“…As an alternative, composite dowels can be used with the rules given in a German technical approval [1]. Existing investigations under monotonic [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11] and cyclic loading [12], [13], [14], [15], [16] and regulations on composite dowels include various failure modes of the structure. Specifically, if the position of the composite dowels is close to the concrete surface, as to be seen in Figure 1, an additional failure mode can occur in which the concrete cover at the edge of the concrete slab spalls (Figure 2).…”