Longitudinal shear resistance of composite slabs

Abstract

Composite slabs using cold-formed profiled steel sheeting are widely used in multi-storey steel-framed buildings. This paper presents the results from a comprehensive test programme that considers the longitudinal shear resistance of composite slabs with two types of trapezoidal profiled sheeting, where the only parameter that was varied was the yield strength of the steel. Although the ductility of high-strength steel material used in two of four test series was low, the longitudinal shear behaviour for all of the composite slabs was deemed to be ductile according to Eurocode 4, which meant that the partial connection method was permitted. However, the longitudinal shear resistance was shown to be significantly lower in the specimens that used the higher-strength steel, which clearly demonstrates that the rules given in Eurocode 4, annex B.3.1 for reducing the number of tests lead to unconservative design values. To remedy this situation, an amendment is proposed.