Push-Out Test of Steel-Concrete-Steel Composite Section for Pre-Installation and Post-Installation Techniques of Shear Connectors

Abstract

Composite steel-concrete sections have a broad benefit through increasing structural strength as well as minimizing the self-loads. All past researches were concerned with pre-installed shear connectors (PRSC) in the manufacturing of composite sections. A new fabrication technique for steel-concrete-steel composite sections were presented in the current study by the post-installation shear connectors (POSC) passed-through an embedded polymerizing vinyl chloride (PVC) pipes. The performance of normal strength concrete prisms with a specified strength of 32 MPa connected to square steel tubes (SST) was investigated. Six specimens were fabricated in both methodologies, PRSC and POSC were experimentally tested by Push-out test. The spacing of the shear connectors was changed for every two specimens fabricated in two different ways in order to obtain a full behavioral view. However, POSC does not have full-bond to concrete prisms, the test revealed a comparable strength of POSC specimens. The test shows a slight increase in the ultimate strength of PRSC specimens by (12.11, 11.19, and 9.45) % than POSC specimens for 100mm, 150mm, and 200mm spaced shear connectors.