Performance and Design of Stainless‐steel Composite Structures – Beams, Columns and Joints

Abstract

The paper summarises a series of investigations conducted in recent years at the University of Sydney on the behaviour and design of stainless steel‐concrete composite structures, with a focus on the mechanical performance of composite beams, columns, and joints. Three stainless steel grades were considered in the experiments, namely austenitic, duplex, and lean duplex. Details of the experiments as well as some of the experimental observations are presented herein, along with the comparison of the test results with the results of simulations. The test results are also compared with the requirements and predictions of international design codes, which are generally developed for carbon steel composite members, in order to investigate their applicability for stainless steel composite members. A number of design recommendations are also developed and presented. The studies are expected to help engineers achieve a deeper understanding of the behaviour and design of stainless steel‐concrete composite members.