Grade-two resistance screw shear connector behaviour for a composite section system

Abstract

Screw shear connectors have been most commonly used in Colombia for many years; however, there is no current design methodology justifying its use in composite sections and prevailing rules insist that elements used as shear connectors must be tested. Along with the usual details of bending design and vertical shear, horizontal shear design on the composite section interface must be specified, even more so in adjusting such design to Colombian construc-tion. A study was thus undertaken analysing effects on composite sections when screws were used as shear connec-tors. This research studied 18 composite section models having two 21MPa concrete slabs which had different confi-gurations with one, two or three 1/2", 5/8" or 3/4" diameter shear connector type screws, and 0.08m, 0.12m or 0.14m separations. Three specimens were tested for each model by direct shear or push-out method. The corres-ponding analysis was done according to laboratory results, assessing the influence of diameter and connector sepa-ration on the model’s behaviour; screw design in composite sections was then formulated. A model of the tests was analysed using a finite element method based-programme which reviewed in detail those aspects which had little a-ppreciable effect on the physical tests, including concrete degradation in the interface section.