Experimental studies on the behaviour of headed shear studs for composite beams in fire

Steel and concrete composite structures are commonly applied in multi-story buildings as they maximise the material strength through composite action. Despite the popularity of employing a trapezoidal deck slab, limited experimental data are available under elevated temperatures. The behaviour of the headed shear stud embedded in a transverse trapezoidal deck and solid slab was investigated at both ambient and fire conditions. Twelve push-out tests were conducted according to the ISO 834 standard fire utilising a customised electric furnace. A stud shearing failure was observed in the solid slab specimen, whereas the failure mode was changed from a concrete-dominated failure to the stud shearing in the transverse deck specimen with an increase in temperature. Comparisons between the experimental observations and design requirements are presented. The Eurocode design guidance on the transverse deck slab gives a highly conservative estimate for shear resistance. A new design formula was proposed to determine the capacity of the shear connection regardless of the slab type when the stud shearing occurs at high temperatures.