Purpose(1) The shear lag effect and its additional deflection contribution to composite beams based on spatial grid elements were presented. (2) A refined spatial grid element analysis method that can simultaneously obtain the internal forces, displacements and stresses of various parts of a composite beam.Design/methodology/approachA refined spatial grid element analysis method.FindingsThe proposed method can directly obtain the internal forces and displacements of the joints of the composite beam roof, floor and web.Originality/valueTo comprehensively comprehend the mechanical behavior of double-girder steel plate composite girder bridge structures and facilitate refined analysis, this paper introduces a refined spatial grid element analysis model applicable to both the global and local domains.