Push-Out Tests on Connections for Demountable and Reusable Steel-Timber Composite Beam and Flooring Systems

Abstract

Engineered timber panels made of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) can represent an alternative to concrete in a typical steel-concrete composite beam and the entire flooring system. The performance of LVL in strength reaches values, which are comparable to concrete. In addition, and according to policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and resources depletion (e.g. the European Commission´s Green Deal) the construction sector demands more and more circularity in construction. On that basis, the research project "Prefa-SeTi" (FNR Grant 15695062) investigates the load bearing-and displacement behaviour of steel-timber composite beams and especially the shear connection between the steel and timber. The work pursues a development, which was started within the European REDUCE project (RFCS GA 710040), which investigated solutions for composite structures in steel and concrete, and the demo project "Petite Maison" of Esch2022 the European Capital of Culture. In "Prefa-SeTi", nine push-out specimens were tested to investigate three newly developed shear connections. To comply with circularity, the connections are dismountable and robust enough to protect the structural elements from damage at serviceability limit state. This paper presents the demountable timber connectors and results of the push-out tests. Along with the results and the respective discussions, the paper outlines the tested mechanical properties of the LVL, the push-out test setup, and the testing procedure.