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Steel and Composite Structures
  Volume 13, Number 6, December 2012 , pages 571-586
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/scs.2012.13.6.571
 


Tests on composite slabs and evaluation of relevant Eurocode 4 provisions
Thomas N. Salonikios, Anastasios G. Sextos and Andreas J. Kappos

 
Abstract
    The paper addresses some key issues related to the design of composite slabs with cold-formed profiled steel sheets. An experimental programme is first presented, involving six composite slab specimens tested with a view to evaluating Eurocode 4 (EC4) provisions on testing of composite slabs. In four specimens, the EC4-prescribed 5000 load cycles were applied using different load ranges resulting from alternative interpretations of the reference load Wt. Although the rationale of the application of cyclic loading is to induce loss of chemical bond between the concrete plate and the steel sheet, no such loss was noted in the tests for either interpretation of the range of load cycles. Using the recorded response of the specimens the values of factors m and k (related to interface shear transfer in the composite slab) were determined for the specific steel sheet used in the tests, on the basis of three alternative interpretations of the related EC4 provisions. The test results confirmed the need for a more unambiguous description of the m-k test and its interpretation in a future edition of the Code, as well as for an increase in the load amplitude range to be used in the cyclic loading tests, to make sure that the intended loss of bond between the concrete slab and the steel sheet is actually reached. The study also included the development of a special-purpose software that facilitates design of composite slabs; a parametric investigation of the importance of m-k values in slab design is presented in the last part of the paper.
 
Key Words
    composite slabs; profiled steel sheets; m-k factors; longitudinal shear; load cycles; Eurocode 4; chemical bond loss; design software.
 
Address
Thomas N. Salonikios : Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering - EPPO, Thessaloniki, Greece
Anastasios G. Sextos and Andreas J. Kappos : Civil Engineering Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
 

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