Experimental study on ultimate flexural capacity of steel encased concrete composite beams

Based on the experimental study and inelastic theory, the ultimate flexuralcapacity of steel encased concrete composite beams are derived. The difference between steel encasedconcrete composite beams with full shear connection and beams with partial shear connection,together with the relationship between the inelastic neutral axis of steel parts and concrete parts,are considered in the formulae. The calculation results of the eight specimens with full shearconnection and the three specimens with partial shear connection are in good agreement with theexperimental data, which validates the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed calculationmethods. Furthermore, the nonlinear finite element analysis of the ultimate flexural capacity of thesteel encased concrete composite beams is performed. Nonlinear material properties and nonlinearcontact properties are considered in the finite element analysis. The finite element analyticalresults also correlate well with the experimental data.

Flexural behaviors of steel reinforced ECC/concrete composite beams

An engineered cementitious composite （ECC） is introduced to partially substitute concrete in the tension zone of a reinforced concrete beam to form an ECC/reinforced concrete （RC） composite beam, which can increase the ductility and crack resisting ability of the beam. Based on the assumption of the plane remaining plane and the simplified constitutive models of materials, the stress and strain distributions along the depth of the composite beam in different loading stages are comprehensively investigated to obtain calculation methods of the load-carrying capacities for different stages. Also, a simplified formula for the ultimate load carrying capacity is proposed according to the Chinese code for the design of concrete structures. The relationship between the moment and curvature for the composite beam is also proposed together with a simplified calculation method for ductility of the ECC/RC composite beam. Finally, the calculation method is demonstrated with the test results of a composite beam. Comparison results show that the calculation results have good consistency with the test results, proving that the proposed calculation methods are reliable with a certain theoretical significance and reference value.

Experimental research on mechanical properties of prestressed truss concrete composite beam encased with circular steel tube

Tests of 4 simply supported unbonded prestressed truss concrete composite beams encased with circular steel tube were carried out. It is found that the ratio of the stress increment of the unbonded tendon to that of the tensile steel tube is 0.252 during the using stage,and the average crack space of beams depends on the ratio of the sum of the bottom chord steel tube's outside diameter and the secondary bottom chord steel tube's section area to the effective tensile concrete area. The coefficient of uneven crack distribution is 1.68 and the formula for the calculation of crack width is established. Test results indicate that the ultimate stress increment of unbonded tendon in the beams decreases in linearity with the increase of the composite reinforcement index β0. The pure bending region of beams accords with the plane section assumption from loading to failure. The calculation formula of ultimate stress increment of the unbonded tendon and the method to calculate the bearing capacity of normal section of beams have been presented. Besides,the method to calculate the stiffness of this sort of beams is brought forward as well.

Experimental research on shear carrying capacity of H-steel concrete composite beam with small shear span ratio

In order to investigate shear carrying capacity of H-steel concrete beam with small shear span ratio,shear test on 5 H-steel concrete composite beams with small span ratio (from 0.7 to 1.1) are reported,including test design,test scheme,test method,failure characteristics and test results. Influences of shear span ratio,web of H steel and concrete on shear carrying capacity of this kind of beam are investigated. The main components comprising shear bearing capacity are analyzed. The results show that with the shear span ratio increasing,the contribution of web of H steel and concrete on shear carrying capacity decrease. Based on test data,the calculation formula of shear carrying capacity for this beam is established by curve fitting.

Mechanical performance of shear studs and application in steel-concrete composite beams

This work experimentally investigates the effects of shear stud characteristics on the interface slippage of steel-concrete composite push-out specimens. ABAQUS is used to establish a detailed 3D finite element(FE) model and analyze the behavior of push-out specimens. The modeling results are in good agreement with the experimental results. Based on parametrical analysis using the validated FE approaches, the effects of important design parameters, such as the diameter, number, length to diameter ratio, and yield strength of studs, concrete strength and steel transverse reinforcement ratio, on the load-slip relationship at the interface of composite beams are discussed. In addition, a simplified approach to model studs is developed using virtual springs with an equivalent stiffness. This approach is demonstrated to be able to predict the load-displacement response and ultimate bearing capacity of steel-concrete composite beams. The predicted results show satisfactory agreement with experimental results from the literature.

Fatigue tests of composite beam by steel fiber reinforced self-stressing concrete in the hogging bending

Through the experiments of 7 T-section composite beams, steel fiber reinforced self-stressing concrete （SFRSC） as the composite beam in the composite layer was studied under the hogging bending. The tests simulated composite layer tensile strain under the hogging bending of inverted loading composite beams, giving the relationship under the different fatigue stress ratios between fatigue cycles and steel bar’s stress range, crack width, stiffness loss and damage, etc., in composite layer. This article established fatigue life equation, and analyzed SFRSC reinforced mechanism to crack width and stiffness loss. The results show that SFRSC as the composite beam concrete has excellent properties of crack resistance and tensile, can reinforce the fatigue crack width and stiffness loss of composite beams, and improve the durability and in normal use of composite beams in the hogging bending zone.

Feasibility of developing composite action between concrete and cold-formed steel beam

Cold-formed steel structures are steel structure products constructed from sheets or coils using cold rolling, press brake or bending brake method. These structures are extensively employed in building construction industry due to their light mass, ductility by economic cold forming operations, favorable strength-to-mass ratio and other factors. The utilization of cold formed steel sections with concrete as composite can hugely reduce the construction cost. However, the use of cold formed steel members in composite concrete beams has been very limited. A comprehensive review of developments in composite beam with cold formed steel sections was introduced. It was revealed that employing cold-formed steel channel section to replace reinforcement bars in conventional reinforced concrete beam results in a significant cost reduction without reducing strength capacity. The use of composite beam consisting of cold-formed steel open or close box and filled concrete could also reduce construction cost. Lighter composite girder for bridges with cold-formed steel of U section was introduced. Moreover, types of shear connectors to provide composite action between cold-formed steel beam and concrete slab were presented. However, further studies to investigate the effects of metal decking on the behavior of composite beam with cold-formed steel section and introduction of ductile shear connectors were recommended.

The Design and Analysis of Long-Span and Low-Depth Prestressed Composite Steel-Concrete Beam Bridge

The design scheme of long span and low depth composite steel concrete beams is introduced, and the methods of avoiding the cracking of concrete deck in the negative moment regions are proposed. Moreover, significant exploration for problems of the composite beams has been made, such as optimizing construction steps to regulate the stress, applying jacking technique to exert prestress on the concrete deck, investigating the uplifting force principle of the shear connectors by means of model test and non linear finite element analysis, and pointing out the countermeasure to reduce tension force of the shear connectors.

Static behavior of semi-rigid thin-walled steel-concrete composite beam-to-column joints with bolted partial-depth flush end plate:experimental study

A new type of semi-rigid thin-walled steel-concrete composite beam-to-column joint has been proposed in this paper.Five semi-rigid composite beam-to-column joint specimens subjected to hogging moments under monotonic loading were tested to study the static behavior of this new type of joint.The main variable parameters for the five joint specimens were the longitudinal reinforcement ratio and the joint type.The experimental results designated that the magnitude of extension of the longitudinal reinforcement is the most important factor that influenced the moment-rotation characteristic of the new type of joint.The concrete slabs could resist 3.8%-19.1% of the total shear load applied to the cross-sections near the beam-to-column connection.The edge stiffened elements,such as the flange of the lipped I-section thin-walled steel beam,were capable of having considerable inelastic deformation capacity although they had comparatively large width-to-thickness ratios.The shear failure of the concrete cantilever edge strip must be taken into account in practical design because it has significant influence on the anchorage of the longitudinal reinforcement in the new type of external joints.

Bending Stiffness of Truss-Reinforced Steel-Concrete Composite Beams

This paper is concerned with a special steel-concrete composite beam in which the resisting system is a truss structure whose bottom chord is made of a steel plate supporting the precast floor system. This system works in two distinct phases with two different resisting mechanisms: during the construction phase, the truss structure bears the precast floor system and the resisting system is that of a simply supported steel truss;once the concrete has hardened, the truss structure becomes the reinforcing element of a steel-concrete composite beam, where it is also in a pre-stressed condition due to the loads carried before the hardening of concrete. Within this framework, the effects of the diagonal bars on the bending stiffness of this composite beam are investigated. First, a closed-form solution for the evaluation of the equivalent bending stiffness is derived. Subsequently, the influence of geometrical and mechanical characteristics of shear reinforcement is studied. Finally, results obtained from parametric and numerical analyses are discussed.

Experimental and analytical study on seismic behavior of steel-concrete multienergy dissipation composite shear walls

In this paper, a steel-concrete multi-energy dissipation composite shear wall, comprised of steel-reinforced concrete （SRC） columns, steel plate （SP） deep beams, a concrete wall and energy dissipation strips, is proposed. In order to study the multi-energy dissipation behavior and restorability after an earthquake, two stages of low cyclic loading tests were carded out on ten test specimens. In the first stage, test on five specimens with different number of SP deep beams was carried out, and the test lasted until the displacement drift reached 2%. In the second stage, thin SPs were welded to both sides of the five specimens tested in the first stage, and the same test was carried out on the repaired specimens （designated as new specimens）. The load-bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, hysteretic behavior and failure characteristics were analyzed for both stages and the results are discussed herein. Extrapolating from these results, strength calculation models and formulas are proposed herein and simulations using ABAQUS carried out, they show good agreement with the test results. The study demonstrates that SRC columns, SP deep beams, concrete wall and energy dissipation strips cooperate well and play an important role in energy dissipation. In addition, this study shows that the shear wall has good recoverability after an earthquake, and that the welding of thin SP＇s to repair a deformed wall is a practicable technique.

Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams with high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites

This article presents an experimental study on the flexural performance of reinforced concrete(RC)beams with fiber reinforced cementitious composites(FRCC)and hybrid fiber reinforced cementitious composites(HFRCC)in the hinge portion.Beam specimens with moderate confinement were used in the study and tested under monotonic loading.Seven diverse types of FRCC including hybrid composites using fibers in different profiles and in different volumes are employed in this study.Companion specimens such as cylindrical specimens and prism specimens are also used to study the physical properties of composites employed.The moment?curvature,stiffness behavior,ductility,crack pattern and modified flexural damage ratio are the main factors considered in this study to observe the efficacy of the employed hybrid composites.The experimental outputs demonstrate the improved post yield behavior with less rate of stiffness degradation and better damage tolerance capacity than conventional technique.

Numerical investigation of temperature gradient-induced thermal stress for steel–concrete composite bridge deck in suspension bridges

A3D finite element model(FEM)with realistic field measurements of temperature distributions is proposed to investigate the thermal stress variation in the steel–concrete composite bridge deck system.First,a brief literaturereview indicates that traditional thermal stress calculation in suspension bridges is based on the2D plane structure with simplified temperature profiles on bridges.Thus,a3D FEM is proposed for accurate stress analysis.The focus is on the incorporation of full field arbitrary temperature profile for the stress analysis.Following this,the effect of realistic temperature distribution on the structure is investigated in detail and an example using field measurements of Aizhai Bridge is integrated with the proposed3D FEM model.Parametric studies are used to illustrate the effect of different parameters on the thermal stress distribution in the bridge structure.Next,the discussion and comparison of the proposed methodology and simplified calculation method in the standard is given.The calculation difference and their potential impact on the structure are shown in detail.Finally,some conclusions and recommendations for future bridge analysis and design are given based on the proposed study.

Behavior of slender steel concrete composite columns in eccentric loading

Ten slender steel reinforced cencrete （SRC） composite columns are tested under eccentric loading conditions. Effects of concrete strength, slenderness of columns and eccentricity of the axial load are studied. The load-carrying capacity is reduced with increased slenderness ratio and eccentricity. Concrete strength has no obvious influence on eccentrically loaded columns. Then, a nonlinear numerical method of pin-ended slender columns is also presented. This method is applicable for determining the material failure load or buckling failure load of a slender steel reinforced concrete composite column. In this method both material and geometric nonlinearities are taken into account. The results of numerical analysis accord well with the test results. The test results are also compared with the results predicted by ACI318-05 and the China Specifications.

Bearing capacity of composite columns reinforced by concrete filled steel tube

In this study, nine simplified short composite columns consisting of core CFST (concrete filled steel tube) of different diameters and outer reinforced concrete were constructed to study their compressive performance under axial or eccentric compression. The failure mode is characterized by the crush of the outer concrete. The bearing capacity increases at first and then decreases with further increase of the position coefficient. It can be concluded that position coefficient is an important structural parameter that has considerable influences on the ultimate bearing capacity of the composite columns. The outer concrete, steel tubes and longitudinal reinforcement are found to work in a cooperative manner under axial or eccentric compression when the position coefficient is about 0.5. An improved bearing capacity algorithm that takes the position coefficient into account has been proposed based on the experimental and simulation results and current technical specification in China. It has been proven to be precise and safe.

Experimental study on seismic behaviors of steel-concrete composite frames

Steel-concrete composite frames are seeing increased use in earthquake region because of their excellent structural characteristics, including high strength, stiffness, and good ductility. However, there exist gaps in the knowledge of seismic behavior and the design provisions for these structures. In order to better understand the seismic behaviors of composite frame systems, eight steel-concrete composite frames were designed. These composite frames were composed of steel-concrete composite beams and concrete filled steel tube columns. The axial compression ratio of column, slenderness ratio and linear stiffness ratio of beam to column were selected as main design parameters. The low reversed cyclic loading tests of composite frame system were carried out. Based on test results, the seismic behaviors of composite frames such as failure mode, hysteresis curve, strength degradation, rigidity degradation, ductility and energy dissipation were studied. Known from the test phenomenon, the main cause of damage is the out-of-plane deformation of steel beam and the yielding destruction of column heel. The hysteretic loops of composite frame appear a spindle shape and no obvious pinch phenomenon. The results demonstrate that this type of composite frame has favorable seismic behaviors. Furthermore, the effects of design parameters on seismic behaviors were also discussed. The results of the experiment show that the different design parameter has different influence rule on seismic behaviors of composite frame.

Seismic performance of steel reinforced ultra high-strength concrete composite frame joints

To investigate the seismic performance of a composite frame comprised of steel reinforced ultra high-strength concrete （SRUHSC） columns and steel reinforced concrete （SRC） beams, six interior frame joint specimens were designed and tested under low cyclically lateral load. The effects of the axial load ratio and volumetric stirrup ratio were studied on the characteristics of the frame joint performance including crack pattern, failure mode, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, strength degradation and rigidity degradation. It was found that all joint specimens behaved in a ductile manner with flexural-shear failure in the joint core region while plastic hinges appeared at the beam ends. The ductility and energy absorption capacity of joints increased as the axial load ratio decreased and the volumetric stirIup ratio increased. The displacement ductility coefficient and equivalent damping coefficient of the joints fell between the corresponding coefficients of the steel reinforced concrete （SRC） frame joint and RC frame joint. The axial load ratio and volumetric stirrup ratio have less influence on the strength degradation and more influence on the stiffness degradation. The stiffness of the joint degrades more significantly for a low volumetric stirrup ratio and high axial load ratio. The characteristics obtained from the SRUHSC composite frame joint specimens with better seismic performance may be a useful reference in future engineering applications.

Internal Force Distribution in Steel-Concrete Composite Structure for Pylon of Cable-Stayed Bridge

Adopting a steel-anchor beam and steel corbel composite structure in the anchor zone on pylon is one of the key techniques for the design of Jintang bridge, a cable-stayed bridge in Zhoushan, China. In order to ensure the safety of the steel-concrete composite structure, a stud connector model for the joint section was put forward. Experiments were conducted to obtain the relation between load and slip of specimen, the failure pattern of stud connector, the yield bearing capacity and ultimate bearing capacity of a single stud, etc. The whole process of the structural behavior of the specimen was comprehensively analyzed. The features of the internal force distribution in the steel-concrete composite structure and the strain distribution of stud connector under different loads were emphatically studied. The test results show that the stud connector is applicable for the steel-concrete composite structure for pylon of Jintang bridge. The stud has a good ductility performance and a obvious yield process before its destruction. The stud connector basically works in a state of elasticity under a load less than the yield load.

Experimental Research on Shear Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Composite Beams Under Uniformly Distributed Load

An experimental program was carried out to study the shear behavior of the reinforced concrete composite beam (RCCB) subjected to two-phase uniformly distributed load. A total of 12 reinforced concrete composite beams were tested: 10 of them were the RCCB subjected to two-phase uniformly distributed load, the other 2 were the comparative reinforced concrete beams cast at the same time as the RCCB subjected to one-phase uniformly distributed load. The interface of precast unit and recast concrete was natural and rough. The test range of the main composite factors: the ratio of precast section depth to composite section depth was from 0.35 to 0.65, the ratio of first-phase load moment to precast section ultimate bearing moment was from 0.25 to 0.65. Based on the test results, the stresses of the longitudinal reinforcements and stirrups, the load-bearing properties of the interface, the crack state and the failure characteristics of the RCCB under uniformly distributed load are discussed. The effects of the stirrups, the concrete strength and the composite factors on the shear resistance of the RCCB are analyzed, and the method for evaluating the shear resistance of the RCCB is proposed.

Fatigue properties of special kind of reinforced concrete composite beams

The special reinforced concrete composite beam consists of a steel fiber reinforced self-stressing concrete composite layer and a reinforced concrete T-beam, and constructional bars are set up at their bonding interface. Fatigue properties of the composite beam under the action of negative moment were experimentally studied. Through inverted loading mode the load-beating state of a composite beam was simulated under the action of negative moment. With the ratios of constructional bars being 0, 0.082% and 0.164% respectively as parameters, the effects of constructional bars on the properties of composite beam, such as fatigue life, crack propagation, rigidity loss as well as damage behavior of bonding interface, were studied. The mechanism of the constructional bars on the fatigue properties of the composite beams and the restriction mechanism of crack widths and rigidity loss were analyzed. The test results show that the constructional bars can enhance the shear resistance of the bonding interface between composite layer and old concrete beam and restrict expanding of steel fiber reinforced self-stressing concrete, which are beneficial to synergistic action of composite layer and old concrete beam, to reducing the stress amplitude of bars and the crack width of composite layer, and to increasing the durability and fatigue life of the composite beam.