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NEW COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION OF HYBRID BEAMS COMBINING STEEL

INVERTED T-SECTION AND RC FLANGE

Conference Paper · July 2014

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.4866.1129

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NEW COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION OF HYBRID BEAMS
COMBINING STEEL INVERTED T-SECTION AND RC FLANGE

Alex Remennikov 1, Marcus Roche 2

ABSTRACT: Steel and concrete composite beams are typically formed by shear connectors connecting the
concrete floor to the top flange of the steel member. The most common arrangement found in composite
construction systems is a rolled or build-up steel I-beam connected to a concrete slab. The neutral axis is normally
located within the web of the steel section. Therefore, the top steel flange is stressed in compression and prone to
buckling. Furthermore, from a construction point of view, a relatively wide and thick top flange must be provided
for proper installation of shear studs and metal decking. This causes increased fabrication costs, which tend to
offset the savings from material efficiency of steel-concrete composite construction. In this paper, a new type of
hybrid steel-concrete I-beam is proposed and investigated that is formed by connecting a steel inverted T-beam
section to the top reinforced concrete flange, thus eliminating the need for the steel top flange and for the welded
shear studs. Six composite beam specimens with different types of connection of the concrete flange to the steel
inverted T-beam were constructed. Behaviour of new composite beams under monotonically increasing quasi-
static and impact loads was investigated experimentally. Experimental results confirmed that composite I-beams
with the reinforced concrete flange showed high degree of shear connection for all types of anchoring devices
investigated in this study. Cost and construction effectiveness of the new type of steel-concrete beams is discussed.

KEYWORDS: Steel-concrete composite beams, shear connectors, static testing.

1
Alex Remennikov, Faculty of Engineering, University of Wollongong. Email: alexrem@uow.edu.au
2 Marcus Roche, Faculty of Engineering, University of Wollongong. Email: mr483@uowmail.edu.au
1 INTRODUCTION
Composite structures are generally composed of one
or more materials which, when combined to form
one component, may utilise the desired
characteristics of each material in the most
economical way possible. The two most commonly
used construction materials in the modern civil
engineering industry are steel and concrete.
Structural steel is known to be strong in tension due
to its initial linear elastic response to applied
loading, characterising steel as a ductile material.
Standard steel members are formed from a
composition of thin plate elements and without
adequate restraint generally fail by means of local or
lateral buckling. Concrete is a far more economic
construction material when compared to steel,
though it is weaker in tension and will fail due to
tensile cracking when exposed to creep and
shrinkage. When forming a composite structure from
steel and concrete it is therefore the intention to
achieve an overall cost effective structure that
prevents the concrete elements from being exposed
to the formation of tensile stresses and provides an
overall compact cross section to prevent failure from
buckling. An ideal design would involve the
concrete being exposed to the compressive forces
and the steel being exposed to the tensile forces [1].
The bond between steel and concrete elements is
critical, without a secure bond composite action
cannot be achieved and each material will act
individually, distributing strains as separate
components. If the bond between the steel and
concrete sections is not sufficient, each element will
deform individually, with separate strain
distributions which are discontinuous at the steel-
concrete interface.
All beam elements must deform identically as a
single component, with cross sections remaining
plane whilst subject to pure bending. This is
commonly known as the plane section assumption, a
readily accepted theorem which has been proven [2].
Shear connectors are employed in steel-concrete
composite design to form a bond between the
individual steel and concrete sections causing it to
act as a single unit. They are required to perform two
important functions to achieve this bond:
(a) Transfer shear at the steel-concrete interface to
limit slip, and
(b) Prevent separation at the steel-concrete interface
to prevent uplift [3].
A wide variety of shear connector types currently
exist today, however, only three are accepted by the
Australian design standard for simply supported
composite beam structures AS2327.1-2003 [4] . The
most commonly used type being the flexible headed
stud [5].
This paper will develop a new type of steel-concrete
composite beam structure able to provide an
adequate bond between steel and concrete elements
through the application of a simple steel
reinforcement shear connector design. The design
intends to provide a more sustainable solution of
shear connection than the commonly used headed
studs, making use of a readily available construction
material in steel reinforcement which is commonly
purchased in large supplies. To rule-out the need for
specialised equipment on-site these flexible steel
reinforcement shear connectors will be designed for
ease of application either in a factory or on site.
2 NEW COMPOSITE BEAM
DESIGN
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Due to the limitations of the cross-sectional
arrangement of both steel and concrete elements and
the limited choice of composite connection types
outlined in AS2327.1-2003 [4] a new steel-concrete
composite beam type is to be designed making use of
an innovative way to form the composite connection
between steel and concrete elements. This section
describes and outlines the design of the steel-
concrete composite beam used throughout this paper
and draws attention to some of the limitations in
composite design codes.
2.2 COMPOSITE BEAM CROSS SECTION
DESIGN
The Australian standard for simply supported
composite beam structures AS2327.1-2003 [4] is
limited to cross sections which include a concrete
slab connected to a steel beam section by means of
some form of shear connection such as headed studs.
It should be noted that none of these cross sections
involve the steel beam being embedded within the
concrete slab.
Eurocode 4: Design of Composite Steel and Concrete
Structures) [6] covers a wider range of composite
cross section types than AS2327.1-2003 for both the
solid and composite slab types. Such cross sections
may include the partial encasement of the web of the
steel beam section requiring some form of shear
connection between the steel and concrete
components within the web depth of the steel beam
and steel beams having unequal flange widths.
Any shear connection between the top flange of a
steel I-beam and the concrete slab is ignored and
considered irrelevant in all design standards. The
steel I-beams considered in both AS2327.1-2003 and
Eurocode 4 make use of the top flange only to
support the profiled steel sheeting and as a location
for attaching shear connectors (generally headed
studs welded to the top flange). Therefore, an
efficient design would be to make the top flange as
small as possible or to remove it altogether as
proposed in this study. The design will effectively
consist of a steel inverted T-beam with a concrete
flange at the top, replacing the steel flange of a
standard, commonly employed I-beam section.
As a trial cross section a 150UB18.0 standard I-
beam section was chosen to be cut along the web at
the top root radius with the top flange replaced by a
180 mm wide, 55 mm deep concrete flange
composed of 40 MPa concrete to form a 2.0 m long
composite beam to allow for application to the
available testing apparatus. The trial cross section
design is shown in Figure 1.
2.3 SHEAR CONNECTION DESIGN
Mechanical shear connectors may be considered to
be either flexible or rigid. Flexible shear connectors
are able to yield and undergo plastic deformation
when resisting shear forces making them more
ductile than rigid connectors [4]. Some slip between
the concrete slab and steel beam or girder is
expected to occur in flexible shear connectors [7]
providing more warning before failure than the
sudden failure experienced due to the application of
rigid shear connectors.
Figure 1: Cross section design of hybrid steel-
concrete composite beam
A flexible shear connection design similar to that of
the commonly employed headed stud shear
connector is to be incorporated into the new
composite beam design. As flexible shear connectors
are employed for their ability to yield and undergo
plastic deformation differential movement is
expected to occur at the steel-concrete interface,
preventing undesirable concrete cracking to occur at
the location of shear connectors. Steel reinforcing
bars bent into L-shapes were incorporated into the
design as displayed in Figure 2, spaced at a distance
of 100 mm centre to centre in a staggered
arrangement as shown in Figure 3 in the hope that
the vertical portion of the bent bar will be able to
transfer shear forces at the steel-concrete interface,
limiting slip and the horizontal portion of the bar
will provide resistance against uplift, therefore
preventing separation at the steel-concrete interface.
These L-shaped anchor bars were welded to the top
of the steel flange and embedded within the concrete
flange at the top of the composite beam structure.
The use of steel reinforcing bars as shear connectors
is intended to provide a more sustainable shear
connection design than the commonly used headed
studs. As steel reinforcing bars are such a commonly
utilised construction material there is no need for the
purchase of specially manufactured headed studs.
The use of reinforcing bars is also intended to rule
out the need for specialised welding equipment on
site which is normally required for these headed
studs [4].
Figure 2: L-shaped rebar shear connectors
incorporated into the composite beam design
Figure 3: Arrangement of shear connectors in the
composite beam design
2.4 END PLATE DESIGN
8 mm thick steel plates were included in the
composite steel-concrete beam design at the ends to
more accurately replicate the conditions a simply
supported beam would experience in practical
applications (such as typical beam-column
connections). The end plate was fixed to both ends of
the steel beam through fillet welds. The end plate
extended 5 mm below the steel beam and support
will therefore be provided to the composite beam
through the end plates.
Bent R6 steel reinforcing U-bars were welded to the
end plates and embedded within the concrete flange
to provide a form of shear connection, connecting the
end plates to the concrete flange. When subjected to
bending the end plates are also expected to prevent
slippage at the steel-concrete interface as the
horizontal displacement of the concrete flange is to
be resisted. Figure 4 displays the end plate
arrangement incorporating the U-shaped R6 steel
reinforcing bar shear connectors.
Figure 4: End plate arrangement including steel
reinforcing U-bars
3 EXPERIMENTAL
INVESTIGATION OF A NEW TYPE
OF COMPOSITE BEAM
3.1 INTRODUCTION
As no composite beam structure utilising a shear
connection design such as the one investigated
throughout this paper has previously been
constructed, firsthand practical experimentation is
first required to be performed on a physical full-
scale model in order to observe the failure modes
and record test data, allowing more accurate
theoretical and numerical models of the steel-
concrete composite beam structure to be produced.
The three testing procedures employed to investigate
the behaviour of the steel-concrete composite beam
structure include two four-point bending static tests,
one of which is setup with the applied loads closer to
the centre in order to induce flexural failure in the
beam, while the other is setup with the applied loads
closer to the end plates in order to induce shear
failure within the beam. Strain gauges were placed
along the depth of the beam at desired cross sections
for both static tests in order to investigate the
effectiveness of the bond between steel and concrete
components and monitor the movement of the
neutral axis whilst the beam is subject to applied
loading. A dynamic drop hammer test was also
carried out in order to investigate the dynamic
behaviour of the composite beam design. The
dynamic drop hammer test setup included a high
speed camera which recorded deflections and failure
modes of the composite beam structure.
Appropriate data acquisition systems were employed
in the test setup of all three testing procedures for
recording the applied loads and deflections of the
structure. Accuracy of the data produced from
experimental testing on a full-scale physical model
will depend upon the execution of proper
construction procedures, use of instrumentation and
appropriate test setups.
3.2 STATIC TEST SETUP
The testing apparatus arrangements used to
investigate the quasi-static behaviour of the
composite beam structure are presented in the
following sections, along with reasoning for the
locations of strain gauge placement.
Two four-point bending static tests were performed
(one to induce flexural failure and one to induce
shear failure). A simple free body diagram of the
anticipated loading arrangement, along with the
associated shear force and bending moment diagrams
is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Free body diagram of four-point bending
loading arrangement along with associated shear
force and bending moment diagrams
As seen in Figure 5 placing the applied loads closer
to the centre of the beam will increase the maximum
bending moment, as bending moment is seen to
increase with increasing distance away from the
supports. Therefore, the four-point bending test used
to investigate the flexural behaviour of the composite
beam will have applied loads close to the centre of
the beam, inducing flexural failure.
As seen in Figure 5 there is no shear between the
applied loads. Therefore, the most effective four-
point bending test arrangement used to determine the
shear capacity of the composite beam is to have
applied loads closer to the supports of the beam,
inducing shear failure and reducing the bending
moment at the centre of the beam.
The four-point bending arrangement is considered to
be more effective than the alternative three-point
bending arrangement in this case as the spacing
between applied loads allows both the moment and
shear characteristics of the composite beams to be
explored in more detail as bending and shear failure
are more easily controlled.
Load is to be applied to the composite beams in both
four-point static loading arrangements through a
load cell at a rate of 0.5 mm/minute.

3.2.1 Four-point bending test setup to study

flexural resistance
The proposed four-point bending test setup is
shown in Figure 6 and consists of a hydraulic jack
applying a load to the composite beam through a Figure 7: Four-point bending test setup to determine
1300 mm long standard 200UB29.8 steel spreader moment capacity of composite beam
beam supported by rollers which may then transfer
the applied load to 95 mm wide loading plates of
10 mm thickness spanning across the width of the 3.2.2 Four-point bending test setup to determine
concrete flange. Load will therefore be transferred shear capacity
through this loading mechanism to the composite A similar test setup to that described in Section 3.2.1
beam forming two equal pressure loads acting over was employed to determine the shear capacity of the
an area of 17 100 mm2 (95 mm x 180 mm). The composite beam design. The only difference was the
beam was simply supported at both ends distance between rollers transferring the load to the
transferring load through the end plates at each end beam is wider as seen in Figure 8. This test-setup
of the composite beam. This test-setup shown in therefore induces a shear failure mode closer to the
Figure 6 intends to determine the moment capacity supports.
of the steel-concrete composite beam structure by
limiting the spacing between rollers supporting the
spreader beam thereby inducing flexural failure of
the beam structure.

Figure 8: Proposed four-point bending test setup to

determine shear capacity

The experimental setup employed in the structural

Figure 6: Proposed four-point bending test setup to engineering laboratory to study the shear resistance
determine ultimate moment capacity
is shown in Figure 9.
The actual test-setup employed in the engineering
laboratory to determine the ultimate moment
capacity is shown in Figure 7. Strain gauges were
connected to a data acquisition system, recording
strains at the mid-span cross section. This data
acquisition system also took readings of the load
applied through the hydraulic jack to the spreader
beam and its displacement which may then be taken
as the beam displacement.

Figure 9: Four-point bending test setup to determine

shear capacity of composite beam

3.2.3 Location of strain gauges

When performing four-point bending tests to
determine the moment capacity strain gauges need to
be placed at the mid-span cross section. Strain
gauges were placed at a cross section closer to the
supports (350 mm from end of steel beam) when
performing four-point bending testing for the shear
response. Strain gauges placed along the steel beam
and concrete flange are to be 30 mm long. The
typical distribution of strain gauges over the
composite beam cross section is shown in Figure 10.

3.3 DYNAMIC TEST SETUP

A dynamic drop hammer test is to be used to
investigate the dynamic behaviour of the composite
beam structure. The test is to involve a 600 kg weight
being dropped from a specified distance onto the
centre of the beam in a three-point bending loading
arrangement upon impact. A simple free body
diagram of the three-point bending loading
arrangement along with its associated bending
moment diagram at the point of impact is displayed
in Figure 11. Using the bending moment diagram, the
dynamic moment of the composite beam structure
may later be calculated.

Figure 11: Impact drop hammer test setup with

displacement sensor beneath the mid-point of the
composite beam structure

Figure 10: Proposed distribution of strain gauges
over the steel-concrete composite beam cross section
3.3.1 Dynamic drop hammer test setup
The dynamic drop hammer test setup involves the
steel-concrete composite beam being simply
supported on the end plates at each end over a clear
span of 2.0 m. A specially designed frame at each
end of the beam is to be positioned so as to prevent
the beam from “jumping” after drop hammer impact.
The drop hammer is to be released from a clear
height of 1.0 m to a plate resting on the top surface
of the concrete flange at the mid-span which is to
transfer the impact load to the composite beam. The
impact drop hammer test setup is shown in Figure
11. A displacement sensor placed beneath the
midpoint of the beam was used to record the
dynamic displacements of the composite beam
structure.
4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
4.1 FOUR-POINT BENDING TEST TO STUDY
FLEXURAL RESPONSE
4.1.1 Experimental results
From the data acquisition system connected to the
load cell on the four-point bending apparatus and the
application of simple statics; load and displacement
readings recorded during testing could be converted
into a midpoint moment versus displacement graph
as shown in Figure 12. A line is seen to be extended
along the initial linear portion of the curve where the
entire steel-concrete composite beam structure is
expected to be experiencing linear behaviour. A
horizontal line was run through the point where the
curve becomes non-linear (a mid-span moment of
approximately 19 kNm). Any point on the curve
above this line represents the non-linear behaviour of
the composite beam structure where irrecoverable
plastic deformation is expected to have occurred in
some portion of the composite structure (steel beam,
concrete flange or shear connectors).
The yield moment would be the maximum design
moment considered in practical design applications
and on the graph of Figure 12 is seen to be 19 kNm
(where the mid-span moment versus displacement
curve is seen to move from linear to non-linear).
Figure 12: Maximum mid-span moment versus
displacement graph
Strain data obtained from strain gauges placed along
the mid-span cross section of the beam is to be
plotted in a similar way employed in previous
studies performed on composite beam structures
[8,9]. Strain data may be used to monitor changes in
the neutral axis and slip at the steel-concrete
interface with increasing moment. It should be noted
that negative strains are considered to be
compressive strains, while positive strains are
considered to be tensile strains in the following
strain distribution graphs.
The mid-span moment versus strain graph of Figure
13 displays the strain distributions sourced from the
strain gauge locations along the mid-span cross
section. At a mid-span moment of 14 kNm the strain
readings at the top of the steel beam and the bottom
of the concrete flange (at the steel-concrete
interface) are seen to change. This may indicate the
initiation of slippage at the steel-concrete interface
and/or possible yielding and deformation of the L-
shaped shear connectors.
It can also be seen that the strain gauges located at
the top of the steel (130 mm from base of beam) and
steel 2 (85.5 mm from base of beam) are exposed to
compressive strains. This is undesirable for the steel
elements as they perform best in tension. It is
evident that the performance of the composite beam
at these two locations is significantly worse than the
performance of the steel beam element exposed to
tensile strains at other locations as the curves for the
top of steel and steel 2 are not as linear as the other
strain gauge locations on the steel, they curve more
and this may be an indicator of buckling of the steel
beam.
Concrete flange elements are seen to be exposed
only to compressive strains which is desirable and
may explain why no significant tensile cracking was
seen to occur during testing of the composite beam.
Figure 13: Maximum mid-span moment versus strain
graph at different locations over the cross-section
The depth of the composite beam was plotted against
the strain readings recorded at particular bending
moment values for four-point bending testing to
determine the ultimate moment capacity. These are
summarised in Figure 14 to display movement of the
neutral axis and the difference in strain between the
top of the steel beam and the bottom of the concrete
flange at the steel-concrete interface with increasing
moment.
The neutral axis is seen to initially be located at a
height of 92 mm from the base of the composite
beam until an applied bending moment of 14 kNm at
which point the neutral axis begins to drop deeper
into the steel beam side of the composite beam
structure (towards the bottom of the beam) finally
reaching a depth of 64 mm from the base of the
composite beam at the ultimate moment of 37 kNm.
The difference in strains recorded between steel and
concrete elements at the steel-concrete interface is
seen to increase with an increase in the externally
applied moment. This may be an indicator of
slippage at the steel-concrete interface due to
yielding and/or debonding of the L-shaped R6
reinforcing bar shear connectors.
As the neutral axis was viewed to drop at an applied
moment of approximately 14 kNm, this will be the
limiting yield moment to be considered for design as
it is less than the 19 kNm moment determined from
the midpoint moment versus displacement graph of
Figure 12. As this 14 kNm bending moment is the
same point at which strain readings are viewed to
change for both the steel and concrete elements at the
steel-concrete interface in Figure 13 failure of the
composite beam structure most likely initiates at the
shear connection formed between the steel and
concrete elements.
Referring to both Figures 13 and 14 the maximum
strain experienced over the depth of the steel-
concrete composite beam structure occurs at the
bottom of the steel beam (a strain of approximately
2000 µm/m at the maximum bending moment of 37
kNm.

Figure 14: Distribution of strains at mid-span with
increasing moment
Upon assessing the distribution of strains displayed
in Figure 14 it is clear that the shear connectors
provided some initial resistance to slippage at the
steel-concrete interface and therefore partial shear
interaction was achieved.
4.2 FOUR-POINT BENDING TEST TO
STUDY SHEAR RESISTANCE
4.2.1 Experimental results
From the data acquisition system connected to the
load cell on the four-point bending apparatus and the
application of simple statics; load and displacement
readings recorded during testing could be converted
into a shear versus displacement graph as shown in
Figure 15. This curve characterizes the composite
beams response to loading applied to induce shear
failure.
Figure 15: Maximum mid-span moment versus
displacement graph
As seen on the shear versus displacement graph of
Figure 15 the ultimate shear capacity of the steel-
concrete composite beam derived from the
experimental four-point bending test was found to be
approximately 80 kN. The curve was viewed to be
approximately linear up until an applied shear force
of 60 kN at which point the curve becomes
nonlinear, perhaps indicating the onset of plastic
behaviour. From this point, the curve reaches the
ultimate shear capacity of 80 kN.
The shear versus strain graph of Figure 16 displays
the strain distributions sourced from the strain gauge
locations placed at a cross section 350 mm from the
eastern end of the composite beam. This graph
should be read in accordance with the strain gauge
locations displayed in Figure 10. From the graph it
can be seen that the strain readings taken at the steel-
concrete interface (the curves for bottom of concrete
and top of steel) only intersect very early in the
applied shear loading suggesting that failure of the
composite connection formed between the steel and
concrete elements initiates very early. It can also be
seen that the strain readings taken at the bottom of
the concrete are very close to zero over the duration
of the applied shear loading. The curves representing
the top of steel and steel 2 are both exposed to
compressive stresses, which is undesirable for steel
as represented by the nonlinear strain distribution
curves for the strain gauges at both of these
locations.
Figure 16: Shear force versus strain graph
The depth of the composite beam was plotted against
the strain readings recorded at particular shear force
values for four-point bending testing to determine the
ultimate shear capacity. These are summarized in
Figure 17 to display the movement of the neutral axis
and the difference in strain between the top of the
steel beam and the bottom of the concrete flange at
the steel-concrete interface with increasing shear.
The neutral axis is seen to initially be located at a
height of 92 mm from the base of the composite
beam (as seen in Section 4.1 for the four-point
bending test to study the flexural behaviour
confirming the experimental elastic neutral axis
depth as 92 mm). The neutral axis begins to drop at
an applied shear of approximately 10 kN, which is
relatively early in the loading considering the
ultimate shear was seen to be 80 kN, finally reaching
a depth of 63 mm from the base of the composite
beam at the ultimate shear of 80kN. This final elastic
neutral axis value is approximately the same as that
recorded during the four-point bending test to
determine the ultimate moment capacity (where a
neutral axis depth of 64 mm was recorded). The
depth of the experimental plastic neutral axis may
therefore be considered as approximately 64 mm.

Figure 17: Strain distribution
The difference in strains recorded between steel and
concrete elements at the steel-concrete interface is
seen to increase with increasing shear. This may
indicate slippage at the steel-concrete interface due
to yielding and/or debonding of the L-shaped
reinforcing bar shear connectors.
It is difficult to make any conclusions about the
behaviour of the composite beam structure in the
induced shear loading arrangement as the strain
gauges were placed at a cross section on the eastern
side which was seen to experience less deformation
in comparison with the western end of the composite
beam structure. This is best illustrated in Figure 18
where a lack of concrete cracking, shear connector
and end plate deformation can be seen. As the cross
section with the strain gauges (eastern side) did not
experience the strains at the western side where
significant deformation did occur the recorded strain
distribution values are expected to be lower than
those recorded in Section 4.1.1.
The maximum strain recorded for the ultimate shear
testing at the eastern end of the composite beam was
found to be approximately 1500 µm/m at the base of
the steel beam at a maximum shear of 80 kN (500
µm/m less than that recorded in Section 4.1.1 as
expected).
Figure 18: Buckling in steel web of composite beam
and cracking in concrete flange at western end of the
beam
4.3 DYNAMIC TESTING OF BEAMS USING
DROP HAMMER
4.3.1 Experimental observations
Upon impact of the drop hammer with the
composite beam structure significant concrete
crushing was observed to occur in the concrete
flange as well as deformation of the steel beam. The
composite beam seen through the high speed
camera is displayed in Figure 19 just before the
point of impact and at the initial point of impact of
the drop hammer, respectively.
Figure 19: High-speed camera recording of concrete
flange crushing by impacting hammer
The concrete component of the steel-concrete
composite beam was observed to fail in a brittle
manner while the steel beam component was
viewed to fail in a more ductile manner.
Significant concrete crushing in the top fibre of the
concrete flange in the impact region was observed
in addition to some tensile cracking in the bottom
fibre as displayed on the front face of the composite
beam structure in Figure 20. The reinforcing mesh
embedded within the concrete flange was seen to
have deformed and no visible buckling was seen in
the steel beam section.
Figure 20: Damage to front face of composite beam
at midpoint after impact loading
4.3.2 Experimental results
From the data acquisition system connected to the
drop hammer the impact force imparted on the
composite beam structure may be plotted against the
time of testing as shown in Figure 21, displaying the
characteristic inertial and dynamic flexural
resistances of the steel-concrete composite beam
structure to the applied load. The inertial peak load
was seen to be around 350 kN, while the peak
dynamic flexural resistance approximately 100 kN.
The maximum value in the flexural resistance range
 may be used to calculate the dynamic moment along
with the application of simple statics over a simply
supported beam length of 2.0 m with the 600 kg drop
hammer dropped from a clear height of 1.0 m.
Figure 21: Time history of impact loading on
composite beam
With the displacement sensor placed beneath the
centre of the composite beam structure connected to
the data acquisition system the mid-span
displacement of the composite beam structure may
be plotted against the time of testing as shown in
Figure 22. The maximum mid-span displacement
can be seen as 70 mm, rebounding to a permanent
plastic displacement of approximately 55 mm.
Figure 22: Time history of dynamic mid-span
displacement obtained from displacement gauge
5 CONCLUSIONS
A new steel-concrete composite beam structure with
an innovative flexible shear connection design
outside the scope of AS2327.1-2003 was developed
in this study. A full-scale experimental model of the
composite beam was constructed and tested
experimentally to determine the ultimate moment
and shear capacities from application of
monotonically increasing loads in a four-point
bending test setup. The dynamic response of the
composite beam structure was also analysed through
the application of drop hammer impact testing.
The L-shaped shear connectors were observed to
deform in a similar way to that for the flexible
headed stud shear connectors. Very minimal
concrete crushing failure was observed to occur in
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the top compressive fibre of the concrete flange. The
L-shaped steel reinforcing bar shear connectors were
observed to effectively prevent separation at the
steel-concrete interface to prevent uplift with no
observed gaps between the concrete flange and steel
beam components after testing. From monotonic
loading of the hybrid beams, it was observed that
onset of plastic deformations corresponded to 70-
75% of the ultimate load carrying capacity, that
confirms high reliability of this structural form. It
was also confirmed that the distribution of normal
strains along the height of the section was close to
linear, which allows the application of the plane
section assumption for analysis and design of this
type of hybrid beams.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank the technical staff at
the structural laboratory of the University of
Wollongong for assisting with manufacturing the
specimens and conducting the experiments.
REFERENCES
[1] Cook, J. P. 1977. Composite Construction
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