at different locations as well as the interface slip of the three tested specimens were measured and evaluated in-depth. Based on the experimental study, the research findings indicate that the larger slip deformation is allowed while using URSP-S connectors. Meanwhile, the tensile stress reduces and the cracking resistance of the concrete slab improves accordingly. In addition, the overall stiffness and strength of the composite beam become slightly lower than those of the composite beam using traditional shear studs. Moreover, the arrangement suggestion of URSP-S connectors in the composite beam is discussed in this paper for its practical design and application.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.21-35
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• 2019

This study investigates the flexural behavior of steel-concrete composite beams strengthened with prestressed carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates. An innovative mechanical anchorage system was developed. The components of the system can be easily assembled on site before applying a prestressing force, and removed from the structures after strengthening is completed. A total of seven steel-concrete composite specimens including four simply supported beams strengthened at the positive moment region and three continuous beams strengthened at the negative moment region were tested statically until failure. Experimental results showed that the use of prestressed CFRP plates enhanced the flexural capacity and reduced the mid-span deflection of the beams. Furthermore, by prestressing the CFRP laminates, the material was used more efficiently, and the crack resistance of the continuous composite specimens at the central support was significantly improved after strengthening. Overall, the anchorage system proved to be practical and feasible for the strengthening of steel-concrete composite beams. The theoretical analysis of ultimate bearing capacity is reported, and good agreement between analytical values and experimental results is achieved.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.595-606
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• 2018

A calculation method was presented to calculate the deflection of GFRP-concrete-steel beams with full or partial shear connections. First, the sectional analysis method was improved by considering concrete nonlinearity and shear connection stiffness variation along the beam direction. Then the equivalent slip strain was used to take into consideration of variable cross-sections. Experiments and nonlinear finite element analysis were performed to validate the calculation method. The experimental results showed the deflection of composite beams could be accurately predicted by using the theoretical model or the finite element simulation. Furthermore, more finite element models were established to verify the accuracy of the theoretical model, which included different GFRP plates and different numbers of shear connectors. The theoretical results agreed well with the numerical results. In addition, parametric studies using theoretical method were also performed to find out the effect of parameters on the deflection. Based on the parametric studies, a simplified calculation formula of GFRP-concrete-steel composite beam was exhibited. In general, the calculation method could provide a more accurate theoretical result without complex finite element simulation, and serve for the further study of continuous GFRP-concrete-steel composite beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.213-230
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• 2001

This paper presents a simplified approach for the design of semi-continuous composite beams in braced frames, where specific attention is given to the effect of joint rotational stiffness. A simple composite beam model is proposed incorporating the effects of semi-rigid end connections and the nonprismatic properties of a 'cracked' steel-concrete beam. This beam model is extended to a sub-frame in which the restraining effects from the adjoining members are considered. Parametric studies are performed on several sub-frame models and the results are used to show that it is possible to correlate the amount of moment redistribution of semi-continuous beam within the sub-frame using an equivalent stiffness of the connection. Deflection equations are derived for semi-continuous composite beams subjected to various loading and parametric studies on beam vibrations are conducted. The proposed method may be applied using a simple computer or spreadsheet program.