Experimental investigation on flexural behaviour of prefabricated ultra-shallow steel concrete composite slabs

• Published in: Journal of constructional steel research Vol. 217; p. 108632
• Main Authors: Alali, Ahmed Abdulla, Tsavdaridis, Konstantinos Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Composite slabs; Flexural tests; Lightweight concrete; Shear connectors; Shear studs; Ultra-shallow flooring system; Flexural tests; Composite slabs; Ultra-shallow flooring system; Lightweight concrete; Shear studs; Shear connectors
• ISSN: 0143-974X; 1873-5983; 1873-5983
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcsr.2024.108632

This paper presents the test results of four static full-size four-point bending tests to investigate the flexural behaviour of a recently developed prefabricated steel-concrete composite ultra-shallow flooring system (PUSS®). The flooring system comprises of T-ribbed concrete floors partially-embedded within and connected to side C-channel beams and horizontally-oriented shear connectors. This study investigates the effects of three parameters on the flexural behaviour of PUSS® and the performance of the shear connectors under bending. The parameters under study are the type of concrete, degree of shear connection and depth of the slab. Four 4 m span test specimens are constructed using two types of concrete, two with reinforced normal weight concrete (NWC) and the remaining two with reinforced lightweight aggregates concrete (LWC). Three of the test specimens employ the unique shear connection system composed of horizontally-oriented steel dowels with horizontally-oriented web-welded shear studs (dowels with WWSS) while the last one employs horizontal steel dowels only. The contribution of the above parameters on flexural behaviour and failure mechanisms are examined. The study concludes that replacing NWC with LWC of similar strength does not affect the flexural behaviour of PUSS® in terms of slab capacity, ductility and failure mechanism. However, LWC demonstrates lower initial stiffness and leads to the development of larger cracks as loads increases. Also, reducing the degree of shear connection lowers the moment capacity of the slabs and results in failure of some shear connectors during testing. PUSS® units exhibit ductile behaviour under bending conditions regardless of the degree of shear connection. •Flexural tests on PUSS® with innovative web-welded horizontal shear connection system.•Failure mechanism of prefabricated ultra-shallow composite slabs under bending.•Replacing NWC with LWC of similar strength does not affect the flexural behaviour of PUSS.•Contribution of degree of shear connection in the load capacity of composite slabs.•Shear connection system enables composite slab to behave ductility as a single rigid body.