Flexural Behaviour of a Cold Formed Steel Concrete Composite Beam with Channel Type Shear Connector An Experimental and Analytical Study
Abstract Steel concrete composite structures are widely used in the current construction of bridges and multi storey buildings. The effect of shear connectors in a cold formed steel composite beam was studied under flexure. The number of channel connectors in the specimen was varied and the same was compared with a specimen without shear connectors. The performance and failure of cold formed steel composite beams were then studied. The presence of shear connectors in the tension zone prevents the formation of cracks which are the major cause of failure in a beam subjected to bending. The load carrying capacity is greater in a composite beam and an increase in the number of channel connectors from one to five increases the load carrying capacity by 60 as compared to a specimen without a connector. A composite beam with five connectors is more ductile, with a ductility factor of 14. The Composite beams were also analysed using the finite element software ANSYS and were found to have good agreement with the experimental results.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Reports