Presented herein is an experimental study that focuses on the shear splitting failure of composite concrete encased steel beams. Nine full-scale specimens were constructed and tested in this study. Significant horizontal cracks along the interface of steel flange and concrete, referred to as the shear splitting failure, appeared in five tested specimens. Observations from the experiments indicate that the steel flange width ratio, defined as the ratio of steel flange width to gross section width, has a dominant effect on the shear splitting failure of composite beams. The test results reveal that the shear splitting failure occurs when the steel flange width ratio of a composite beam reaches 0.67. The test results also show that the application of shear studs has a positive effect on preventing this type of failure for beams with large steel flange ratio. In addition to the experimental study, a new method for predicting the failure mode of composite beams is proposed. The proposed method gives satisfactory predictions as compared to the test results. Finally, a new equation is derived for the design of the stirrups to prevent shear splitting failure of naturally bonded composite beams.
This study investigates the shear strength of composite steel and concrete members in which the steel shape is fully encased in concrete. Two types of shear failure-diagonal shear and shear bond-are examined in this study. Through understanding of these failure modes, a new approach is proposed to predict the shear capacities of composite members. Major parameters investigated include steel flange width, shear reinforcement, concrete strength, and applied axial load. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed approach, a verification analysis is made by comparing shear capacities predicted by the proposed approach with previous test results. Furthermore, the shear capacities predicted by the proposed approach are also compared with those obtained by American and Japanese provisions. The results of the analysis and comparison indicate that the proposed approach yields satisfactory prediction of shear strength and provides a rational explanation on the mechanism of shear bond failure. A new term, the critical steel flange ratio, is introduced to distinguish the shear bond failure from the conventional diagonal shear failure. FIG. 1. Shear Bond Failure Cracks along Interfaces of Steel Flanges and Concrete
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.