Shear strength and shear behaviour of H-beam and cruciform-shaped steel sections for concrete-encased composite columns

In this research, we tested 10 simply supported concrete-encased composite columns under monotonic eccentric loads and investigated their shear behaviour. The specimens tested were two reinforced concrete specimens, three steel reinforced concrete (SRC) specimens with an H-shaped steel section (also called a beam section), and five SRC specimens with a cruciform-shaped steel section (also called a column section). The experimental variables included the transverse steel shape's depth and the longitudinal steel flange's width. Experimental observations indicated the following. (1) The ultimate load carrying capacity was controlled by web compression failure, defined as a situation where the concrete within the diagonal strut's upper end was crushed. (2) The composite effect was strong before the crushing of the concrete outside the steel shape. (3) We adjusted the softened strut-and-tie SRC (SST-SRC) model to yield more accurate strength predictions than those obtained using the strength superposition method. (4) The MSST-SRC model can more reasonably predict shear strength at an initial concrete softening load point. The rationality of the MSST-SRC model was inferred by experimentally observing shear behaviour, including concrete crushing and the point of sharp variation in the shear strain.