No / This paper presents a numerical investigation into the behaviour of headed shear stud in composite beams with profiled metal decking. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed using general purpose finite element program ABAQUS to study the behaviour of through-deck welded shear stud in the composite slabs with trapezoidal deck ribs oriented perpendicular to the beam. Both static and dynamic procedures were investigated using Drucker Prager model and Concrete Damaged Plasticity model respectively. In the dynamic procedure using ABAQUS/Explicit, the push test specimens were loaded slowly to eliminate significant inertia effects to obtain a static solution. The capacity of shear connector, load-slip behaviour and failure modes were predicted and validated against experimental results. The delamination of the profiled decking from concrete slab was captured in the numerical analysis which was observed in the experiments. ABAQUS/Explicit was found to be particularly suitable for modelling post-failure behaviour and the contact interaction between profiled decking and concrete slabs. It is concluded that this model represents the true behaviour of the headed shear stud in composite beams with profiled decking in terms of the shear connection capacity, load-slip behaviour and failure modes.

yes / This paper presents an experimental study on shear strength, stiffness and ductility of demountable shear connectors in metal decking composite slabs through push-off tests. Twelve full-scale push-off tests were carried out using different concrete strength, number of connectors and different connector diameter. The experimental results showed that the demountable shear connectors in metal decking composite slabs have similar shear capacity and behaviour as welded shear studs and fulfilled the minimum ductility requirement of 6mm required by Eurocode 4. The shear capacity was compared against the prediction methods used for the welded shear connections given in Eurocode 4, AISC 360-10, ACI 318-08 and method used for bolted connection in Eurocode 3. It was found that the AISC 360-10 method overestimated the shear capacity while the ACI 318-08 method underestimated the shear capacity of specimens with single shear connector per trough. The Eurocodes method was found to provide a safe prediction for specimens with single and pair demountable connectors per trough. In addition, prediction methods given in both AISC 360-10 and ACI 318-08 for welded shear studs overestimated the shear capacity of specimens with 22 mm diameter demountable connectors that failed in concrete crushing. / PhD work from EPSRC studentship