Ultimate strength of composite structure with different degrees of shear connection

Composite beam, which combined the material characteristic of the steel and concrete, has been widely used in the construction of various building and bridge system. For the effective application of the composite beam, the composite action on the composite interface between the concrete element and the steel element should be achieved by shear connectors. The behavioral characteristics of composite beam are related with the degree of interaction and the degree of shear connection according to the shear strength and shear stiffness of the stud shear connectors. These two concepts are also affected by the number of installed shear connector and the strength of composite materials. In this study, experimental and analytical evaluations of the degree of shear connection affected by stud diameter were conducted, and the relationship between structural behavior and the degree of shear connection was verified. The very small difference among the ultimate loads of the specimens depending on the change of the degree of connection was possibly because of the dependence of the ultimate load on the characteristic of plastic moment of the composite beam.