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In this study, two geometrically identical multi-storey steel buildings with different lateral load resisting systems are structurally analyzed under same earthquake conditions and they are compared with respect to their construction costs of their structural systems. One of the systems is a steel structure with eccentrically steel braced frames. The other one is a RC wall-steel frame system, that is a steel framed structure in combination with a reinforced concrete core and shear walls of minimum thickness that the national code allows. As earthquake resisting systems, steel braced frames and reinforced concrete shear walls, for both cases are located on identical places in either building. Floors of both buildings will be of reinforced concrete slabs of same thickness resting on composite beams. The facades are assumed to be covered identically with light-weight aluminum cladding with insulation. Purpose of use for both buildings is an office building of eight stories. When two systems are structurally analyzed by FEM (finite element method) and dimensionally compared, the dual one comes up with almost 34% less cost of construction with respect to their structural systems. This in turn means that, by using a dual system in earthquake zones such as Turkey, for multi-storey steel buildings with RC floors, more economical solutions can be achieved. In addition, slender steel columns and beams will add to that and consequently more space in rooms is achieved.

Functionally graded material (FGM) plates can be bonded to the soffit of a beam as a means of retrofitting the RC beam. In such plated beams, tensile forces develop in the bonded plate and these have to be transferred to the original beam via interfacial shear and normal stresses. In this paper, an interfacial stress analysis is presented for simply supported concrete beam bonded with a functionally graded material FGM plate. This new solution is intended for application to beams made of all kinds of materials bonded with a thin plate, while all existing solutions have been developed focusing on the strengthening of reinforced concrete beams, which allowed the omission of certain terms. It is shown that both the normal and shear stresses at the interface are influenced by the material and geometry parameters of the composite beam. This research is helpful for the understanding on mechanical behavior of the interface and design of the FGM-RC hybrid structures.

This paper extends our recent work on the fatigue behavior of stud shear connectors in steel and recycled tyre rubber-filled concrete (RRFC) composite beams. A series of 16 fatigue push-out tests were conducted using a hydraulic servo testing machine. Three different recycled tyre rubber contents of concrete, 0%, 5% and 10%, were adopted as main variable parameters. Stress amplitudes and the diameters of studs were also taken into consideration in the tests. The results show that the fatigue lives of studs in 5% and 10% RRFC were 1.6 and 2.0 times greater of those in normal concrete, respectively. At the same time, the ultimate residual slips' values of stud increased in RRFC to highlight its better ductility. The average ultimate residual slip value of the studs was found to be equal to a quarter of studs' diameter. It had also been proved that stress amplitude was inversely proportional to the fatigue life of studs. Moreover, the fatigue lives of studs with large diameter were slightly shorter than those of smaller ones and using larger ones had the risk of tearing off the base metal. Finally, the comparison between test results and three national codes was discussed.

Structural design of a composite beam is influenced by two main factors, strength and ductility. For the design to be effective for a composite beam, say an RC slab and a steel I beam, the shear strength of the composite beam and ductility have to carefully estimate with the help of displacements between the two members. In this investigation the shear strengths of steel-concrete composite beams was analyzed based on the respective variable parameters. The methodology used by ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System) has been adopted for this purpose. The detection of the predominant factors affecting the shear strength steel-concrete composite beam was achieved by use of ANFIS process for variable selection. The results show that concrete compression strength has the highest influence on the shear strength capacity of composite beam.

The internal crack propagation, the failure mode and ultimate load bearing capacity of the steel-concrete-steel composite beam under the four-point-bend loading is investigated by the numerical simulation. The results of load - displacement curve and failure mode are in good agreement with experiment. In order to study the failure mechanism, the composite beam has been modeled, which part interface interaction between steel and concrete is considered. The results indicate that there are two failure modes: (a) When the strength of the interface is lower than that of the concrete, failure happens at the interface of steel and concrete; (b) When the strength of the interface is higher than that of the concrete, the failure modes is cohesion failure, i.e., and concrete are stripped because of the shear cracks at concrete edge.

There are great needs of simple but reliable mechanical nonlinear behavior analysis and performance evaluation method for frames constructed by steel and concrete composite beams or columns when the structures subjected extreme loads, such as earthquake loads. This paper describes an approach of simplified macro-modelling for composite frames consisting of steel-concrete composite beams and CFST columns, and presents the performance evaluation procedure based on the pushover nonlinear analysis results. A four-story two-bay composite frame underground is selected as a study case. The establishment of the macro-model of the composite frame is guided by the characterization of nonlinear behaviors of composite structural members. Pushover analysis is conducted to obtain the lateral force versus top displacement curve of the overall structure. The identification method of damage degree of composite frames has been proposed. The damage evolution and development of this composite frame in case study has been analyzed. The failure mode of this composite frame is estimated as that the bottom CFST columns damage substantially resulting in the failure of the bottom story. Finally, the seismic performance of the composite frame with high strength steel is analyzed and compared with the frame with ordinary strength steel, and the result shows that the employment of high strength steel in the steel tube of CFST columns and steel beam of composite beams benefits the lateral resistance and elasticity resuming performance of composite frames.

The behavior of shear connectors plays a significant role in maintaining the required strength of a composite beam in normal and hazardous conditions. Various types of shear connectors are available and being utilized in the construction industry according to their use. Channel connectors are a suitable replacement for conventional shear connectors. These connectors have been tested under different types of loading at ambient temperature; however, the behavior of these connectors at elevated temperatures has not been studied. This investigation proposes a numerical analysis approach to estimate the behavior of channel connectors under fire and compare it with the numerical analysis performed in headed stud and Perfobond shear connectors subjected to fire. This paper first reviews the mechanism of various types of shear connectors and then proposes a non-linear thermomechanical finite element (FE) model of channel shear connectors embedded in high-strength concrete (HSC) subjected to fire. Initially, an accurate nonlinear FE model of the specimens tested at ambient temperature was developed to investigate the strength of the channel-Type connectors embedded in an HSC slab. The outcomes were verified with the experimental study performed on the testing of channel connectors at ambient temperature by Shariati et al. (2012). The FE model at ambient temperature was extended to identify the behavior of channel connectors subjected to fire. A comparative study is performed to evaluate the performance of channel connectors against headed stud and Perfobond shear connectors. The channel connectors were found to be a more economical and easy-To-Apply alternative to conventional shear connectors.

The predominant type of buckling that I-steel concrete composite beams experience in the negative moment area is distortional buckling. The key factors that affect distortional buckling are the torsional and lateral restraints by the bottom flange. This study thoroughly investigates the equivalent lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange of an I-steel concrete composite beam under negative moments. The results show a coupling effect between the applied forces and the lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange. A formula is proposed to calculate the critical buckling stress of the I-steel concrete composite beams under negative moments by considering the lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange. The proposed method is shown to better predict the critical bending moment of the I-steel composite beams. This article introduces an improved method to calculate the elastic foundation beams, which takes into account the lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange and considers the coupling effect between them. The results show a close match in results from the calculation method proposed in this paper and the ANSYS finite element method, which validates the proposed calculation method. The proposed calculation method provides a theoretical basis for further research on distortional buckling and the ultimate resistance of I-steel concrete composite beams under a variable axial force.

Shear connectors are key components to ensure the efficient composite action and satisfactory transfer of shear forces at the steel'concrete interface in composite beams. Under hazardous circumstances, such as fire in a building, the performance of a composite beam significantly relies on the performance of shear connectors. Studies on the behavior of shear connectors subjected to elevated temperatures performed in the last decade are reviewed in this paper. The experimental testing of push-out specimens, the design approaches provided by researchers and different codes, the major failure modes, and the finite element modeling of shear connectors are highlighted. The critical research review showed that the strength of a shear connector decreases proportionally with the increase in temperature. Compared with the volume of work published on shear connectors at ambient temperatures, a few studies on the behavior of shear connectors under fire have been conducted. Several areas where additional research is needed are also identified in this paper.

Recycled tire rubber-filled concrete (RRFC) is employed into the steel-concrete composite structures due to its good ductility and crack resistance. Push-out tests were conducted to investigate the static behavior of steel and rubber-filled concrete composite beam with different rubber mixed concrete and studs. The results of the experimental investigations show that large studs lead a higher ultimate strength but worse ductility in normal concrete. Rubber particles in RRFC were shown to have little effect on shear strength when the compressive strength was equal to that of normal concrete, but can have a better ductility for studs in rubber-filled concrete. This improvement is more obvious for the composite beam with large stud to make good use of the high strength. Besides that the uplift of concrete slabs can be increased and the quantity and width of cracks can be reduced by RRFC efficiently. Based on the test result, a modified empirical equation of ultimate slip was proposed to take not only the compressive strength, but also the ductility of the concrete into consideration.

Channels are implemented in composite beams as shear connectors in two arrangements, face to face and back to back. No relevant explanation is found in the design codes to clarify the preference of the mentioned arrangements. Besides, the designers do not have a common opinion on this subject; i.e., some recommend the face to face and others, back to back status. In this research, channel shear connectors in composite beams are studied analytically for both arrangements using ABAQUS software. For this purpose, they have been modeled in simply supported beams in the arrangements of face to face and back to back; their effects on the crack initiation load of concrete slabs were monitored. The stiffness values of composite beams were also compared in the two arrangements using force-displacement curve; the results are relatively the same in both cases. Furthermore, the effects of compressive strength of concrete, channel size, length and spacing of channels as well as steel type of channels on the performance of composite beams have been investigated. According to the results obtained in this research, the face to face status shows better performance in comparison with that of back to back, considering the load of concrete fracturing.

A finite-element model for beams with partially delaminated layers is used to investigate their behavior. In this formulation account is taken of lateral strains and the first-order shear deformation theory is used. Both displacement continuity and force equilibrium conditions are imposed between the regions with and without delamination. Numerical results of the present model are presented and its performance is evaluated for static and dynamic problems.

In regions of high shear forces in composite bridges, headed stud shear connectors need to be arranged with a small spacing in order to satisfy the design requirement of resisting the high interface shear force present at this location. Despite this, studies related to groups of headed studs are somewhat rare. This paper presents an investigation of the static behaviour of grouped stud shear connectors in high-strength concrete. Descriptions are given of five push-out test specimens with different arrangements of the studs that were fabricated and tested, and the failure modes, load-slip response, ultimate load capacities and related slip values that were obtained are reported. It is found that the load-slip equation given by some researchers based on a single stud shear connector in normal strength concrete do not apply to grouped stud shear connectors in high-strength concrete, and an algebraic load-slip expression is proposed based on the test results. Comparisons between the test results and the formulae provided by some national codes show that the equations for the ultimate capacity provided in these codes are conservative when used for connectors in high-strength concrete. A reduction coefficient is proposed to take into account the effect of the studs being in a group.

Due to recent advancements in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computational intelligence, the application of these technologies in the construction industry and structural analysis has been made feasible. With the use of the Adaptive-Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) as a modelling tool, this study aims at predicting the shear strength of channel shear connectors in steel concrete composite beam. A total of 1200 experimental data was collected, with the input data being achieved based on the results of the push-out test and the output data being the corresponding shear strength which were recorded at all loading stages. The results derived from the use of ANFIS and the classical linear regressions (LR) were then compared. The outcome shows that the use of ANFIS produces highly accurate, precise and satisfactory results as opposed to the LR.

In this experimental and numerical study, the effect of plate thickness, the diameter of circular cutout, the distance between circular cutouts and rowing orientation angle effect (?) on the buckling load of E-glass/vinylester pultruded composite beams with single and double circular cutouts, were investigated. The composite beam having 2, 4, and 6 mm thicknesses was produced as [Mat/? /Mat/? /Mat] by using pultrusion technique. Seven different fiber angles as 0° , 15° , 30° , 45° , 60° , 75° , and 90° were chosen for investigation of rowing orientation angle. The distances between each circular cutout were selected as 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 mm in the case of double circular cutouts. The diameters of circular cutouts were chosen as 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mm to investigate the effect of cutout size. The experimental buckling loads were compared with the results calculated from the numerical analysis. ANSYS 11 commercial software was used for numerical study. A good agreement was obtained between numerical and experimental results. Copyright © 2014 Techno-Press, Ltd.

An exact dynamic stiffness method is introduced for investigating the free vibration characteristics of the steel-concrete composite beams consisting of a reinforced concrete slab and a steel beam which are connected by using the stud connectors. The elementary beam theory is used to define the dynamic behaviors of the two beams and the relative transverse deformation of the connectors is included in the formulation. The dynamic stiffness matrix is formulated from the exact analytical solutions of the governing differential equations of the composite beams in undamped free vibration. The application of the derived dynamic stiffness matrix is illustrated to predict the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the steel-concrete composite beams with seven boundary conditions. The present results are compared to the available solutions in the literature whenever possible.

A variational asymptotic composite beam model has been developed for thermoelastic analysis. Composite beams, including sandwich structure and laminates, under different boundary conditions are examined. Previously developed beam model, which is based on variational-asymptotic method, is extended to incorporate temperature-dependent materials experiencing large temperature changes. The recovery relations have been derived so that the temperatures, heat fluxes, stresses, and strains can be recovered over the cross-section. The present theory is implemented into the computer program VABS (Variational Asymptotic Beam Sectional analysis). Numerical results are compared with the 3D analysis for the purpose of demonstrating advantages of the present theory and use of VABS.

Bending behavior of reinforced concrete slabs encased over shallow I-sections at different levels of compression heads were investigated in present study. 1500 mm long I-sections were used to create composite slabs. Compression heads of monolithic experimental members were encased at different levels into the concrete slabs. Shear connections were welded over some of the I-sections. The testing was carried out in accordance with the principles of four-point loading. Results revealed decreasing load bearing and deflection capacities of composite beams with increasing encasement depths into concrete. Mechanical properties of concrete and reinforcing steel were also examined. Resultant stresses calculated for composite beams at failure were found to be less than the yield strength of steel beams. Test results were discussed with regard to shear and slip effect.

In this paper, a simplified approach based on critical temperature for fire resistance design of steel-concrete composite beams is proposed. The method for determining the critical temperature and fire protection of the composite beams is developed on the basis of load-bearing limit state method employed in current Chinese Technical Code for Fire safety of Steel Structure in Buildings. Parameters affecting the critical temperature of the composite beams are analysed. The results show that at a definite load level, section shape of steel beams, material properties, effective width of concrete slab and concrete property model have little influence on the critical temperature of composite beams. However, the fire duration and depth of concrete slab have significant influence on the critical temperature. The critical temperatures for commonly used composite beams, at various depth of concrete and fire duration, are given to provide a reference for engineers. The validity of the practical approach for predicting the critical temperature of the composite beams is conducted by comparing the prediction of a composite beam with the results from some fire design codes and full scale fire resistance tests on the composite beam.

Steel plate-masonry composite structure is a newly-developed type of structural technique applicable to existing masonry buildings by which the load-bearing walls can be removed for large spaces. This kind of structure has been used in practice for its several advantages, but experimental investigation on its elements is nearly unavailable in existing literature. This paper presents an experimental study on the flexural behaviour of four steel plate-masonry composite beams loaded by four-point bending. Test results indicate that failure of the tested beams always starts from the local buckling of steel plate, and that the tested beams can satisfy the requirement of service limit state. In addition, the assumption of plane section is still remained for steel plate prior to local buckling or steel yielding. By comparative analyses, it was also verified that the working performance of the beam is influenced by the cross-section of steel plate, which can be efficiently enhanced by epoxy adhesive rather than cement mortar or nothing at all. Besides, it was also found that the contribution of the encased masonry to the flexural capacity of the composite beam cannot be ignored when the beam is injected with epoxy adhesive.

This study presents dynamic analysis of laminated beams traversed by moving loads using a multilayered beam element based on the first-order shear deformation theory. The present element consists of N layers with different thickness and material property, and has (3N + 7) degrees of freedom corresponding three axial, four transversal, and 3N rotational displacements. Delamination and interfacial slip are not allowed. Comparisons with analytical and/or numerical results available in literature for some illustrative examples are made. Numerical results for natural frequencies, deflections and stresses of laminated beams are given to explain the effect of load speed, lamina layup, and boundary conditions.

Composite beams using bolts to attach steel plates to the side faces of existing reinforced concrete (RC) coupling beams can enhance both their strength and deformability. The behavior of those composite beams differs substantially from the behavior of typical composite beams made up of steel beams and concrete slabs. The former are subjected to longitudinal, vertical and rotational slips, while the latter only involve longitudinal slip. In this study, a mixed analysis method was adopted to develop the fundamental equations for accurate prediction of the load-carrying capacity of steel plate strengthened RC coupling beams. Then, a rigid plastic analysis technique was used to cope with the full composite effect of the bolt group connections. Two theoretical models for the determination of the strength of mediumlength plate strengthened coupling beams based on mixed analysis and rigid plastic methods are presented. The strength of the strengthened coupling beams is derived. The vertical and longitudinal slips of the steel plates and the shear strength of the anchor-bolt connection group is considered. The theoretical models are validated by the available experimental results presented in a companion paper. The strength of the specimens predicted from the mixed analysis model is found to be in good agreement with that from the experimental results.

The expediency of using tubular composite steel and concrete columns of annular cross-sections in construction is discussed. The new type space framework with tubular composite columns of multi-storey buildings and its rigid beam-column joints are demonstrated. The features of interaction between the circular steel tube and spun concrete stress-strain states during the concentrical and eccentrical loading of tubular composite members are considered. The modeling of the bearing capacity of beam-columns of composite annular cross-sections is based on the concepts of bending with a concentrical force and compression with a bending moment. The comparison of modeling results for the composite cross-sections of beam-columns is analysed. The expediency of using these concepts for the limit state verification of beam-columns in the methods of the partial safety factors design (PSFD) legitimated in Europe and the load and resistance factors design (LRFD) used in other countries is presented and illustrated by a numerical example.

In this study, experimental, numerical, and analytical approaches were carried out to evaluate the behavior and prestressing effect of prestressed composite beam by external tendon and cover plate. Behavior of prestressed composite beam, load-carrying capacity, effects of prestressing, and ultimate strength were estimated. The contribution of the section increase of the prestressing method using tendon was less than the prestressing method using cover plate. In accordance with numerical and analytical approaches, the ultimate strength of the prestressed composite beam is shown to be the same value because strength is determined according to the plastic resistance moment and the plastic neutral axis; however, both plastic resistance moment and neutral axis are not affected by prestressing force but affected by sectional stiffness of the prestressing member. Based on these approaches, we concluded that the prestressing method using tendon can be useful in applications without an increase in self-weight, and the prestressing method using high-strength cover plate can be applied to reduce the deflection of the composite beam. The prestressing method using high-strength cover plate can also be used to induce prestress of the composite beam in the case of a large deflection due to a smaller sectional stiffness of the composite beam.

Finite element simulations are increasingly used in structural analysis and design, especially in cases where complex structural and loading conditions are involved. Due to considerable progresses in computer technology as well as nonlinear finite-element analysis techniques in past years, it has become possible to pursue an accurate analysis of the complex blast-induced structural effects by means of numerical simulations. This paper aims to develop a better understanding of the behavior of steel-concrete composite beams (SCCB) under localized blast loading through a numerical parametric study. A finite element model is set up to simulate the blast-resistant features of SCCB using the transient dynamic analysis software LS-DYNA. It is demonstrated that there are three dominant failure modes for SCCB subjected to localized blast loading. The effect of loading position on the behavior of SCCB is also investigated. Finally, a simplified model is proposed for assessing the overall response of SCCB subjected to localized blast loading.

The long-term behaviour of simply supported composite steel-concrete beams with deformable connectors subjected to skew bending and torsion is presented. The problem is dealt with by recurring to the displacement method, assuming the bending and torsional curvatures and the longitudinal deformations of each sectional part as unknowns and obtaining a system of differential and integro-differential equations. Some solving methods are presented, in order to obtain exact and approximate solutions and evaluate the precision of the approximate ones. A case study is then presented. For the sake of clearness, the responses of the composite beam under loads applied in different directions are studied separately, in order to correctly evaluate the effects of each load condition.

This paper is concerned with the behaviour of steel and concrete composite joints subjected to reversal of loading. Three cruciform composite joint specimens and one bare steel joint specimen were tested so that one side of the beam-to-column connection was under negative moment and another side under positive moment. The steelwork beam-to-column connections were made of bolted end plate with an extended haunch section. Composite slabs employing metal decking were used for all the composite joint specimens. The moment-rotation relationships for the joints were obtained experimentally. Details of the experimental observations and results were reported.

This paper evaluates the effective width of composite steel beams with precast hollowcore slabs numerically using the finite element method. A parametric study, carried out on 27 beams with different steel cross sections, hollowcore unit depths and spans, is presented. The effective width of the slab is predicted for both the elastic and plastic ranges. 8-node three-dimensional solid elements are used to model the composite beam components. The material non-linearity of all the components is taken into consideration. The non-linear load-slip characteristics of the headed shear stud connectors are included in the analysis. The moment-deflection behaviour of the composite beams, the ultimate moment capacity and the modes of failure are also presented. Finally, the ultimate moment capacity of the beams evaluated using the present FE analysis was compared with the results calculated using the rigid - plastic method.

This paper features about the modeling and design of a fast output sampling feedback controller for a smart Timoshenko beam system for a SISO case by considering the first 3 vibratory modes. The beam structure is modeled in state space form using FEM technique and the Timoshenko beam theory by dividing the beam into 4 finite elements and placing the piezoelectric sensor/actuator at one location as a collocated pair, i.e., as surface mounted sensor/actuator, say, at FE position 2. State space models are developed for various aspect ratios by considering the shear effects and the axial displacements. The effects of changing the aspect ratio on the master structure is observed and the performance of the designed FOS controller on the beam system is evaluated for vibration control.

This paper presents the findings of a design development project for perforated beams fully integrated with building services. A unified design approach for both steel and composite beams with large rectangular web openings is proposed which is based on plastic design methods and formulated in accordance with analytical structural design principles. Moreover, finite element models are established after careful calibration against test data, and comparison on the predicted ultimate loads of two composite beams with rectangular web openings from the finite element models and the proposed design method is also presented. It is demonstrated that the proposed design method is able to predict the ultimate loads of composite beams with rectangular web openings against

The flexibility of the connection between steel and concrete largely influences the global behaviour of the composite beam. Therefore the way the connection is modelled is the key issue in its structural analysis. Here we present a new strain-based finite element formulation in which we consider non-linear material and contact models. The computational efficiency and accuracy of the formulation is proved with the comparison of our numerical results with the experimental results of Abdel Aziz (1986) obtained in a full-scale laboratory test. The shear connectors are assumed to follow a non-linear load-slip relationship proposed by Ollgaard et al. (1971). We introduce the notion of the generalized slip, which offers a better physical interpretation of the behaviour of the contact and gives an additional material slip parameter. An excellent agreement of experimental and numerical results is obtained. using only a few finite elements. This demonstrates that the present numerical approach is appropriate for the evaluation of behaviour of planar composite beams and perfect for practical calculations.

Use of composite steel construction with precast hollow core slabs is now popular in the UK,rnbut the present knowledge in shear capacity of the headed shear studs for this type of composite construction is very limited. Currently, all the information is based on the results obtained from experimental push-off tests. A finite element model to simulate the behaviour of headed stud shear connection in composite beam with precast hollow core slabs is described. The model is based on finite element method and takes into account the linear and non-linear behaviour of all the materials. The model has been validated against the test results, for which the accuracy of the model used is demonstrated. Parametric studies showing the effect of the change in transverse gap size, transverse reinforcement diameter and in-situ concrete strength on the shear connection capacity are presented.

The main aim of the present paper is to present the results of a full-scale experimentalrninvestigation to study the structural behaviour of composite steel beams. The composite beam was made of cold-formed steel section shapes filled with reinforced concrete. First a comprehensive description of the experimental results in terms of: deflections, deformations, slippage and stress levels on critical steps of the load path is presented. The experimental results were then compared to theoretical values obtained by the use of an analytical model based on ultimate limit state stress blocks. Finally, a practical application of the use of this structural solution is depicted.

A novel, 6-node, two-dimensional mixed finite element (FE) model has been developed to analyze laminated composite beams by using the minimum potential energy principle. The model has been formulated by considering four degrees of freedom (two displacement components u, w and two transverse stress components sigma(z), tau(xz)) per node. The transverse stress components have been invoked as nodal degrees of freedom by using the fundamental elasticity equations. Thus, the present mixed finite element model not only ensures the continuity of transverse stress and displacement fields through the thickness of the laminated beams but also maintains the fundamental elasticity relationship between the components of stress, strain and displacement Fields throughout the elastic continuum. This is an important feature of the present formulation, which has not been observed in various mixed formulations available in the literature. Results obtained from the model have been shown to be in excellent agreement with the elasticity solutions for thin as well as thick laminated composite beams. A few results for a cross-ply beam under fixed support conditions are also presented.

The behaviour of joints under cyclic loading, when compared to the corresponding static monotonic response, presents the added difficulty of degradation of strength and stiffness in successive loading cycles. Composite joints in seismic regions must provide adequate performance under load reversal, with good energy dissipation. To try to provide some additional insight into this problem, an experimental research program on end-plate beam-to-column composite joints under cyclic loading carried out at the University of Coimbra is described in this paper.

This paper provides a state-of-the-art review on advanced analysis models for investigating thernload-displacement and ultimate load behaviour of steel and composite frames subjected to static gravity andrnlateral loads. Various inelastic analysis models for steel and composite members are reviewed. Compositernbeams under positive and negative moments are analysed using a moment-curvature relationship whichrncaptures the effects of concrete cracking and steel yielding along the members length. Beam-to-columnrnconnections are modeled using rotational spring. Building core walls are modeled using thin-walled element.rnFinally, the nonlinear behaviour of a complete multi-storey building frame consisting of a centre core-wall andrnthe perimeter frames for lateral-load resistance is investigated. The performance of the total building system isrnevaluated in term of its serviceability and ultimate limit states.

Presented in this paper is the rigorous analysis for the determination of effective flange width for composite beams. To make the solution suitable for routine design, formulas and tables for determining effective flange width for varying load types and geometric shapes are suggested. A variety of effective flange width problems for simple and continuous T- and I-beams can be solved by these tables and formulas. Although they are derived for T- and I-beams with symmetrical shapes, flanges and loads, they can be applied for non-symmetrical cases. Typical numerical examples are given to show how to use the formulas and tables; and their validity and accuracy are assessed by comparison with other known results that are based on the American Codes AISC, AASHTO and ACI.

A method for computing the elastic buckling prestressing force of a post-tensioned composite steel-concrete tee-beam is presented. The method is based on a virtual work formulation, and incorporates the restraint provided by the concrete slab to the buckling displacements of the steel beam. The distortional buckling solutions are shown to be given by a quadratic equation. The application of the analysis to calculation buckling strengths is given, based on codified rules for beam-columns. Conclusions are then drawn on the importance of distortional buckling when a post-tensioned composite beam is stressed during jacking.