The primary structural components use in composite

construction consists of the following elements.

1. Composite deck slab

2. Composite beam

3. Composite column

4. Composite floor

5. Shear connector

1. COMPOSITE DECK SLAB

Composite floor system consists of steel

beams, metal decking and concrete. They
are combined in a very efficient way so
that the best properties of each material
can be used to optimize construction
techniques. The most common
arrangement found in composite floor
systems is a rolled or built-up steel beam
connected to a formed steel deck and

Typical Form of Interlock in Composite Slab

The Use of Metal Decking in Composite Construction

concrete slab. The metal deck typically spans
unsupported between steel members, while also providing a working platform for concreting work. The

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 composite floor system produces a rigid horizontal diaphragm, providing stability to the overall building system,
while distributing wind and seismic shears to the lateral load-resisting systems.

Composite action increases the load carrying capacity and

stiffness by factors of around 2 and 3.5 respectively. The
concrete forms the compression flange – the steel provides the
tension component and shear connectors ensure that the
section behaves compositely. Beam spans of 6 to 12 m can be
created giving maximum flexibility and division of the internal
space. Composite slabs use steel decking of 46 to 80 mm depth
that can span 3 to 4.5 m without temporary propping. Slab
thicknesses are normally in the range 100 mm to 250 mm for
shallow decking, and in the range 280 mm to 320 mm for deep
decking. Composite slabs are usually designed as simply
supported members in the normal condition, with no account
taken of the continuity offered by any reinforcement at the
supports.

2. COMPOSITE BEAM

In conventional composite construction, concrete

slabs rest over steel beams and are supported by
them. Under load these two components act
independently and a relative slip occurs at the
interface if there is no connection between them.
With the help of a deliberate and appropriate
connection provided between them can be
eliminated. In this case the steel beam and the
slab act as a “composite beam” and their action is
similar to that of a monolithic Tee beam. Though
steel and concrete are the most commonly used
materials for composite beams, other materials
such as pre-stressed concrete and timber can
also be used. Concrete is stronger in
compression than in tension, and steel is
susceptible to buckling in compression. By the
composite action between the two, we can utilize
their respective advantage to the fullest extent.

7 Typical Beam Cross Sections

 Generally in steel concrete composite beams, steel beams are integrally connected to prefabricated or cast in
situ reinforced concrete slabs.

2.1 COMPOSITE ACTION IN BEAMS

Composite beams, subjected mainly to bending,

consist of section action composite with flange of
reinforced concrete. To act together, mechanical shear
connectors are provided to transmit the horizontal
shear between the steel beam and concrete slab,
ignoring the effect of any bond between the two
materials. These also resist uplift forces acting at the
steel concrete interface. If there is no connection
between steel beam and concrete slab interface, a
relative slip occurs between them when the beam is
loaded. Thus, each component will act independently.
With the help of deliberate and appropriate connection
between concrete slab and steel beam the slip can be
minimized or even eliminated altogether. If slip at the
interface is eliminated or drastically reduced, the slab
and steel member will act together as a composite
unit. Slip is zero at mid-span and maximum at the
support of the simply supported beam subjected to
uniformly distributed load. Hence, shear is less in
Composite Steel Beam-Concrete Slab interaction
connectors located near the centre and maximum in
connectors located near the support. Composite beams are often designed under the assumption that the steel beam
supports the weight of the structural steel or wet concrete plus construction loads. This approach results in
considerably less number of connectors than they are required to enable the maximum bending resistance of the
composite beam to be reached. However the use of such partial shear connection results in reduced resistance and
stiffness.

ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSITE BEAMS

 Keeping the span and loading unaltered, more

economical steel section in terms of depth and
weight) is adequate in composite construction
compared with conventional non-composite
construction.

Fire Resistant Composite Beams  Encased steel beam sections have improved fire
resistance and corrosion.

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  It satisfied requirement of long span construction a modern trend in architectural design.
 Composite construction is amenable to fast track construction because of use of rolled steel sections.
 Composite sections have higher stiffness than the
corresponding steel sections and thus the
deflection is lesser.
 Permits easy structural repairs/ modification.
 Provides considerable flexibility in design and
ease of fabrication.
 Enables easy construction scheduling in
congested sites.
 Reduction in overall weight of the structure and
there by reduction in foundation cost.

 Suitable to resist repeated earthquake loading

which requires high amount of resistance and ductility.

Partially Encased Beams with Pinned Connections

3. COMPOSITE COLUMN

A steel concrete composite column is a compression member,

comprising either of a concrete encased hot rolled steel section or a
concrete filled hollow section of hot rolled steel. It is generally used
as a load bearing member in a composite framed structure.
Composite members are mainly subjected to compression and
bending.

 (a) Concrete encased steel column

 (c) & (d) Concrete filled Steel Tubes
 (b) Rolled section columns partly encased in concrete.

THE ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSITE COLUMNS ARE

Typical Cross Sections of Concrete Columns
 Increased strength for a given cross sectional dimension.
 Increased stiffness, leading to reduced slenderness and increased bulking resistance.
 Good fire resistance in the case of concrete encased columns.
 Corrosion protection in encased columns.
 Significant economic advantages over either pure structural steel or reinforced concrete alternatives.
 Identical cross sections with different load and moment resistances can be produced by varying steel
thickness, the concrete strength and reinforcement. This allows the outer dimensions of a column to be held
constant over a number of floors in a building, thus simplifying the construction and architectural detailing.
 Erection of high rise building in an extremely efficient manner.
 Formwork is not required for concrete filled tubular sections.

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 4. COMPOSITE FLOOR

Composite floor construction is essentially an overlay of

one-way structural elements. The slabs span between
the secondary or floor beams, which span transversely
between the primary beams. The latter in turn span
onto the columns

This set of load paths leads to rectangular grids,

with large spans in at least one direction (up to 12,
15 or even 20 m). Up to 15 m, rolled sections are
mainly used, while from 12 m upwards welded
plate girders, stub girders or truss girders tend to
be more economical.

During the life of a structure changes in use must

be expected. Whilst many of these changes affect
service requirements, others will primarily affect
layout. The best way to maximise flexibility of
internal planning is to minimise the number of
columns. Figure 2 shows typical examples of ways in which primary beams of larger span, can reduce or
eliminate internal columns. These large span
beams may be so deep that services can only be
accommodated by providing holes in the primary
webs, Stiffening around the openings may be
necessary, particularly in the presence of very
high vertical shear forces.

Large Stiffened Web Openings

In the case of longer span floors, the designer may need to

consider the susceptibility of the floor structure to vibration.

The parameter commonly associated with this effect is the

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 natural frequency of the floor: the lower the natural frequency, the more the structure may respond dynamically to
occupant- induced vibration.

For this purpose floors (or beams) are normally designed to have a natural frequency not less than 3Hz, and in the
case of floors that may be subject to rhythmic group activities, not less than 4Hz. An alternative more precise approach
is to assess the likely vibrational behaviour and, taking into account the human reaction to vibration, thereby establish
acceptance criteria.

In summary, composite floor construction used for

commercial and other multi-storey buildings, offers the
following main advantages to the designer and client:

• Speed and simplicity of construction (metal decking, simple

steel connections).

• Lighter construction than a traditional concrete building

(structural steel and lightweight concrete, slender structural
elements of small dimensions).

• Less on site construction (steelwork, prefabricated structural

elements).

• Small (strict) tolerances achieved by using steel members

manufactured under controlled factory conditions to
established quality procedures.

5. SHEAR CONNECTORS

The total shear force at the interface between concrete slab and steel beam is approximately eight times the total load
carried by the beam. Therefore, mechanical shear
connectors are required at the steel-concrete interface.
These connectors are designed so that:

 They must transfer direct shear at their base.

 They must create a tensile link into the concrete.

Shear connectors between concrete slabs and steel beams in a  They must be economic to manufacture and fix.
composite beam
CLASSIFICATION OF SHEAR CONNECTORS

1. RIGID TYPE

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 As the name implies, these connectors are very stiff and they sustain only a small deformation while resisting
the shear force. They derive their resistance from bearing pressure on the concrete, and fail due to crushing of
concrete. Short bars, angles, Tsections are common examples of this type of connectors. Also anchorage
devices like hoped bars are attached with these connectors to prevent vertical separation.

2. FLEXIBLE TYPE

Headed studs, channels come under this

category. These connectors are welded to the
flange of the steel beam. They derive their stress
resistance through bending and undergo large
deformation before failure. The stud connectors
are the types used extensively. The shank and
the weld collar adjacent to steel beam resist the
shear loads whereas the head resists the uplift.

3. BOND OR ANCHORAGE TYPE

It is used to resist horizontal shear and to

prevent separation of girder from the concrete
slab at the interface through bond. These
connectors derived from the resistance through
bond and anchorage action.

Shear Connectors

TYPES OF SHEAR CONNECTORS

HEADED
STUDS

It resist
horizontal shear and vertical uplift forces in composite steel-concrete
structures, the most commonly used type of shear connector is the head
stud.

This type of connector contributes to the shear transfer and prevents uplift,
as it is designed to work as an arc welding electrode, and, simultaneously,
Headed Shear Connector after the welding, acts as the resisting connector with a suitable head. As a
result of the high degree of automation in the workshop or on site, this type of connector is commonly used worldwide.

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PERFOBOND RIBS

Developed in Germany, this connector includes a welded steel plate, with

a number of holes.The flow of concrete through the rib holes formed
dowels that provide resistance in both the vertical and horizontal
directions.

The fact that it not only ensures the concrete steel bond, but also enables
a better anchorage of the internal columns hogging moment has encouraged its adoption.
Perfobond Ribs Shear Connector
T-RIB CONNECTOR

In the scope of a study on perfobond connectors, Vianna et al. (2009)

presented an alternative connector for headed studs, called the T-
perfobond. By adding a flange to the plate, which acts as a block, the
derivation of this connector from the perfobond connector was created. The
need to combine the large strength of a block type connector with some
ductility and uplift resistance arising from the holes at the perfobond
connector web is a motivating factor for the development of this T-
perfobond connector. In order to prevent a premature loss of stiffness in
the connection, the T-rib connector detail should minimize the prying
action effect. As leftover rolled sections can be used to produce the T-rib
connectors, it could reduce cost and minimize welding work.

OSCILLATING PERFOBONDSTRIPS

As compared to the headed studs and T-shape connectors, this type of

connector has larger load capacity. However, due to the fast drop of the
load capacity after the peak, the performance of this connector in the
case of ordinary strength and normal weight concrete is rather
disappointing. Nonetheless, the absence of such behavior when they are
in use in lightweight concrete, concrete with fibres or high strength
concrete allows the oscillating perfobond strips connectors to perform Oscillating-Perfobond strip shear connector
well.

WAVEFORM STRIPS

The objective of the curved form is to improve the transfer of force

between the steel and the surrounding concrete as opposed to a
straight connector. It is however recognized that it would be more
difficult to weld using conventional automated welding equipment.

Waveform-strip shear connector

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CHANNEL CONNECTOR

Channel connectors might not need inspection procedures,

such as bending test of headed studs, due to the highly
reliable conventional welding system used in the welding of
these connectors. The load carrying capacity of a channel
shear connector is higher than that of a stud shear connector.
This enables replacement of a large number of headed studs
with a few channel connectors.
Channel shear connector
PYRAMIDAL SHEAR CONNECTORS

Sufficient bending strength and flexural rigidity for loads during and
after construction is expected from a steel plate-concrete composite
slab with pyramidal shear connectors. A TSC composite slab, which
is composed of a bottom steel deck and concrete through pyramidal
shear connectors could also be one of them. The fatigue problem
should play a significant role in design when such a TSC composite
Pyramidal shear connector slab is applied to a bridge deck subjected to traffic loads.

RECTANGULAR-SHAPED COLLAR
CONNECTORS

This connection device consists of a collar

composed of two or more parts, astride the
timber beam, bolted together at adjacent
wings .At the collar-beam interface, a rubber
layer is interposed. The superior wings of the
collar or a steel stud, purposely welded to the
collar in the upper part, which are immersed in
the concrete cast, guarantees the slipping action
transmission. The force-slip relationship is used
to discuss the connection behavior (Faggiano et Rectangular shaped collar shear connector

al., 2009)

Pyramidal shear connector which is a

welding shear

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connector may reduce the fatigue strength
of the thin
bottom plate.
Pyramidal shear connector which is a
welding shear
connector may reduce the fatigue strength
of the thin
bottom plate.
Pyramidal shear connector which is a
welding shear
connector may reduce the fatigue strength
of the thin
bottom plate.

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