• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.419-432
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• 2006

Experimental studies on the behaviors of box-shape steel reinforced concrete (SRC) composite beams were conducted. Seven 1:3 scale model composite beams were tested to failure. Each of the beams was simply supported at the ends and two concentrated loads were applied at the one-third span and two-thirds span respectively. Experimental results indicate that the flexural strength can be enhanced when the ratio of flexural reinforcements and flange thickness of the shape steel are increased; the shear strength is enhanced with increase of web thickness of the shape steel. Insignificant effects of concrete in the box-shape steel are found on improving the flexural strength and shear strength of the box-shape SRC composite beams, thus concrete inside the box-shape steel can be saved, and the weight of the SRC beams can be decreased. Shear studs can strengthen the connection and co-work effects between the shape steel and the concrete and enhance the shear strength, but stud design for the composite beams should be further improved. Formulas for flexural and shear strength of the composite beams are proposed, and the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results. In general, the box-shape SRC composite beam is a kind of ductile member, and suitable for extensive engineering application.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.243-265
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• 2013

Distortional and local buckling are important factors that influences the bearing capacity of steel-concrete composite box-beam. Through theoretical analysis of distortional buckling forms, a stability analysis calculation model of composite box beam considering rotation of steel beam top flange is presented. The critical bending moment calculation formula of distortional buckling is established. In addition, mechanical behaviors of a steel beam web in the negative moment zone subjected separately to bending stress, shear stress and combined stress are investigated. Elastic buckling factors of steel web under different stress conditions are calculated. On the basis of local buckling analysis results, a limiting value for height-to thickness ratio of a steel web in the elastic stage is proposed. Numerical examples are presented to verify the proposed models.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1217-1238
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• 2016

Mega composite structure systems have been widely used in high rise buildings in China. Compared to other structures, this type of composite structure systems has a larger cross-section with less weight. Concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) laced column to box-beam connections are gaining popularity, in particular for the mega composite structure system in high rise buildings. To enable a better understanding of the destruction characteristics and aseismic performance of these connections, three different connection types of specimens including single-limb bracing, cross bracing and diaphragms for core area of connections were tested under low cyclic and reciprocating loading. Hysteresis curves and skeleton curves were obtained from cyclic loading tests under axial loading. Based on these tested curves, a new trilinear hysteretic restoring force model considering rigidity degradation is proposed for CFST laced column to box-beam connections in a mega composite structure system, including a trilinear skeleton model based on calculation, law of stiffness degradation and hysteresis rules. The trilinear hysteretic restoring force model is compared with the experimental results. The experimental data shows that the new hysteretic restoring force model tallies with the test curves well and can be referenced for elastic-plastic seismic analysis of CFST laced column to composite box-beam connection in a mega composite structure system.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.583-594
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• 2019

In recent years, composite concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) members have been widely utilized in framed building structures like beams, columns, and beam-columns since they have significant advantages such as reducing construction time, improving the seismic performance, and possessing high ductility, strength, and energy absorbing capacity. This paper presents a new composite joint - the composite CFST beam-column joint in which the CFST member is used as the beam. The main components of the proposed composite joint are steel H-beams, CFST beams welded with the steel H-column, and a reinforced concrete slab. The steel H-beams and CFST beams are connected with the concrete slab using shear connectors to ensure composite action between them. The structural performance of the proposed composite joint was evaluated through an experimental investigation. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate this composite joint using the ABAQUS/Explicit software, and the accuracy of the FE model was verified with the relevant experimental results. In addition, a number of parametric studies were made to examine the effects of the steel box beam thickness, concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength, and reinforcement ratio in the concrete slab on the proposed joint performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.223-243
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• 2010

This paper reports recent developments concerning the application of Generalised Beam Theory (GBT) to the structural analysis of steel-concrete composite bridges. The potential of GBT-based semi-analytical or finite element-based analyses in this field is illustrated/demonstrated by showing that both accurate and computationally efficient solutions may be achieved for a wide range of structural problems, namely those associated with the bridge (i) linear (first-order) static, (ii) vibration and (iii) lateral-torsional-distortional buckling behaviours. Several illustrative examples are presented, which concern bridges with two distinct cross-sections: (i) twin box girder and (ii) twin I-girder. Allowance is also made for the presence of discrete box diaphragms and both shear lag and shear connection flexibility effects.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.75-90
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• 2020

This paper introduces a new composite joint, which is the composite CFST beam- concrete column joint, and it is more convenient for transportation and erection than conventionally welded joints. The main components of this joint include steel H-beams welded with CFST beams, reinforced concrete columns, and reinforced concrete slabs. The steel H-beams and CFST beams are connected with a concrete slab using shear connectors to ensure composite action between them. An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the proposed composite joint performance. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model was developed and analyzed for this joint using the ABAQUS/explicit. The FE model accuracy was validated by comparing its results with the relevant test results. Additionally, the parameters that consisted of the steel box beam thickness, concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength, and reinforcement ratio in the concrete slab were considered to investigate their influence on the proposed joint performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.105-120
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• 2013

Flexural behavior of thin walled steel-concrete composite sections as cross sections for beams is investigated by conducting an experimental study supported by applicable analytical predictions. The experimental study consists of testing up to failure, simply supported beams of effective span 1440 mm under two point loading. The test specimens consisted of composite box and channel (with lip placed on tension side and compression side) sections, the behavior of which was compared with companion empty sections. To understand the role of shear connectors in developing the composite action, some of the composite sections were provided with novel simple bar type and conventional bolt type shear connectors in the shear zone of beams. Two RCC beams having equivalent ultimate moment carrying capacities as that of composite channel and box sections were also considered in the study. The study showed that the strength to weight ratio of composite beams is much higher than RCC beams and ductility index is also more than RCC and empty beams. The analytical predictions were found to compare fairly well with the experimental results, thereby validating the applicability of rigid plastic theory to cold-formed steel concrete composite beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.207-233
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• 2023

Steel-concrete composite box girder bridges are widely used in the construction of highway and railway bridges both domestically and abroad due to their advantages of being light weight and having a large spanning ability and very large torsional rigidity. Composite box girder bridges exhibit the effects of shear lag, restrained torsion, distortion and interface bidirectional slip under various loads during operation. As one of the most commonly used calculation tools in bridge engineering analysis, one-dimensional models offer the advantages of high calculation efficiency and strong stability. Currently, research on the one-dimensional model of composite beams mainly focuses on simulating interface longitudinal slip and the shear lag effect. There are relatively few studies on the one-dimensional model which can consider the effects of restrained torsion, distortion and interface transverse slip. Additionally, there are few studies on vehicle-bridge integrated systems where a one-dimensional model is used as a tool that only considers the calculations of natural frequency, mode and moving load conditions to study the dynamic response of composite beams. Some scholars have established a dynamic analysis model of a coupled composite beam bridge-train system, but where the composite beam is only simulated using a Euler beam or Timoshenko beam. As a result, it is impossible to comprehensively consider multiple complex force effects, such as shear lag, restrained torsion, distortion and interface bidirectional slip of composite beams. In this paper, a 27 DOF vehicle rigid body model is used to simulate train operation. A two-node 26 DOF finite beam element with composed box beams considering the effects of shear lag, restrained torsion, distortion and interface bidirectional slip is proposed. The dynamic analysis model of the coupled composite box girder bridge-train system is constructed based on the wheel-rail contact relationship of vertical close-fitting and lateral linear creeping slip. Furthermore, the accuracy of the dynamic analysis model is verified via the measured dynamic response data of a practical composite box girder bridge. Finally, the dynamic analysis model is applied in order to study the influence of various mechanical effects on the dynamic performance of the vehicle-bridge system.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.829-847
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• 2016

This paper investigates the flexural capacity of simply supported steel-concrete composite I beam and box beam under positive bending moment through combined experimental and finite element (FE) modeling. 24 composite beams are included into the experiments and parameters including shear connection degree, transverse reinforcement ratio, section form of girder, diameter of stud and loading way are also considered and investigated. ABAQUS is employed to establish FE models to simulate the behavior of composite beams. The influences of a few key parameters, such as the shear connection degree, stud arrangement, stud diameter, beam length and loading way, on flexural capacity are discussed. In addition, three methods including GB standard, Eurocode 4, and Nie method are also used to estimate the flexural capacity of composite beams and also for comparison with experimental and numerical results. The results indicate that Nie method may provide a better estimation in comparison to other two standards.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.117-136
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• 2020

Curved steel-concrete composite box girder has been widely adopted in urban overpasses and ramp bridges. In order to investigate its mechanical behavior under complicated and combined bending, shear and torsion load, two large-curvature composite box girders with interior angles of 25° and 45° were tested under static hogging moment. Based on the strain and deflection measurement on critical cross-sections during the static loading test, the failure mode, cracking behavior, load-displacement relationship, and strain distribution in the steel plate and rebar were investigated in detail. The test result showed the large-curvature composite box girders exhibited notable shear lag in the concrete slab and steel girder. Also, the constraint torsion and distortion effect caused the stress measured at the inner side of the composite beam to be notably higher than that of the outer side. The strain distribution in the steel web was approximately linear; therefore, the assumption that the plane section remains plane was approximately validated based on strain measurement at steel web. Furthermore, the full-process non-linear elaborate finite element (FE) models of the two specimens were developed based on commercial FE software MSC.MARC. The modeling scheme and constitutive model were illustrated in detail. Based on the comparison between the FE model and test results, the FE model effectively simulated the failure mode, the load-displacement curve, and the strain development of longitudinal rebar and steel girder with sufficient accuracy. The comparison between the FE model and the test result validated the accuracy of the developed FE model.