Numerical Simulation on Failure Process of Rubber-Sleeved Headed Stud Shear Connector

Abstract

Rubber-sleeved headed stud shear connector is flexible shear connector used in steel-concrete composite structures. In this work, nonlinear finite element model has been developed to simulate the failure process of the shear connector under shear loading. The stress distribution, deformation, crack propagation and failure mode were analyzed. The material nonlinearities of rubber, headed stud, concrete were considered in the material model. The rubber was assumed as a perfect material with no defect, and a modified reduced polynomial form of strain energy including an energy limiter and a new constant was introduced into the user material subroutine VUANISOHYPER-INV of ABAQUS software. Damaged plasticity model was used to model the concrete material. A tri-linear elastic-plastic curve was used in stud material model. Comparing the results obtained from the finite element analysis with those from push-out test, good agreement is highlighted in the capacity, ductility and failure mode of rubber-sleeved headed stud shear connector.