ABSTRACT
The work presents a numerical study that focuses on steel-concrete composite beams using ductile headed stud shear connectors. The objective is to check the suitability of the proposed revised EN 1994-1-1 rules for the minimum degree of shear connection. Therefore, a non-linear 3D finite element model of simply supported composite beams was developed and validated against the analytical values of the plastic bending design resistance. The parametric study consists of 10 configurations where the relative slip at slab-beam interface was carefully investigated at different degrees of shear connection and propping conditions. Specifically, the slip at the minimum degree of shear connection shall not exceed the limit of 6 mm defined as the characteristic slip of ductile connector according to EN 1994-1-1. The results showed that the revised rules for unpropped beams delivers conservative results whereas one case with propped conditions exhibit a maximum slip significantly higher than 6 mm.
