Available Projects
Design rules for headed stud connectors welded within steel deck with the ribs parallel to the supporting beams
The objective of this project is to develop design rules for stud shear connectors in decking: with the ribs perpendicular to the supporting beams; or when crushed ends are introduced to the deck. It is planned that the results from this research will form the basis for UK design guides and/or Complimentary Information within the UK National Annex to EN 1994-1-1: 2025, which may be incorporated within the next generation of this European design standard.
Primary supervisor: Professor Stephen Hicks - Email: Stephen.J.Hicks@warwick.ac.uk
Composite construction consisting of steel beams connected to composite slabs has gained popularity in modern multi-storey buildings. This is due to the fact that composite action is responsible for a considerable increase in the load resistance and stiffness of the steel beams which, when utilized in design, can result in significant savings in steel weight and construction depth. Column-free internal spaces, with beam spans in excess of 12 m, has led to this technology being widely used in multi-storey office buildings throughout Europe, which is reflected in a market share of 66.4% in the UK.
An integral element to composite construction is the shear connection between the concrete slab and the steel section. For headed stud shear connectors welded within the ribs of composite deck slabs, their resistance is reduced in comparison to studs embedded in solid concrete slabs. To account for this effect, Eurocode 4 (EN 1994-1-1) provides reduction factor equations, based on the geometry of the steel decking and the connectors. These equations have been derived empirically from the results of small-scale tests (known as push tests), which have been revised and modified as new deck profiles have been developed.
Improved design rules based on a combination of Machine Learning and Structural Reliability have recently been developed for stud shear connectors in steel decks with ribs perpendicular to the supporting beams (i.e. secondary beam applications) [1, 2, 3]. However, during this work it was discovered that there is little/no test evidence on the performance of stud shear connectors in steel decks with the ribs parallel to the supporting beams, which is a common detail for long-span primary beams. Moreover, recent developments in composite construction has led to manufacturers develop an automatic process for crushing the ends of decks with the ribs transverse to the supporting beams, in order to avoid the need to include end caps to retain the wet concrete. In these circumstances, engineers use the existing design rules for ribs parallel to the supporting beams to estimate the resistance of stud shear connectors.
The objective of this project is to develop design rules for stud shear connectors in decking: with the ribs perpendicular to the supporting beams; or when crushed ends are introduced to the deck. This industry-supported research project will include tests on full-scale specimens, supplemented by numerical analyses. It is planned that the results from this research will form the basis for UK design guides and/or Complimentary Information within the UK National Annex to EN 1994-1-1: 2025, which may be incorporated within the next generation of Eurocode 4.
[1] Degtyarev VV, Hicks SJ Machine learning-based probabilistic predictions of shear resistance of welded studs in deck slab ribs transverse to beams. 2023, Steel and Composite Structures, 49(1), 109-123, https://doi.org/10.12989/scs.2023.49.1.109
[2] Hicks SJ and Degtyarev VV Experimental data on the shear resistance of headed studs welded within the ribs of profiled steel decking transverse to the supporting beams, 2023, Data in Brief, 50, 109616, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109616.
[3] Degtyarev VV, Hicks SJ Shear resistance of welded studs in deck slab ribs transverse to beams, 2023, Engineering Structures, 294, 116709, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.116709
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