Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol.

32, May 1999, pp 290-297

Behaviour of headed stud shear connectors under low-
cycle high amplitude displacements
O. S. Bursi and G. Gramola
Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
Paper received: March 9, 1998; Paper accepted: November 27, 1998
A B S T R A C T R I~ S U M I~
Two series of pul l -push specimens embodyi ng
headed stud shear connectors were built and tested as
part of a general investigation on aseismic design of steel-
concrete composite beams. Thereby, both the geometri-
cal and mechanical characteristics of specimens are simi-
lar to those of steel-concrete composite substructures
with full and partial shear connection.
Specimens were endowed with different boundary
conditions in order to assess the relevant effects on the
response. Moreover, to characterise the specimens from
a seismic standpoint, they were subjected to suites of
monotonic, variable and constant amplitude displace-
ments according to a cumulative damage test program.
Main results are commented upon and assessed in
terms of both yielding and maxi mum shear strength
capacity as well as ultimate displacement ductility.
Finally, a comparison between experimental and ideal
loads derived by relevant codes provides an estimate of
their accuracy.
Deux s&ies d'&hantillons de type pull-push compre-
nant des goujons ont dtd construites et test&s clans le cadre
d'une analyse g&&ale des projets antisismiques de poutres
mixtes b&on-acier. II en r&ulte que les caract&'stiques g&md-
triques et me'caniques des &hantillons sont semblables h celle
des substructures mixtes bdton-acier ayant des connections
compl~tes et partielles.
Les &hantillons ont dtd dot& de diff&entes conditions aux
extrdmite's, afin d'dvaluer les effets correspondants sur leur
r@onse. En outre, pour caract&iser les e'chantillons du point
de vue sismique, on les a soumis a des d@lacements mono-
tones et h des amplitudes de d@lacement fixes ou variables,
selon un programme d'essai d'endommagement cumulatif.
Les principaux r&ultats sont comment&, tant en ce qui
concerne la contrainte maximale de cisaillement qu' au niveau
de la ddformation maximale h la rupture.
Finalement une comparaison entre les charges exp&imen-
tales et les charges id&les d&iv&s des normes fournit une esti-
mation de la pr&ision des normes.
1. I NTRODUCTI ON
The majority of tests regarding standardised speci-
mens of push type under reversed loading were carried
out focussing on the performance of stud shear connec-
tors subjected to high-cycle fatigue. Thereby, Log S -
Log N limit domains for shear connectors or slip versus
cycle number relationships were defined for bridge
applications [1-3]. Other investigations were conducted
in order to estimate the shakedown behaviour of stud
shear connectors [4] or to quantify the stiffness variation
of shear connectors under cyclic loading with limited
reversals [5]. In the aforementioned test series different
testing equipments were adopted incorporating speci-
mens endowed with shear studs located in two rows or
single studs in conditions of direct shear. Moreover, dif-
ferent boundary conditions were reproduced within the
set-ups and only Gattesco and Giuriani [3] commented
on the adoption of peculiar boundary conditions.
Several loading histories were also applied to the
specimens. Indeed, some tests were run under load con-
trol encompassing cycles around a positive load [1-2]
whilst others displacement sequences included limited
reversals in vi ew of bri dge applications [3, 5].
Conversely, other investigators performed tests in load
control, by imposing loading with the same or the oppo-
site sign. In this last condition, the resulting slip was
unsymmetrical owing to unequal boundary conditions
in the pull and push regime, respectively [4].
From a seismic standpoint, tests on stud shear con-
1359-5997/99 9 RILEM 290
Bursi, Gramola
PROFILED SHEETING
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9 20. 330 , 120,
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F i g . 1 - Geometri cal characteristics o f t h e specimens and strain gauge l a y - o u t .
whilst t he rele-
vant ge ome t r i -
cal charact eri s-
tic are depi ct ed
i n Fig. 1. Bot h
t he b e a m st ub
a n d t h e c o n -
crete slab char-
acteristics wer e
similar t o those
o f t he compan-
i o n s t e e l - c o n -
cr et e c o mp o s -
i t e b e a ms [9],
a c c o r d i n g t o
t he Eur ocode 4
r e q u i r e m e n t s
f or s p e c i f i c
nect or s wer e carri ed out by Hawki ns and Mi t chel l [6]
b o t h i n a mo n o t o n i c and l ow- cycl e r egi me. He n c e ,
speci men per f or mances wer e compar ed and t hose sub-
j e c t e d t o c y c l i c l oadi ng exhi bi t ed a r educt i on o f shear
st rengt h and ul t i mat e di spl acement ductility. Test results
emphasi sed t he advantage o f or i ent i ng t he profi l ed steel
s heet i ng parallel t o t he shear di r e c t i on as wel l as t he
i mp o r t a n c e o f ha vi ng l arge st ud c o n n e c t o r spaci ng.
Ho we v e r , t he i n f l u e n c e o f b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s on
speci men per f or mance was not c omme nt e d upon.
Ot h e r i nvest i gat ors [7] subj ect ed pus h- t ype speci -
mens t o reversed cyclic displacements i n or der to st udy
t he effect o f a di ssi pat i on devi ce, n a me d skirt, on t he
stud connect or performance. The y realised t hat bound-
ary condi t i ons are unsymmet r i cal i n a typical push test,
and, as a resul t , t he s t eel - concr et e i nt er f ace slip was
adopt ed as cont rol parameter. To s um up, very few pul l -
push tests were conduct ed on stud shear connect or s i n a
low-cycle hi gh ampl i t ude regime. Moreover, i n t he con-
t ext o f r ever s ed di s pl a c e me nt s , o p e n p r o b l e ms still
remai n on a pr oper def i ni t i on o f boundar y condi t i ons.
Th e investigation pr esent ed i n this paper i nt ends t o
det er mi ne t he shear st rengt h capacity and ul t i mat e dis-
pl acement duct i l i t y o f st ud shear connect or s. Thereby,
pul l - push speci mens were subjected bot h to a mo n o t o -
ni c and t o a l ow- cycl e r ever sed di s pl acement r egi me
accordi ng t o a cumul at i ve damage test pr ogr am i n or der
t o characterise t hei r seismic per f or mances. Mor eover ,
t he i nf l uence o f bounda r y condi t i ons o f t he set - up as
well as o f l oadi ng histories on stud shear connect or per -
f o r ma n c e s was i n v e s t i g a t e d . Fi nal l y, a c o mp a r i s o n
bet ween experi ment al and ideal shear loads predi ct ed by
t he relevant codes is provi ded.
2 . E X P E R I M E N T A L I N V E S T I G A T I O N
2.1 S p e c i m e n d e s i g n
El even el ement al pus h- t ype speci mens di vi ded i nt o
t wo series were fabricated. The nomencl at ur e t hat i den-
tifies t he specimens is r epor t ed in Co l u mn 2 o f Table 1
pus h tests [8]. Th e studs were pl aced i n t wo rows, see
Fig. 1, t o allow stud shear loads wi t hi n t he concret e slabs
t o be redistributed. As a result, t he connect or s coul d fail
at t he i r me a n s t r e n g t h b u t also as a g r o u p o f ei ght .
I ndeed, per mi t t i ng connect or s t o fail i n gr oup unde r a
monot oni c or fatigue l oadi ng was f ound t o r educe t he
result scatter [10].
Pr of i l ed steel sheet i ng is wi del y used as pe r ma ne nt
f or mwor k for composi t e f l oor slabs i n buildings. Hence,
headed stud shear connect or s are placed i n troughs, t he
span o f whi ch is nor mal l y ei t her transverse or parallel t o
t he span o f t he beam. Since Hawki ns and Mi t chel l [6]
f ound that shear studs wi t h large spacing located i n l on-
gi t udi nal t r oughs de t e r mi ne hi gher shear st r engt h and
larger ul t i mat e di spl acement duct i l i t y t han studs located
i n t r a ns ve r s e t r o u g h s , t he o r i e n t a t i o n a n d s pa c i ng
depi ct ed i n Fig. i was adopt ed.
The slab rei nforcement is constituted of a mesh of ~ 12
and is located as illustrated in Fig. 1. Transverse reinforce-
ment s were desi gned against l ongi t udi nal splitting. Th e
surface of t he steel flanges was waxed t o prevent bond and
t o r educe f r i ct i on across t he st eel - f l ange/ concr et e slab
interfaces. Thereby, t he actual interface condi t i on i n t he
compani on composi t e beam specimens is not reproduced
correctly by the push-t ype specimens. However, the shear
strength reduct i on i n t he push-t ype specimens is compen-
T a b l e 1 - Speci men nomencl at ur e and test paramet ers
Series
1
Specimen Boundary
conditions
PM-Ol A
PM-O2 A
PC-D1 A
PC-D2 A
NPM-01 B
NPM-02 B
NPC-Ol B
NPC-02 C
NPC-03 C
NPC-O4 C
NPC-O5 C
Number of
instrumented studs
Displacement
test procedure
MONOTONIC
MONOTONIC
SPDP-1
SPDP-1
MONOTONIC
MONOTONIC
SPDP-1
SPDP-1
SPDP-2
SPDP-3
SPDP-4
2 9 1
Materials and Structures/Mat~riaux et Constructions, Vol. 32, May 1999
sated by the higher shear capacity expected for this type of
test [11].
T R W Ne l s o n st uds wer e e n d o we d wi t h a s hank
di amet er o f 15.9 mm and a mean hei ght o f 101.7 mm.
By usi ng a T R W Nel son wel di ng system a mean wel ded
hei ght o f 4.5 mm was obt ai ned.
2. 2 Ma t e r i a l properties
Th e propert i es o f concret e and shear studs are col -
l ect ed i n Co l u mn 3 and 4 o f Table 2, respectively. Due
t o t he rheological propert i es of concret e, t he first series
was charact eri sed by slight di fferent pr oper t i es a mo n g
t he s peci mens . Conver sel y, s peci mens o f t he s econd
series were tested i n a short per i od o f t i me, t hus mai n-
t ai ni ng similar material properties.
2. 3 Speci men f abri cat i on
Pu s h - t y p e s peci mens wer e as s embl ed i n a wa t e r -
pr oof ed pl ywood f or m. Due t o t he use o f an IPE 300
beam section, equal t o t he one adopt ed i n t he compan-
i on c ompos i t e subst r uct ur es [9], each slab was casted
horizontally, locating t he shear studs i n a vertical posi -
t i on. Ther eby, t he slabs were casted at di fferent stages
owi ng to concret e hardeni ng. Nonet hel ess, t he variation
o f propert i es bet ween t he compani on slabs was l i mi t ed.
Moreover, t he concret e was compact ed wi t h an elec-
tric vi brat or and a di mensi onal tolerance o f less t han 5
percent was achieved i n t he speci men const r uct i on.
2. 4 Test set-up
As me n t i o n e d i n Sect i on 1, di f f er ent t est s et - ups
e mb o d y i n g c o n s i s t e n t b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s we r e
adopt ed a r ound t he wor l d i n or der t o car r y out pus h
a n d / o r p u l l - p u s h t est s. I n d e e d , o n l y Ga t t e s c o a nd
Giuriani [3] used boundar y condi t i ons able to reproduce
a stress state o f direct shear ont o t he connect ors, whi ch
t urns out t o be appropriate for connect or s close t o ends
i n simply suppor t ed beams.
T a b l e 2 - Speci men mat er i al propert i es
Series
1st series
1st series
2nd series
Displacement
test procedure
Monotonic
Cyclic
Monotonic & cyclic
Concrete
fcm f c t m Ecm
(Mea) ( MP a ) ( MPa)
41.1 3. 4 34800
36. 5 3. 4 33700
32. 6 3. 1 32700
Shear studs
(Mfl~a) fu
(MPa)
427 578
427 548
414 528
Ot h e r researches deci ded t o use steel plates on t he
slab edges ai mi ng at s i mul at i ng t he passive resi st ance
offered by t he cont i nuat i on o f concret e slabs [4, 7]. It is
evi dent t hat t he af or ement i oned fastening devices create
a c onf i ne me nt effect on shear connect ors, t hus increas-
i ng t he ul t i mat e di spl acement duct i l i t y and t he ensui ng
energy dissipation. Thereby, di fferent bounda r y condi -
t i ons were adopt ed i n t he t wo series coveri ng t he ones
close t o t he st andard push-t est s [8] as wel l as t he ones
t hat r epr oduce t he ma x i mu m c onf i ne me nt effect i n t he
transversal di rect i on [4, 7].
The testing equi pment adopt ed to exert t he mo n o t o -
nic or cycling di spl acement d on each speci men is illus-
trated i n Fig. 2 schematically. The specimens were located
i n a reaction frame able to transfer t he load to t he support -
i ng steel col umns. For brevity, onl y a part o f t he ri gi d
count er beam that belongs to the reaction frame is shown
i n t he same figure. Due to t he alternating nature o f load-
ing, it was necessary t o adopt post -t ensi oni ng bars i n order
to transfer t he reaction force f r om the concrete slabs to t he
count erbeam. In detail, t he fastening bars were t ensi oned
t o exert a slight compressi on of about 0.5 N/ mm 2. That
stress level represents the case i n whi ch the shear studs are
located near t he i nfl ect i on points o f a beam.
To s u m up, b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s l abel l ed "A" i n
Fig. 2, correspond to t he condi t i ons suitable for mo n o t o -
nic tests suggested by Eur ocode 4 [8]. Fastening conf i gu-
rations "B" also depicted in Fig. 2 were concei ved t o si m-
ulate t he passive resistance offered by the cont i nuat i on o f
concrete slabs [4, 7]. However dur i ng testing, some hor i -
zontal movement s o f concrete slabs was observed owi ng
t o t he l i mi t e d val ue o f t he p o s t - t e n s i o n i n g pr essur e.
Thereby, boundar y condi t i ons wi t h locking devices were
concei ved, t hey are labelled " C" i n Fig. 2, i n or der t o
i mpede any relative movement o f concrete slabs.
FAST[
BAI
ANGLES
LOCKI
DEVIC
F i g . 2 -
Boundary
conditions of
the specimens:
type "A"; type
"B"; type "C' .
2 9 2
Bursi, Gramola
2. 5 Di spl acement test procedures
Specimens of bot h series were monot oni cal l y (push
regime) and cyclically (pul l -push regi me) l oaded i n a
quasi-static fashion, by a suite of sequential-phased dis-
placement procedures. Hence, it is intrinsic in the afore-
ment i oned conventional quasi-static cyclic approach, the
uncert ai nt y that relates any cyclic response to the seismic
performance. To acquire a comprehensive set of i nfor-
mat i on from t he specimens, two r ecommended testing
procedures were used: i) the so-called Compl et e Testing
Pr ocedur e proposed by t he Eur opean Convent i on for
Co n s t r u c t i o n a l St e e l wor k [12]; ii) t he Cu mu l a t i v e
Damage Test i ng Pr ogr a m suggest ed by t he Appl i ed
Technology Counci l [13]. The first type of procedure is
adopted to acquire data on the capacity of the specimens,
such as the maxi mum shear strength, ultimate displace-
ment ductility, maxi mum absorbed energy, etc. [12]. It is
by far, the most common procedure used i n Europe to
test component s in a cyclic fashion. Conversely, the sec-
ond t ype o f pr oc e dur e per mi t s t he est abl i shment o f
structural capacity parameters that need to be used wi t h
a cumulative damage model to predict component perfor-
mances under arbitrary loading histories [13].
The test program is collected in Col. 5 of Table 1. In
detail, two classical monot oni c tests were carried out both
in the first and the second test series in accordance wi t h
the Complete Testing Program [12]. As a result, a displace-
+
ment elastic limit e. and the corresDondine vield shear
+
strength P. were det ermi ned by pushing the steel beam
versus t he c ount e r be a m (see Fig. 2). In addi t i on, t he
sequential-phased procedure SPDP-1, whi ch is depicted in
Fig. 3 and is characterised by sets of equi-amplitude dis-
placements (2 + 2k) e 7, (k = 1,...,n) was applied to the
specimens.
The procedure SPDP2 is also illustrated i n Fig. 3 and
is characterised by a set of equi-amplitude constant dis-
placements at 10 eA + i n agreement wi t h the Cumul at i ve
Damage Testing Program [13]. Moreover, the procedure
SPDP- 4 that is endowed wi t h an ampl i t ude of 40 e. +,
. . . . . ) t
well beyond t he conventional elasnc hml t e. + was carried
out (see Fig. 4). Finally, the SPDP-3 procedure was con-
cei ved i n or der to r epr oduce a suite o f di spl acement s
more close to a seismic event. This procedure is depicted
in Fig. 4 and derives from the SPDP-1 one i n whi ch dis-
pl acement s equal to one hal f and one quar t er o f t he
maxi mum amplitude of each set are included.
It is clear that strain-rate effects may alter the quasi-
static l oad- di spl acement response of speci mens c o m-
pared to the corresponding dynamic response. However,
slow-cyclic testing results i n a small decrease in strength
a nd i n an i nc r e a s e o f t he d e t e r i o r a t i o n r at e [13].
Thereby, results from quasi-static cyclic tests can be con-
sidered as conservative for the purpose of performance
assessment. Moreover, the characterisation of t he l ong-
t e r m behavi our o f t he speci mens woul d r equi r e t he
analysis o f viscous effects. The af or ement i oned effects
are not investigated i n this particular research because
seismic actions bel ong to the class of accidental loads.
2. 6 I nst r ument at i on
The i nst r ument at i on was desi gned to moni t or t he
behaviour of the specimens duri ng testing, by providing
a cont i nuous t i me record bot h of displacements (slips)
40
30
20
10
. f0
-10
-20
-30
-40
CYCLE NUMBER CYCLE NUMBER
Fig. 3 -
Sequential-phased
displacement test
procedures
SPDP-1 and
SPDP-2 with
variable and con-
stant amplitude.
401
301
2Ol
101
"10 I -20
-30
-40
CYCLE NUMBER CYCLE NUMBER
Fig. 4 -
Sequential-phased
displacement test
procedures
SPDP-3 and
SPDP--4 wi t h
variable and con-
stant amplitude.
2 9 3
Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol. 3 2 , May 1 9 9 9
and r eact i on force. I n detail, t he r eact i on force
was meas ur ed wi t h a l oad cell c onne c t e d t o t he
end of t he actuator. Th e interface slip e bet ween
t he steel beam and t he concr et e slabs s hown i n
Fig. 2 was assumed to be t he pr i me paramet er o f
t he test cont rol , owi ng to the di fferent stiffnesses
o f t he t est s et - up. Such slip e was de t e c t e d by
means o f f our l i near variable di fferent i al t rans-
f or mer s (LVDTs) l ocat ed as depi ct ed i n Fig. 2.
Moreover, t he slip was measured also wi t h addi-
t i onal f our LVDTs t hat are labelled wi t h circles
and illustrated i n Fig. 2.
T h e ma i n r e s p o n s e o f each s p e c i me n was
expressed i n t er ms o f a monot oni c or hysteretic
r e a c t i o n f o r c e - s l i p ( P - e) r e l a t i o n s h i p .
Def or mat i ons o f st ud connect or s wer e r ecor ded
t oo endowi ng t h e m wi t h linear strain gauges able
t o det ect bot h axial and be ndi ng def or mat i on c o mp o -
nent s. Th e ens ui ng gauge n u mb e r i n g is i l l ust rat ed i n
Fig. 1, whilst t he speci mens endowed wi t h i ns t r ument ed
shear studs can be inferred f r om Co l u mn 4 o f Table 1.
T h e a na l og si gnal s f r o m t he v a r i o u s me a s u r i n g
devi ces wer e c ondi t i one d, ampl i f i ed and di gi t i sed by
usi ng an A/ D conver t er and t he n r ecor ded i n a c o m-
put er-based data acquisition system.
Series
3 . R E S U L T S
3 . 1 F i r s t S e r i e s
For t he sake o f brevi t y, onl y t he mo s t si gni f i cant
results are illustrated and c o mme n t e d upon. Moreover,
i n or der to disregard t he variability o f t he material pr op-
erties, all reaction force-slip relationships (P - e) are pl ot -
t ed i n a non- di mens i onal f or m i n whi ch Pcode represents
t he monot oni c shear st rengt h pr edi ct ed by Eur ocode 4
[8]. However, t he interface slip has not been di mens i on-
alised, because t he relevant convent i onal elastic l i mi t ey +
collected in Co l u mn 3 o f Table 3 is rat her small.
All speci mens of this first series failed by stud shear-
i ng and concret e cr ushi ng i n t he monot oni c regi me and
low-cycle fatigue i n t he cyclic regime. Thereby, t he per -
formances o f speci mens were di fferent as a f unct i on of
t he sequential-phased di spl acement pr ocedur e adopt ed.
Table 3 - Parameters o f the load-slip response
Specimen ey+ eu+ eu+ P y + P m a x + Pcode
(mm) (mm) ey+ (kN) (kN) (kN)
PM-01 0. 08 6.1 76.3 339. 1 570. 4 643. 4
PM-02 0. 08 3. 4 42. 5 386. 3 565. 6 643. 4
PC-01 0. 25 3.2 12.8 282. 2 418. 7 643. 4
PC-02 0. 22 1.3 5.9 377. 6 517. 9 643. 4
NPM-01 0. 10 9.9 99. 0 315. 7 554. 3 613. 5
NPM-02 0. 10 14.7 147.0 330. 7 549. 2 613. 5
NPC-01 0. 03 3. 2 106.7 226. 4 389. 7 613. 5
NPC- 02 0. 04 3. 7 92. 5 277. 1 394. 2 613. 5
NPC-03 0. 01 1.0 100. 0 50. 0 379. 2 613. 5
NPC-04 0. 03 3.2 106.7 261. 0 431. 3 613. 5
NPC-05 0. 17 4. 0 23. 5 315. 2 468. 1 613. 5
Pmax +
Pcode
0. 89
0. 88
0. 65
0. 80
0. 90
0. 90
0. 64
0. 64
0. 62
0.7O
0. 76
Thi s obser vat i on becomes clear f r om t he responses o f
PM- 01 and PC- 01 speci mens depi ct ed i n Fig. 5a. It is
evi dent bot h t he shear st r engt h and t he di s pl acement
duct i l i t y r e duc t i on associated wi t h t he reversed cyclic
response.
To est i mat e t he a f or e me nt i one d effects, a c onve n-
tional ul t i mat e di spl acement eu + was det er mi ned i n order
t o defi ne t he range i n whi ch each speci men can provide a
shear strength P > P.+. As a result, t he ul t i mat e displace-
. . J / . . .
me n t duct i l i t y factor e +/e + i n t he pushi ng regi me was
u y
defi ned. Fr om Col umns 4 and 5 of Table 3, i n whi ch for
brevity, onl y t he val ue rel evant t o t he pus hi ng r egi me
have been collected, one can quantify t he di spl acement
r educt i on that characterises t he specimens subjected t o a
c y c l i c regime. Moreover, f r om Col umns 6 and 7 of t he
same table t he ma x i mu m shear strength r educt i on can be
assessed. In particular, a severe r educt i on of shear st rengt h
for t he speci men PC- 01 and a l i mi t ed r educt i on for t he
speci men PC- 02 are evident. These differences have t o
be at t ri but ed to t he boundar y condi t i ons "A" (see Fig. 2)
t hat ha mpe r t he reliability o f t he response. Mor eover ,
boundar y condi t i ons "A" det er mi ne t he ma xi mum shear
strength difference bet ween pul l and push regimes. Thi s
is evi dent bot h f r om Fig. 5a and Fig. 5b i n whi c h t he
skeleton curves o f speci mens are report ed. In detail, an
i ncr ease o f ma x i mu m shear s t r e ngt h i n t he p u s h i n g
regime of 14.4 and 29.8 percent is f ound for t he PC- 01
and PC- 02 speci men, respectively.
, . o 1 - I . . . . . . P , . o / I
~,~ 0.8t- L PC.Ol ] "" . . . . . . ""
o.61- -
0.41-
0.21-
o
~ -0.2 [
~. -0.4
-0.6 a)
-0.8
-1. 0 PULL PUSH
I I I I I I
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
SLIP ( mm )
1.0
"~ 0.8
a, ~ 0.6
0.4
0.2
-0.2
~ -0.4
-0.6
-0. 8
-1.0
PM-OI
PM-02
PC-O1
PC-02
PULL
I I
-6 -4
I I I
-2 0 2 4
SLIP ( mm )
b)
PUSH
I
6
Fig. 5 - Non-
dimensional r e ac -
t i o n f o r c e vs . con-
trolled slip o f
p u l l - p u s h s p e c i -
me ns : a) monot o-
nic a n d hy s t e r e s i s
loops; b) s k e l e t o n
c ur ve s .
2 9 4
Bursi, Gramola
'.~ F---OAUO I
o.8 --GAUGE ,I
0.6 k ,|,~
o
% -0.2 ~ i
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8 a)
- 1.0 PUSH
- 6000 -3000 0 3000 6000
DEFORMAT I ON ( ' 1 0 6 )
1.0
0.8
0.6
~,, 0.4
0.2
-0.2
~ -0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1.0
J *
I [ - - A X ' A L S T A ' N
[-- -- FLEXURAL STR.
b)
PULL PUSH
, i I i
-6000 - 3000 0 3000 6000
DEFORMATI ON ( ' 1 0 6 )
Fig. 6 - Hysteresis
l oops o f non-
dimensional reac-
t i on force vs. stud
shear connect or
strains: a) single
strain; b) c om-
bi ned strain.
i[
"~ 0.8
~" 0.6
0.4
o.
-0.2
f
-0.6
-0.8
-1.0
PULL PUSH
I I 1 I I I I I I
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
S LI P ( ram )
0.8
0.6
0.4
~ o.
~ -0.2
-0.6
-0.8
-1.0
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
suP ( mm )
Fig. 7 - No n -
dimensional reac-
t i on force vs. con-
trolled slip o f
pul l - push speci-
mens.
The state of deformation in the stud connectors can
be assessed by means of the graph depicted i n Fig. 6 rele-
vant to t he PC-01 specimen. In detail, measurement s
regard gauges 3 and 4 that are located on the connect or
shank close to the beam flange (see Fig. 1). Strain levels
indicate that stud connectors experienced high inelastic
deformations. In addition, the strain decomposi t i on i n
axial and bendi ng component s allows bot h t he tensile
and bendi ng strains to be quantified. In particular, Fig.
6b highlights that tensile strains of the stud shank remai n
i n the elastic range. Finally, connectors exhibited inelas-
tic curvatures at about 1.3 and 1.8 times the shank di am-
eter from the stud base, wi t h reference to the push and
pull-push specimens, respectively.
3. 2 Second Series
As far as t he s econd test series is c onc e r ne d, for
brevity, onl y some of t he speci men responses are pr e-
sent ed and c o mme n t e d upon. In detail, t he r eact i on
force-slip (P - e) response of the NPC- 0 2 specimen is
depicted in Fig. 7a. The observed inelastic behaviour is
governed by stud shearing owi ng to bendi ng and shear
whilst the specimen collapse was governed by concrete
crushing and stud fracturing. The stiffness and strength
degradation in the range of maxi mum load appears to be
limited.
The correspondi ng cyclic response of t he NPC- 0 5
specimen is illustrated i n Fig. 7b. An increase o f shear
strength at large displacements is not ed (see also Col umn
7 o f Tabl e 3) owi ng to t he di s pl acement pr oc e dur e
SPDP-4 whi ch is characterised by one cycle onl y i n the
variable amplitude range.
Typi cal failure modes bot h o f concr et e and shear
connectors in specimens subjected to cyclic loading are
illustrated i n Figure 8. In detail, the concrete zone close
t o t he shear st ud bases wi t h i n t he f our c o n n e c t o r s
appears heavily crushed. Major cracks depart from each
connect or shank caused by the large steel-concrete i nt er-
face pressure. Conversely, onl y t wo large cracks formed
outside the connectors owi ng to the reversal effect of the
loading. Clearly, onl y maj or cracks formed i n the front
of connect or s for the case o f monot oni c loading. The
a f o r e me n t i o n e d f ai l ur e mode s r e pe a t e d t hems el ves
among specimens t hough hysteretic behavi our renders
predictions tough. As far as the connect or failure mode
is concerned, l ow- fatigue cracking followed by fracture
at the weld-collar/shank interface occurred (see Fig. 8b).
Indeed, the number of cycles associated wi t h that type of
failure coul d be pr edi ct ed by means o f a cumul at i ve
damage model.
Pr i mar y load-slip relationships provi ded by the t wo
specimens tested i n a monot oni c regi me as wel l as t he
skel et on curves o f t he r emai ni ng speci mens are illus-
trated in Fig. 9. One can observe that reversed displace-
2 9 5
Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol. 32, May 1999
Fig. 8 - Failure zones in concrete slab and at the weld-collar/shank interface.
1.0
"~ 0.8
~.'~ 0.6
0.4
0.2
o
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1.0
~ PUSH NPM.O1
- - - NPM-02
: ,~"..,
SLI P ( tara )
NPC-O1
NPC.02
. . . . NPC.03
NPC.041
NPC.051
PULL
I I I I I I I I
-16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16
Fig. 9 - Skeleton curves of SERIES 2 specimens.
i ~ i i i
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
10
Studs ~16mm, 1=100 m~
St 37.3k, fu =528 Mea I
LRFD (1993)
/
/
/
, I
/ Eurocode 4 (1992)
/
y ~ NPM-O1, NPM.02
NPC-O1 - NPC.05
I I I I I
20 30 40 50 60
CONCRETE STRENGTH (MPa)
Fig. 10 - Comparison between specimen maximum strength and
code prediction.
ment cycles inflict to the specimen responses a reduction
both of maximum shear strength and ultimate displace-
ment ductility. In detail, the mi ni mum strength ratio
Pmax, NPC 03+/Pmax NPM 01 reaches 68.4 percent (see
Column 7 of Table 3) whilst the corresponding mini-
mum duct i l i t y ratio
+ + ( e+l el - )
(e u l e y . ) NPC- 02 I
NPM-02 lS about 62.9 percent
if the tests at equi-constant
amplitude, NPC-03-NPC-
05, are disregarded. Indeed,
a peculiar displacement test
procedure like the SPDP-4
one can determine a large
reduction of specimen duc-
tility (see Col umn 5,
Specimen NPC-05). It is
evident that reduction val-
ues both of shear strength
and of ultimate displace-
ment ductility under cyclic
loading have not to be con-
sidered per se. Indeed, they have to be compared to the
corresponding demands that characterise composite
beams under seismic loading. Thereby, tests on compan-
ion composite beams represent a prerequisite in such
type of investigation.
Observations can also be made comparing the char-
acteristic parameters between the First and the Second
series. In particular, the displacement elastic limit e .+ of
9 . }/
PC-01 and PC-02 specimens is much larger than the
one that characterises NPC-01 and NPC-02 specimens.
The aforement i oned observation can be explained
through the flexibility of the testing equipment inher-
ited by the Boundary conditions "A" with respect to the
Boundar y condi t i ons "B" and "C" (see Fig. 2).
Moreover, the NPC-02 specimen is able to provide a
maximum displacement e u + larger than the one offered
by the NPC-01 specimen, as the result of Boundary
condition "C" with respect to Boundary conditions
"B". Such an effect is reflected also by the relevant
increase of the yield strength Py+ as well as of the maxi-
mum strength P,+, respectively.
Finally, elastic limits values ey + that characterise the
specimens of the second series are consistent, thus con-
firming the inherent reliability of the test set-up with
boundary conditions "C".
4. CODE COMPARI SON
Test results on pull-push specimens, i.e. specimens
subjected to reversed displacements, show that both stiff-
ness and strength of stud connectors reduce at all stages
owing to marked yielding and fatigue cracking in the studs
as well as propagation and coalescence of microcracks in
concrete. At present, design codes do not predict the shear
strength of stud connectors in a low-cycle high displace-
ment regime and, therefore, it is worthwhile to quantify
their accuracy in such conditions.
Let define Pmax + as the ideal shear strength predicted
by the code using measured rather than nominal material
properties. The corresponding values obtained both
with Eurocode 4 [8] and AISC [14] respectively are
depicted in Fig. 10. The unsafe prediction provided by
296
Bursi, Gramola
non-seismic codes is evident as a result of reversed dis-
placement effects.
Wi t h reference to Eurocode 4 [8] these effects can be
quant i f i ed by means of Col umns 8 and 9 of Table 3,
respectively, i n whi ch t he overall shear strength value
cor r espondi ng to each specimen, i . e . ei ght connect ors
(see Fig. 1), is considered. In the worst case, t he code
overestimates the maxi mum cyclic strength of about 38
per cent ( speci men NPC- 0 3 ) . However , a ma x i mu m
ove r e s t i ma t i on o f 12 p e r c e n t ( s peci men PM- 02) is
obtained for specimens subjected to monot oni c displace-
ment s too. The af or ement i oned discrepancy is mai nl y
due to the presence of the profiled steel sheeting whi ch
is taken into account onl y in an approximate manner in
the Eurocode 4 [8].
5. C O N C L U S I O N S
Test results o f t wo series o f pul l - pus h speci mens
embodyi ng headed stud shear connectors were presented
in this paper. These results, derived from specimens sub-
j e c t e d to suites o f monot oni c , variable and cons t ant
equi - ampl i t ude displacements, wer e r e- eval uat ed and
compar ed i n t erms o f global paramet ers such as yi el d
shear strength, maxi mum strength as well as elastic limit
and ultimate displacement ductility factors.
To sum up, on the basis of a comparison bet ween the
results of the first and the second series, it was found that
symmet r i c bounda r y condi t i ons i mpr ove t he per f or -
mance of specimens i n terms of maxi mum shear strength
and displacement ductility.
Moreover, a comparison bet ween experi ment al and
ideal loads pr edi ct ed by relevant codes highlights that
codes calibrated upon monot oni c loading overestimate
the actual strength of stud shear connectors and, thereby,
appear to be i nadequat e wh e n reversed di spl acement s
govern the stud shear connect or response.
6. A C K N OWL E D GE ME N T S
This research project is sponsored by grants from the
Italian Mi ni s t r y o f t he Uni ver si t y and Sci ent i fi c and
Technol ogi cal Resear ch ( M. U. R. S. T. ) for whi c h t he
authors are grateful. However, opinions expressed in this
paper are t hose of t he wri t ers, and do not necessarily
r ef l ect t hose o f t he sponsor. The aut hor s gr at ef ul l y
acknowledge the laboratory assistance.
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