Different Profiled Sheeting Configurations in Steel-Concrete Composite Beams

For obtaining shear resistance of a welded headed stud in profiled steel sheeting, EN 1994-1-1:2004 defines reduction factors that should be multiplied with the resistance of a headed stud in a solid concrete slab. Two reduction factors are prescribed, for sheeting ribs that are parallel and transverse to the supporting beam. However, the design code does not recognise cases when the angle between ribs and the beam is in the range between 0° and 90°. This research is focused on the specific case in the steel-concrete composite beam design when the angle between profiled sheeting ribs and the beam is 45°. The experimental investigation has been conducted through push-out tests, comparing the response of the connection with a rib-to-beam angle of 45° and the connection with ribs transverse to the supporting beam. In addition, numerical models based on finite element analysis have been made and validated against experimental data. According to the obtained results, similar failure mechanisms manifested through concrete pull-out failure and separation of the concrete cone are observed in shear connections with rib-to-beam angles of 45° and 90°. An increase in the connection resistance is noticed with the decrease of a rib-to-beam angle.