The Effect of Adding Shear Connectors to the Composite Slabs with Different Geometry of Profile Steel Sheet

Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate experimentally the effect of adding shear connectors to the composite deck slabs which have various geometries of steel sheeting. The behavior and resistance of composite slab is basically depending on the development of longitudinal shear resistance. In this study six specimens of composite deck slabs which have different types of geometries of steel sheets (trapezoidal, triangle and T-shapes) with dimensions (1850mm x 500mm x 110mm) were casted and tested under four-point load in presence and absence of shear connectors in order to evaluate the behavior and longitudinal shear resistance of composite slabs. The results show that the adding shear connectors to composite slabs with trapezoidal shape and triangle shape act to increase ultimate load capacity by 22.2% and 17.8% respectively as compared with composite slabs without shear connectors while effect of adding shear connectors to the composite slab with T-shape was very little or can be neglected. As well as the adding shear connectors to composite slabs with trapezoidal shape and triangle shape act to decreasing the deflection as compared with the same load also act to enhance the general performance of slabs.