Composite Design: 11.1 General Remarks
Composite Design: 11.1 General Remarks
Composite Design: 11.1 General Remarks
Figure 11.1 shows a composite beam section in which the reinforced con-
crete slab acts as the compression flange of the T-section. Shear connectors
can resist the horizontal shear and provide vertical interlocking between con-
crete slab and steel beams to produce a composite section that acts as a single
unit. Types of shear connectors include studs, channels, stiffened angles, and
flat bars, as shown in Fig. 11.2. The most often-used connectors are shear
studs. In building construction the studs are welded through the steel deck
into the structural steel framing; in bridge construction the studs are welded
directly to the framing.
600
11.2 STEEL-DECK-REINFORCED COMPOSITE SLABS 601
In the past, the construction was usually done with wood forming and the
slab was reinforced with bars. For the last 30 years, steel deck has been used
as the forming material for building construction and wood is only used for
bridges even though steel deck is also often used on bridges too.
In building construction, one of the economical types of roof and floor con-
struction is to combine the steel-deck-reinforced slab with the supporting steel
beams or girders as a composite system.
When the composite construction is composed of a steel beam and a solid
slab, as shown in Fig. 11.1, the slip between beam and slab is usually small
under working load; therefore the effect of slip can be neglected. For this
case, full interaction between beam and slab can be expected, and full ultimate
11.3 COMPOSITE BEAMS OR GIRDERS WITH COLD-FORMED STEEL DECK 603
load can be achieved if adequate shear connectors are provided. This type of
composite beam can be designed by the AISC Specification.1.148
Since 1978 the AISC Specification1.148 has included some specific provi-
sions for the design of composite beams or girders with cold-formed steel
deck, as shown in Figs. 11.3a and 11.6. These provisions are based on the
studies conducted previously by Fisher, Grant, and Slutter at Lehigh Univer-
sity.1.95,11.21,11.22 This specification provides general requirements and design
formulas for deck ribs oriented perpendicular or parallel to steel beams. The
application of such design rules is well illustrated in Refs. 11.23–11.25. In
addition to the above, the current AISC Specification also recognizes partial
composite action because for some cases it is not necessary, and occasionally
it may not be feasible, to provide full composite action.1.148,11.23 In 1989,
Heagler prepared the SDI LRFD Design Manual for Composite Beams and
Girders with Steel Deck.11.51 This Manual contains a large number of design
tables covering a wide range of beam, deck and slab combinations that have
been analyzed as composite beams using the provisions of the AISC LRFD
Manual of Steel Construction.11.52
As far as other countries are concerned, the Canadian Sheet Steel Building
Institute’s Criteria for the Design of Composite Slabs11.26 are being used in
Canada. In Switzerland, design recommendations have been prepared by Ba-
doux and Crisinel.11.27 A book on composite design was written by Bucheli
and Crisinel in 1982.11.28 References 11.42–11.44, 11.46, and 11.48 present
the additional work and developments on composite design using steel deck
in Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In 1999, the
International Conference on Steel and Composite Structures was held in the
Netherlands to discuss recent research on composite structures.
In addition to the use of conventional steel beams, composite open-web
steel joists with steel deck, as shown in Fig. 11.7, have been studied by Cran
and Galambos.11.29,11.30
606 COMPOSITE DESIGN