Flexural behavior of open-web composite slab with I-shaped steel bottom chord and vertical flat webs

Abstract

Traditional composite floor truss systems with top and bottom chords and web trusses have encountered difficulties in system erection, installation, and the passage of utilities. In order to address these challenges, this study introduces a novel open-web composite floor system that only consists of a bottom chord and vertically placed flat web elements. These vertical web members are essentially short I-shaped steel elements and are connected to the I-shaped steel beam bottom chord and concrete slab through steel top plates and shear connectors, forming an innovative composite floor system. This paper presents the results of static loading tests conducted on two specimens with distinct web members, evaluating deformation, cracking characteristics, ultimate bearing capacity, failure mode, and stress and strain distributions. The findings indicate that the new composite floor system offers good flexural performance. Furthermore, finite element models of the composite floor system have been developed to analyze the influence of the web element’s geometry on the composite slab’s ultimate bearing capacity. This study also develops a theoretical calculation method for determining the internal force, elastic deflection, and ultimate bearing capacity of the composite floor system. The theoretical calculation results regarding the failure mode and ultimate load capacity align closely with the experimental values, and the deformation calculation formula can be used to estimate the deformation curve shape and elastic deflection of the floor system.