In this paper, a geometrically and materially non-linear numerical model using ANSYS is validated against 13 lateral torsional buckling (LTB) experiments as well as experiments from the literature. A parametric study comprising 30 geometries with each 12 lengths in the slenderness range of 0.35 to 1.95 is then performed. This numerical study is repeated for the stainless steel ferritic EN 1.4016, austenitic EN 1.4404 and duplex EN 1.4462 grades to ensure a safe design for all stainless steel families used in civil engineering structures. When compared to the numerical results, the current EN 1993-1-4 design rules are slightly unsafe for the intermediate slenderness range and increasingly conservative for stocky sections in the higher slenderness range. Based on this, the reliability assessment according to Annex D of EN 1990 leads to safety factors greater than the codified value of 1.1. However, by introducing the recent proposal of Taras and Greiner, improved predictions of the LTB strengths are achieved especially when the adjusted imperfection factors for each stainless steel family is used. Safe predictions are obtained in the intermediate slenderness range as well as high improvements of the prediction for stocky sections in the high slenderness range.

This paper describes 24 tests performed on welded specimens made of 3 stainless steel grades: EN 1.4307 (304L) and EN 1.4404 (316L) austenitic grades and EN 1.4062 duplex grade. For each grade, tests were carried out parallel to the weld and along the transverse direction. The austenitic grades were welded using GMAW (MAG), while the duplex grades were welded using Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW or TIG). After failure, the fracture surfaces were measured using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and compared to measurements before testing. The results were compared to 70 experiments on welded stainless steel samples, gathered from the literature. A relatively high scatter was found among the different sources as well as differences between grades and loading directions. A reliability study was then performed in agreement with EN 1990EN :2002 Annex D on the complete experimental data pool and recommendations for the correlation factor βw are then provided.

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Steel-concrete composite floors are commonly used in construction due to their favourable weightto-depth ratio and erection time. Typically, concrete is poured onto a galvanised steel deck acting as formwork. However in case of floors exposed to corrosive environments, stainless steel is likely to be chosen over galvanised steel. Besides its better corrosion resistance, stainless steel also offers desirable aesthetic appearance and good mechanical properties. Composite slabs can fail in bending, vertical shear or longitudinal shear. The latter failure mode is the most common, and its prediction depends on values obtained through full-scale tests. However, for stainless steel decks, no specific treatment exists in current design standards. This paper investigates the longitudinal shear resistance of stainless steel composite slabs through an experimental study. One short and three long span slabs, made using a Cofraplus 60 ferritic EN1.4003 stainless steel corrugated deck, are tested in accordance with Eurocode 4, annex B.3 [1]. The Partial Shear Connection (PSC) method is used to assess the longitudinal shear resistance. The experimental results together with the results provided in [2] are used to draw conclusions on the applicability of ferritic stainless steel decks in composite floors. Stainless steel in composite slabsStainless steel is an alloy with at least 10.5% of chromium and maximum 1.2% of carbon content in mass [7]. Chromium, together with other alloying elements, leads to the development of a thin, passive film when exposed to oxygen, which provides corrosion resistance and which self-repairs when damaged. This means that stainless steel slabs, in comparison to traditional carbon steel slabs, do not need any kind of coating or maintenance. Ferritic stainless steels contain little or no nickel, and hence are cheaper and more price-stable than the other stainless steel families. Furthermore their corrosion resistance is lower, though still significantly superior to that of carbon steel. Besides stainless steel decks have good fire resistance. According to [2], ferritic stainless steel decks retain more of their initial strength than galvanised steel when subjected to high temperature. Corrosion resistance combined with fire resistance makes ferritic stainless steel an economic alternative for composite decks in many applications, such as car parks. Longitudinal shear resistance of composite slabsSince no pure analytical models of the longitudinal shear resistance have yet been developed, both calculation methods for the design resistance available in Eurocode 4 [1], the m-k method and the Partial Shear Connection (PSC) method, rely on full-scale tests.