Timber-concrete composites (TCC) floors subjected to hogging moment

Abstract

In this paper, the structural behaviour of timber precast concrete composite (TCC) beam-to-column subassemblies subjected to hogging bending moments is investigated. Full-scale testing and analytical modelling are undertaken on timber precast concrete composite joints and beams. The composite actions were transferred via coach (lag) screw shear connectors embedded in the small grout pockets. The laboratory tests were designed to determine the influence of the size and type of timber beams (i.e., laminated veneer lumber (LVL) or glued laminated timber (GLT)), size of screw shear connectors and amount of reinforcement (in the slabs) on the structural behaviour (i.e., load-displacement, stiffness, capacity, and ductility) of the TCC beam-to-column connections. The hogging moment capacity and stiffness of the TCC floors with nominal slab thickness of 80 mm and reinforcing ratio (in the range of 0.9–1.8%) were up to 24% and 17% higher than that of the bare timber beam, respectively. The size of coach screw shear connectors (in the range of 8–16 mm) had less than 13% effect on the capacity and stiffness. An analytical model for calculating the peak load and stiffness of the TCC beams under hogging bending moment is developed. The model is shown to perform well when compared to the collected test data.