Testing of composite beam with demountable shear connectors

Abstract

An experimental study on an innovative composite floor system that can be demounted and deconstructed is described. In this system, the composite slab, formed with profiled metal decking, was connected to a steel beam by way of demountable shear connectors. A full-scale demountable composite floor system (DCFS) was tested to ultimate load-bearing capacity and compared with a similar non-demountable composite floor system specimen using conventional welded headed stud connectors. The experimental results and observations showed that the structural behaviour and load-bearing capacity of both composite floor systems were very similar. However, the composite floor system with demountable shear connectors could be deconstructed after testing and the composite slab could be easily detached from the steel beam. The comparison and analysis presented in this paper indicate that the simple design methods currently provided in Eurocode 4 for welded shear connections could be used to assess the ultimate moment capacity of DCFSs.