Numerical Study of Composite Steel Cellular Beam System Using Demountable Shear Connectors

Abstract

Steel concrete composite beams have been increasingly adopted in practice due to their advantages with respect to their structural features and constructability. However, in conventional composite beam systems the composite action is applied via the shear connectors welded at the top flange of the downstand steel beam and embedded in the concrete slabs, making the disassembly of the beam system and reuse of any component impossible. This paper presents a numerical study of a new composite beam system with a steel cellular beam, metal deck flooring and using demountable shear connectors. According to the experimental study, this composite beam system made the demounting, reassembly and member reuse possible, and did not compromise the loading capacity. In the numerical study presented in the paper, the finite element model was developed and validated against the results obtained from the experimental study. The parametric study further examined the effects of concrete strength, shear connector arrangements etc. The comparison and analysis clarified the mechanism of the demountable shear connector and the effect of construction method on the load capacity of the composite beam system, and provided a deeper insight into the behavior of this type of shear connector. Through this numerical study, the structural merits of the composite beam system using demountable shear connectors were highlighted.