ABSTRACT

R. Narayanan LL. Lee The Steel Construction Institute, UK H.D. Wright University of Strathclyde, UK An innovative form of steel-concrete-steel sandwich construction developed in recent years is discussed in the paper. This consists of two relatively thin steel plates and a plain concrete in-fill. Stud shear connectors welded to both the plates ensure composite action. An extensive series of model tests validate the concept and demonstrate that this form of construction is technically feasible and is likely to be an economically viable alternative to the conventional composite designs. This paper reviews the investigations funded by SERC into the potential for this new form of construction. Tentative design recommendations based on these studies are presented in this paper.