Static behavior of bolt connected steel-concrete composite beam without post-cast zone

Although traditional steel-concrete composite beams have excellent structural characteristics, it cannot meet the requirement of quick assembly and repair in the engineering. This paper presents a study on static behavior of bolt connected steel-concrete composite beam without post-cast zone. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed with its accuracy and reliability validated by available experimental results. The analysis results show that in the normal service stage, the bolt is basically in the state of unidirectional stress with the loss of pretightening can be ignored. Parametric studies are presented to quantify the effects of the post-cast zone, size and position of splicing gap on the behavior of the beam. Based on the studies, suggested size of gap and installation order were proposed. It is also confirmed that optimized concrete slab in mid-span can reduce the requirement of construction accuracy.