Comparison of HST and WO Shear Connector Behaviour in Composite Slim Floor

Abstract

Composite steel‐concrete slim floor construction is an economical floor system proposing minimum floor depth and fast construction besides architecture requirements. In this system, the concrete slab is supported on the lower flange of the steel beam using either in‐situ or pre‐cast technique, which eliminates the use of the down‐stand beam, hence giving a flat look. Hollow steel tube (HST) shear connector is proposed to avoid premature failure that could occur in concrete and steel beam web when the web openings (WO) connectors were used. In this paper, the comparison of push‐out test results between HST and WO to evaluate their ultimate shear load and ductility performance of these type of connectors. The varied parameters were the concrete compressive strength and shape of the HST and WO; the circular, rectangular and square. The results showed that the circular and square HST connectors achieved shear capacities 6.3 and 8.0 times higher than those with the WO type, respectively. Furthermore, the ductility of the specimens increased by 3‐4 times when the HST was used compared to WO. It shows that providing the HST significantly improved its ultimate shear load and ductility performance compared to WO.

Innovation of Shear Connectors in Slim Floor Beam Construction

“…e outcomes of FE were verified with the examination outcomes of one connector. e comparison demonstrated that the effective distance for three circular openings was about 250 mm, while it was noted to be nearly 300 mm for squared and rectangular openings [77,78].…”