Structures 23 (2020) 111–125

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Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/structures

Characterization and optimization of a steel beam to RC wall connection for T

use in innovative hybrid coupled wall systems
⁎
R. Das , R. Steensels, D. Dragan, B. Vandoren, H. Degée
Construction Engineering Research Group, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Steel-concrete hybrid solutions with replaceable fuses as coupling elements and appropriately detailed com-
Steel and concrete hybrid connections posite connections have shown their efficiency to design safe and easily repairable earthquake-resisting struc-
Embedment length tures. In this general framework, the behavior of a possible steel to concrete composite connection to be used in a
Energy dissipation recently suggested Hybrid Coupled Wall (HCW) system, consisting of a reinforced concrete shear wall coupled
Seismic-resistant structures
with steel side columns via dissipative steel shear links, is studied in this paper. The steel shear links are bolted to
Embedded steel sections
a steel profile either partly embedded or passing through the RC wall. The connection zone is designed in such a
way that the damage always occurs in the steel shear links (fuses) prior to any damage in the RC wall in general
and in the connection zone in particular. The emphasis lies therefore on the characterization of a suitable “steel
link + embedded composite connection within the RC wall” configuration and on the evaluation of an appro-
priate embedment length allowing the concentration of seismic damage to the replaceable steel links. To this
purpose, two joint configurations are designed based on a capacity-based approach, namely “partly embedded”
and “completely passing through” steel beam, and are examined through detailed FE analyses. A parametric
study is carried out to provide sufficient insight into the system in terms of strength, stiffness and local bearing
strength, in view of validating the proposed design procedure.

1. Introduction
Technical solutions ranging from reinforced concrete (RC) walls
coupled by beams [1–4] to more recent steel and concrete hybrid
coupled walls (HCWs) with steel or composite beams as structural fuses
[5–17] have proven their efficiency as earthquake resistant structures.
To further enlarge the scope of possible combinations of RC walls and
steel elements, a new structural configuration for HCW systems was
recently proposed, developed and studied by means of numerical and
experimental tools within the European research project INNO-HYCO
(INNOvative HYbrid and COmposite steel-concrete structural solutions
for building in seismic area, [18,19]). This system consists of a RC shear
wall coupled to two steel side columns through steel links, as shown in
Fig. 1. The RC wall carries almost the full horizontal shear force while
the overturning moments are to a large extent resisted by an axial
compression-tension couple developed by the two steel side columns
rather than by the individual flexural action of the wall alone (Fig. 1)
[20]. The HCW system performances are directly related to the strength
and ductility of the links and the connection behavior [19]. Appro-
priately designed links can provide a suitable source of energy dis-
sipation and improve the ability of the structure to deform inelastically
without significant loss of strength. The steel coupling links can then be
designed as replaceable fuses yielding before any significant damage in
the RC wall, allowing an easy repair in the post-earthquake time, with
the wall providing the self-centering capacity.
However, to achieve the foretold performance objectives, the con-
nection zone of the steel links to the RC wall (as emphasized in Fig. 1)
should be prevented from any significant damage. In the proposed
system, the primary steel links (“fuses”) are connected either to an
embedded steel beam or a beam passing through the RC wall and the
embedded connection is so designed that the seismic damage is always
concentrated in the replaceable primary steel links, which are intended
to fail before any or minimal damage in the RC wall as well as in other
components of the connection. Previous studies by Marcakis and
Mitchell [21], Mattock and Gaafar [22], Kriz and Raths [23], Kent and
Park [24], Minami [25] and Raths [26] provide encouraging results
regarding a connection with coupling beams embedded in a RC wall
and can be encompassed as a starting point to derive specific guidelines
or simplified design procedures to calculate an optimal embedment
length (le). Some of these models are illustrated in Fig. 2 and further
described here below.
Marcakis and Mitchell [21] proposed a first model shown in Fig. 2a,

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rajarshi.das@uhasselt.be (R. Das).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2019.10.011
Received 13 March 2019; Received in revised form 28 August 2019; Accepted 19 October 2019
2352-0124/ © 2019 Institution of Structural Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
R. Das, et al.
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the proposed HCW system showing relevant resisting forces (axial forces in columns, Nc; base shear, V; and shear in links, Vlink,i) with an
enlarged view of the steel link-to-RC wall connection [20].
Fig. 2. Models proposed by (a) Marcakis and Mitchell 1980, (b) Mattock and Gaafar 1982, and (c) Kent and Park 1982, for calculating the required embedment
length, le.
assuming a rigid-body motion of the embedded steel section. They re-
commended the following equation to determine the required em-
bedded length.
0.85fck beff (le − c1)
Vu =
1+
3.6e
l e − c1
where, Vu is the ultimate beam shear force, Vn is the nominal shear
capacities (Fig. 2), fck is the concrete compressive strength, beff is the
effective flange width of the beam (considered to be greater than the
original width due to spreading of compression forces within the wall),
le is the embedment length, e is the distance from the face of the wall to
effective fixed point of beam. Later, using the stress distribution shown
in Fig. 2b, Mattock and Gaafar [22] proposed a different equation to
determine le.
⎛ 0.58 − 0.22β1 ⎞
Vu = 0.9fb β1 beff le ⎜ a
0.88 + l ⎟
⎝ e ⎠ (2)
where, fb is the bearing strength of concrete considered as 0.85fck, beff is
taken as bbeam (t/bbeam) 0.66, bbeam is the actual width of the beam cross-
section, t is the thickness of the wall, β1 is calculated from the Whitney’s
equivalent stress block and produces a value of le/3 for the rectangular
compression zone as considered by the authors. Furthermore, to
Structures 23 (2020) 111–125
account for the effect of lateral confinement, authors modified the
previous equation:
0.33
t /2 ⎞ ⎛ 0.58 − 0.22β1 ⎞
Vu = 0.9fb β1 bbeam ⎛
⎜ ⎟ le ⎜ a
⎝ bbeam ⎠ 0.88 + l ⎟
(1) ⎝ e ⎠ (3)
Kriz and Raths [23] also supported the previous study [22] and
suggested that the tensile strength of concrete was proportional to fck .
Kent and Park [24] proposed a modified approach to account for higher
strength and stiffness due to the confinement provided by a larger
amount of transverse reinforcements in the boundary zone of the wall.
This method was based on the modified stress distribution illustrated in
Fig. 2c. beff was considered as bbeam(t/bbeam)0.66, similarly to the pro-
posal of Mattock and Gaafar. However, due to the rather high level of
complexity of the approach, no closed form expression could be derived
to determine the required embedment length when knowing the tar-
geted resisting forces. Most of these design models are shown to provide
a rather conservative evaluation of the strength of the connection when
compared with experimental results or detailed numerical simulations
[24]. Therefore, it was decided in this piece of research to investigate
the possibility of a simple yet refined design procedure to allow opti-
mizing the required embedded length for such composite connections
(Fig. 3) while avoiding complicated design formulas, and to extend
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R. Das, et al.
Fig. 3. Configuration 1: (a) Schematic diagram (b) resistance mechanism.
Fig. 4. Configuration 2: (a) Schematic diagram (b) resistance mechanism.
their scope to configurations with completely passing-through steel
beams (Fig. 4). This second option is required given that both the length
of the wall and the depth of the steel beam are defined by the global
design procedure described in [20], which might not always allow to
find a suitable solution for the connection with Configuration 1.
Indeed, in previous studies of the global behavior [20,27,28] of the
HCW system, in which the global structural behavior was studied for
different total heights, the optimal shear wall length was found as being
as low as around 1.0 m for 3-storey buildings. This is in average less
than for equivalent solutions resorting to conventional coupled shear
walls (i.e. two RC walls connected by coupling beams). It is conse-
quently observed that resorting to Configuration 1 (embedded con-
nection) with the appropriate embedment length at each side of the RC
wall is likely to result in a very short distance between the extremities
of the embedded profiles, causing a weaker steel-concrete bond and
leading to premature cracks, as well as constructional difficulties. It
could even lead to an overlap situation of the profiles coming from both
sides of the wall. Therefore, Configuration 2 with a passing through
steel beam is identified as the only possible option for a low number of
storey, due to the necessary short length of the wall. In both connection
configurations, the bending moment transferred by the link to the wall
is balanced by a couple of vertical bearing forces at the steel concrete
interface as shown in Figs. 3b and 4b, assuming a simple block stress
distribution similar to Fig. 2a. Therefore, to summarize, the aim of this
research is to propose a suitable embedded steel to concrete connection
as well as an associated design procedure, to be applied for the newly
proposed INNO-HYCO HCW systems [18–20,27–28] to accommodate
the replaceable links and verify the anticipated seismic behavior. This
goal is achieved by applying a capacity based design procedure, de-
scribed in a later section of this article. The numerical parametric study
also provides evidences to support the proposed design procedure.
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Structures 23 (2020) 111–125
2. Design methodology
The suggested general design procedure is globally similar for both
connection configurations. However, the equilibrium equations change
slightly in Step 3 for each resisting mechanism shown respectively in
Fig. 3b and 4b. Steps 1, 2, 4, and 5 remain the same. The procedure is
essentially a continuation of the global design methodology proposed in
the earlier studies on the innovative HCW system [20,27,28].
Step 1: Design of the RC wall and steel link (fuse): The dimensions and
reinforcement details of the RC wall, steel columns and steel shear links
are calculated according to [20,27,28] based on the global perfor-
mances of the HCW structure.
Step 2: Design loads on the embedded part of the profile: According to
the assumed link-to-wall force transfer mechanism, the embedded
profile is designed based on a linear increase of the bending moment
until 1/3rd of its embedment length (le) as shown in Fig. 5. Suitable
overstrength factors are chosen based on the current suggestions of the
Eurocodes. Values at three different locations, i.e. i) at beam splice
connection, ii) at the face of the RC wall and iii) at the location of the
first reaction applied by the concrete (taken as 1/3rd of the embedment
length as recommended by previous researches [21,22,24,26]), are
Fig. 5. Static scheme to calculate design loads.
R. Das, et al.
Table 1
Design load equations for shear and intermediate/flexural links.
Shear Links
fy
V0 = Vp, link = t (d − t f ); VEd = 1.1V0 Ω (4)
3 w
M1 = V0 llink ; MEd1 = 1.1M1 γov Ω (5)
l +l
M0 = M1 link 0 ; MEd0 = 1.1M0 γov Ω (8)
llink
l
llink + l0 + e
3
Mx = M1 ; MEdx = 1.1Mx γov Ω (9)
llink
amplified by the overstrength factors and are used to design the em-
bedded profile. The following overstrength and safety factors con-
sidered for the design:
γov = 1.25, γM 0 = 1.00, γM1 = 1.00, γM 2 = 1.25,
γc = 1.50, γs = 1.50, Ω = 1.5
As stated in [20,27,28], the fuses are designed as shear links. The
verification starts then assuming that the shear force in the link reaches
its plastic capacity Vp,link, as shown in Eq. 4. Expressions for Vp,link are
obtained from Eurocode8 [29]. The design loads for shear critical
(“short” link, according to the definition of Eurocode 8 [29]) links are
calculated from Eqs. (4, 5, 8, 9) corresponding to Fig. 5. Alternatively,
in cases where the design should rely on fuses yielding in bending
(“intermediate” or “long” links), design values can also be obtained
starting from the assumption that the link reaches its plastic capacity
Mp,link for the intermediate and flexural links as shown in Eq. (6). Re-
sulting design loads for intermediate and flexural links are then cal-
culated from Eqs. (6)–(9). Design load equations for both cases are
summarized in Table 1, where fy is the nominal yield stress; d is total
depth of the section; b is flange width; tf is flange thickness, tw is web
thickness, llink is the link length (from the face of column to the center of
the beam splice connection). l0 is the offset length of the beam splice, le
is the embedment length. M1, M0, and Mx are the moments at the lo-
cations corresponding to Fig. 5. Finally, VEd is the design shear load and
MEd1, MEd0, MEdx are the design moment loads at the aforementioned
locations. However, as MEdx (i.e. the maximum moment in the steel
profile in the zone inside the wall) can only be calculated once le is
known, an initial guess of the steel section is made based on VEd, MEd1
and MEd0. The appropriate value of le is then calculated in Step 3 and
the final choice of the section and of the embedment length is reached
after an iterative process looping on steps 2 and 3.
Step 3: Calculating the embedment length inside the concrete: For
Configuration 1, equilibrium equations can be derived from Fig. 3b, with
the moment equilibrium expressed at the level of the face of the wall. It
leads to Eqs. (10) and (11).
fb abeff + VEd = fb cbeff
a c
MEd0 − fb abeff ⎛le − ⎞ + fb cbeff = 0
⎝ 2⎠ 2 (11)
where, fb is the bearing strength of concrete and is equal to 0.85fck as
proposed in previous studies [6–8], fck is the compressive strength of
the concrete, beff is the effective flange width of the embedded profile
and is taken as bprofile (t/bprofile) 0.66 as proposed in the foretold research
[22]. t is the wall thickness and bprofile is the flange width of the em-
bedded profile, while a and c are as indicated in Fig. 3b. It results in a
system of two equilibrium equations with three unknowns, a, c and le. c
can however be set equal to 0.55le, as determined and verified from the
FE parametric studies presented in Section 5. A closed form relation can
then be obtained to evaluate the required embedment length, as given
in Eq. (12),
Structures 23 (2020) 111–125
Intermediate/Flexural Links
M1 = Mp, link = fybtw (d − t f ); MEd1 = 1.1M1 γov Ω (6)
M1
V0 = ; VEd = 1.1V0 Ω (7)
llink
1 2
le = [0.9VEd + 4MEd0 fb beff + 2.85VEd ]
fb beff (12)
After iterating between step 2 and 3, if the resulting value of le
becomes larger than the half of the wall length lw, it is thus necessary to
shift to a Configuration 2 connection. Otherwise, both options remain
possible for the designer.
For Configuration 2, the equilibrium equations are based on Fig. 4b
and can be written as in Eqs. (13) and (14):
fb abprofile + VEd = fb cbprofile + VEd (13)
a c
2MEd0 + VEd l w − fb abprofile ⎛l w − ⎞ + fb cbprofile = 0
⎝ 2⎠ 2 (14)
where, lw is the length of wall.
In this case, le is known and equal to lw/2, accounting for the
symmetry. An optimal design is obtained for a width of the profile
bprofile such that c is equal to 0.2lw, according to the conclusions of the
numerical parametric study discussed later in Section 5.2. This optimal
profile width can be obtained directly from Eq. (14), noting that a and c
are obviously equal given the antisymmetric behavior, as expressed in
Eq. (13). It is also interesting to note that, again based on the numerical
parametric study, the use of an increased effective width beff is not
appropriate for the passing-through system and that a better match is
obtained by using the actual width of the profile bprofile.
Step 4: Defining the embedded profile section: The final choice of
embedded profile section is made according to Eqs. (15) and (16) to
ensure that it doesn’t yield prior to yielding of the shear link.
Vpl . Rd, profile > VEd (15)
Mpl . Rd, profile > MEdx > MEd0 > MEd1 (16)
Av f y Wpl f y
with Vpl, Rd, profile = γ 3 and Mpl, Rd, profile = γ . Av and Wpl denotes the
M0 M0
shear area and plastic section modulus of the embedded profile.
Step 5: Design of Beam Splice connection: The beam splice connec-
tions are designed to meet the requirements of Eurocode3 [30], with
design moment and shear force MEd1 and VEd defined in step 2.
Step 6: Design check of the wall reinforcements: The wall reinforce-
(10) ments are designed following the design method suggested in
[20,27,28] depending on the maximum base shear in the RC wall Vpl,w
obtained from the global structural analysis and design.
3. Description of case studies
In order to validate the simple design approach described in Section
2, a detailed numerical parametric study was carried out with 10 dif-
ferent embedment lengths (200 mm, 250 mm, 300 mm, 350 mm,
375 mm, 400 mm, 450 mm, 500 mm, 550 mm, and 600 mm) and 4
different M/V ratios (M0/V0 = 0.5 m to 2 m) for Configuration 1. For
Configuration 2, le being constant, the assessment was made in by
varying the M/V ratio. The case studies correspond to a link-to-wall
connection located at the ground storey of a 6-storey structure with a
coupling ratio of 40% obtained from the global structural design
[20,27,28]. The length of the wall is 2.1 m and its width is 0.36 m. The
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R. Das, et al.
Fig. 6. Reinforcement detailing for RC wall of the 6 storied HCW system [20].
Table 2
Design outcomes for both configurations.
Configuration 1 Configuration 2
Grade of Concrete C30 C30
Shear Link Section BuIP_8
Link length, llink (mm) 400.00
Yield Shear, Vp,link (kN) 210.05
Yield Moment, Mp,link (kNm) 110.44
Embedded Profile HEB220 HEM220
Vpl,Rd,profile (kN) 572.25 928.67
Mpl,Rd,profile (kNm) 293.58 503.74
Embedded length, le (mm) 390.00 1050.00
MEdx (kNm) 273.15 368.16
RC wall cross-section is illustrated in Fig. 6. Concrete is taken as class
C30/37 and reinforcements were taken to be B450C following the EC2
guidelines [31]. Reinforcements were designed according to the DCM
rules stated in EC8 Clause 5.4.3.4 [29] for ductile walls. The link sec-
tion (codename BuIP_8, standing for Built-up I Profile No. 8 as defined
in [20]) has an overall depth of 200 mm, a flange width of 100 mm, a
flange thickness of 17 mm and a web thickness of 5.6 mm. In the model,
the length of the link was varied from 400 mm to 1900 mm, corre-
sponding to 4 different M/V ratios. The offset length l0 (i.e. the distance
between the wall face and the splice connection) is considered as
100 mm for all cases. According to the analytical equations discussed in
Section 2, VEd, MEd1 and MEd0 were calculated as 347 kN, 173 kNm and
217 kNm respectively, a HEB 220 section was obtained as embedded
profile for Configuration 1 and a HEM 220 for Configuration 2. The re-
levant outcomes of the design procedures are given in Table 2. Stif-
feners were then provided at a distance of le/6 from the face of the RC
wall and from the end of the embedded profile respectively, to prevent
local deformation of the flanges in the steel-concrete bearing zones.
Two plates with dimensions 300 mm × 300 mm × 25 mm are used for
the splice connection. Steel grade S355 (nominal yield stress
fy = 355 MPa) was adopted for the coupling links, the embedded pro-
files, the stiffeners and the beam splice connection plates.
4. Modelling approach
The different configurations were modelled and analyzed in the fi-
nite element software DIANA 10.1 [32] through nonlinear analyses by
means of 3D modelling using eight-node hexahedral solid elements. For
the embedded profile, shear link and beam splice connection plates, the
density of the FE mesh was kept uniform and consistent across all
models. The numerical model was validated through its successful ap-
plication for simulating geometries corresponding to experimental
benchmark results from the existing literature [16]. A perfect bond was
assumed at the steel-concrete interface. Only half of the actual Config-
uration 1 was modelled by imposing a symmetrical boundary condition
at the wall's mid-span cross section. However, Configuration 2 was fully
modelled for the parametric studies because of the antisymmetric
loading scenario shown in Fig. 4b. A graphical illustration of the mesh
configuration used for Configuration 1 and 2 is depicted in Figs. 7a and b
respectively. Nonlinear plasticity was introduced in the RC wall ac-
cording to Eurocode 2, Clause 3.1.7(2) [31] considering the
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Structures 23 (2020) 111–125
characteristic compressive strength (0.85fck) for the design models in
order to compare these simulation results with the experimental results,
which are to be conducted in near future. A linear fracture energy based
method was considered to define the tensile properties of the concrete
based on existing formulas [33]. For the parametric studies, the design
compressive strength was considered to compare the simulation results
with the design values. An elastic-perfectly plastic material for the
B450C steel reinforcements and nominal stress-strain material proper-
ties for the steel S355 were considered for the design models with ap-
propriate strain hardening in accordance with Eurocode 3, Table 3.1
(EN10025-2) [30]. In order to focus on the stress distribution inside the
concrete along the embedment region at the maximum possible limit
and investigate the bearing failure in the RC wall, elastic material be-
havior is considered in Section 5 for the shear links, beam splice con-
nection as well as the embedded profiles. The effective properties of all
materials, including possible yielding of the link and embedded profile,
are then used in Sections 6 and 7 to assess the actual performances of
the connection.
5. Validation of the design bearing length by numerical
parametric studies
5.1. Optimal value of “c” for Configuration 1
The couple of Eqs. (10) and (11) comprises 4 unknowns, namely the
internal forces VEd and MEd0 and the bearing lengths a and c. Assuming
that the ratio MEd0/VEd is fixed and that the bearing length c is equal to
an arbitrary fraction of le, it is then possible to derive the maximum
allowable value of the bending moment MEd0,max corresponding to the
theoretical failure of the concrete bearing. In order to evaluate the
safety margin, the maximum allowable bending moment value obtained
from the analytical approach suggested in Section 2, was compared
with the bending moment at failure obtained from the numerical
model. The comparison is done considering different arbitrary values of
c in the analytical procedure, ranging from 0.2le to 0.8le. The resulting
safety margin MFE,max/MEd0,max in function of the chosen c value is il-
lustrated in Fig. 8 for two different embedment lengths and four dif-
ferent M/V ratios. It is observed that, in all cases, the lowest safety
margin remains higher than 1.0 and is achieved for a c value approxi-
mately equal to 0.55le, as shown in Fig. 8.
Therefore, an additional comparison is carried out between two
cases. In the first one, the bearing length c is considered as le/3, as
assumed in many previously published research studies [21–24]. In the
second one, it is considered as c = 0.55le to validate if it can really
constitute an optimum solution for a wider range of embedment length,
from 200 to 600 mm (no configuration with a longer embedded part of
the profile is evaluated hereby, as it actually requires to shift to a type 2
configuration with a passing-through beam). The obtained safety mar-
gins are compared in Fig. 9 whereas, Fig. 10 compares the calculated a-
values (bearing length at the top of the embedded profile) as a fraction
of le. A clear decrease of the safety margin was noticed in Fig. 9 for the
relevant range of embedment length, which confirmed a higher accu-
racy for c = 0.55le compared to the more conservative results obtained
for c = le/3.
In order to strengthen the above conclusions, the bearing stress
distribution below the bottom flange and above the top flange of the
embedded profile were also investigated. Fig. 11 represents the third
principal stress (σc3) in the concrete right under the bottom flange,
useful to validate the conclusions related to the bearing length c,
whereas Fig. 12 shows the similar outcomes above the top flange, re-
levant for assessing the bearing length a. In these graphs, the length is
normalized with respect to the total embedment length, i.e. the stresses
are plotted respectively in function of c/le or a/le. In Fig. 11, the prin-
cipal compressive stresses in the lower bearing zone are observed to be
distributed in a quasi-uniform rectangular shape up to c equal to 0.55le
for all combinations of embedment length and XFE ratio. This strongly
R. Das, et al. Structures 23 (2020) 111–125

Fig. 7. FEMs used in DIANA: (a) Configuration 1 (b) Configuration 2.

agrees with the observations discussed earlier, further validating the

assumptions of c = 0.55le as being the most effective assumption for
design purposes. Furthermore, comparing Figs. 10 and 12, the lengths
of the upper bearing a were also found to be significantly more con-
sistent with the numerical results when obtained from Eqs. (10) and
(11) assuming c = 0.55le rather than c = le/3. This validated the choice
made in Section 2 for the analytical design procedure.
As illustrated in Fig. 13a, the principal compressive stresses below
the bottom flange of the embedded profile were observed to be dis-
tributed along a width larger than the actual profile width bprofile. This
occurred due to the activation of diagonal compression struts origi-
nating from the top flange and widening the effective contact zone and
therefore motivated the choice of beff to design Configuration 1
(Fig. 13b).

5.2. Optimal value of “c” for Configuration 2

According to the mechanical model suggested in Fig. 4b for Con-

figuration 2, the overturning moment is assumed to be resisted by a
couple of vertical bearing forces. Similarly to the approach followed for
Configuration 1, a detailed parametric study with FE models was carried Fig. 9. Moment safety comparison.
out to estimate the most appropriate values of c and beff. The numerical
parametric study was done with four different M/V ratios. Although safety margin of the analytical approach – based on Eqs. (13) and (14) –
c = le/3 = lw/6 was found to be conservative, the use of an increased with respect to the FE results yields the values of 1.02, 1.08, 1.21 and
value of the effective contact width beff seemed to be slightly unsafe. As 1.24 for M0/V0 respectively equal to 0.5 m, 1 m, 1.5 m and 2 m.
a final result of the parameter study, the choice is thus made of using The principal compressive stresses below the bottom flange and
bprofile instead of beff and a bearing length c equal to 0.2lw. The resulting

Fig. 8. Moment safety for varying c/le for (a) le = 350 mm and (b) le = 550 mm.

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R. Das, et al. Structures 23 (2020) 111–125

Fig. 10. Comparison of a-values.

above the top flange are shown in Fig. 14 for M0/V0 = 0.5 m. The
choice of bprofile instead of beff was validated as no effective compression
struts were observed to develop from the top to bottom flange or vice
versa. The corresponding c values were also validated through the stress
distribution obtained from the FE simulation results below the bottom
flange and above the top flange of the embedded profile. Fig. 15 re-
presents the principal (σc3) compressive stresses below the bottom
flange whereas Fig. 16 shows the same above the top flange, to validate
the value of c and a as a fraction of lw. The principal compressive
stresses in both cases are observed to be distributed in a roughly uni-
form rectangular manner up to a fractional value of approximately 0.2lw
for all the M/V ratios. This validates the assumption of c = 0.2lw.
However, the non-strictly-zero level of bearing stresses beyond the
conventional bearing length c can explain the residual safety margin
obtained when comparing the FE results with the analytical procedure.

6. Seismic behavior of design models based on nonlinear static

analysis

In order to assess the actual performances of the connection de-

signed according to the analytical procedure proposed in Section 2, the
case study defined in Section 3 was analyzed with a detailed FE model
at the local level of the connection. The local outcomes were then set in
relation with the assumptions made at global structural level, as pre-
sented in [20]. This section comments on these analyses.

6.1. Moment-Rotation behavior of the shear links

Both Configurations 1 and 2 were evaluated through a nonlinear

static analysis (vertical load acting downward at the free end of the
shear link incremented until failure of the connection) to validate the
global design objective, i.e. steel links yielding/failing in shear prior to
any or minimal damage in the RC wall and the embedded connection.
The Von Mises stresses in the steel profiles are shown in Fig. 17 for both
configurations, at a load level corresponding to the failure of the link, to Fig. 11. Configuration 1: Principal compressive stress (σc3) distribution below
highlight the fact that the primary objective is achieved as the web of the bottom flange to validate c.
the steel links fail in shear prior to any major damage in the RC wall or
the embedded connection. Red color indicates the maximum stress the shear link and at the center of the steel connection plate, divided by
values. The moment-rotation curves for both configurations are plotted the distance between these two reference points. As illustrated in
in Fig. 18. The moment is obtained by multiplying the vertical load Fig. 18, Configuration 2 was observed to offer a slightly greater strength
acting at the free end of the shear link by the distance from the face of and stiffness compared to Configuration 1. These results were also re-
the RC wall to the free end. The rotation of the link is obtained from the ferred to the global models [20] to check that the shear links have a
difference between vertical displacements measured at the free end of

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R. Das, et al.
Fig. 12. Configuration 1: Principal compressive stress (σc3) distribution above
the top flange to validate a.
sufficient rotation capacity with respect to the rotation demand re-
quired at global level. The current results gave a maximum shear link
rotation capacity (i.e. rotation obtained just before failure) of
0.024 rads and 0.026 rads for Configurations 1 and 2 respectively
(Fig. 18), whereas, the maximum rotation demand obtained in the
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Structures 23 (2020) 111–125
global structures for the relevant shear link section was 0.015 rad [20].
The shear link failure (and hence the end of the “moment-rotation”
curve) is conventionally assumed to be reached when the equivalent
stress reaches the ultimate stress of the steel. The moment-rotation
relationship also validated the plastic shear and moment resistances of
the links as calculated in the analytical design procedure. In Fig. 19, the
moment-rotation behavior of the embedded profiles in both config-
urations clearly indicates that the profile maintains an elastic behavior
up to the failure of the shear link as further detailed in Section 6.3.
6.2. Damage and crack pattern in the RC wall
Although the primary design objective was achieved with minimal
damage to the RC wall and to the embedded part of the connection, few
vertically cracked elements were noticed on the face of the RC wall.
These cracks, located right above the top flange-to-concrete interface,
extended progressively from the center of the wall to reach its side faces
at a rotational angle of approximately 0.016 rads for all cases. These
initial vertical cracks originated prior to link yielding and could not be
avoided with any reasonable capacity design procedure, due to obvious
spalling of the concrete in the flange-concrete interface at the face of
the RC wall and thus are considered as inevitable minimal damage.
These damages could however be reduced by placing a face bearing
plate, according to the requirements of DCH rules of Eurocode 8.
Fig. 20a and b show the vertically cracked elements with a crack width
(EcwZZ) of minimum 0.1 mm at a load level corresponding to the
failure of the link (i.e. ultimate von mises stresses are reached
throughout the link section) for Configuration 1 and 2 respectively. The
limit value of 0.1 mm considered as the smallest plotted value is chosen
as the minimum width to constitute a visible crack. No longitudinally
(along the RC wall length) cracked elements were observed in both
configurations at the shear link yielding. However, few cracked ele-
ments were noticed at the embedded end of the profile in Configuration
1 (as shown in Fig. 21a) due to gradual “pulling out” of the profile.
Since this effect is negligible for Configuration 2, no longitudinal crack
width (EcwXX) > 0.1 mm were identified even at the rupture point of
the shear link (Fig. 21b).
Table 3 presents the maximum crack widths obtained in the long-
itudinal and vertical directions at load levels corresponding to the
yielding point of the shear link and to its ultimate resistance respec-
tively. Configuration 2 showed a better behavior at both reference load
levels in terms of crack development and propagation. Nevertheless, the
maximum crack width in all cases remained below the recommended
serviceability limit of 0.3 mm according to EN 1992-1-1.
6.3. Nonlinear behavior of the embedded section
As discussed in Section 6.1 w.r.t Fig. 19, the embedded sections
remained under their yield limit for both configurations. Maximum Von
Mises stresses in the embedded profiles were obtained as 290 MPa and
190 MPa for Configurations 1 and 2 respectively. The Von Mises stress
distribution for the embedded profiles just before the final rupture of
the shear link are shown in Fig. 22 for both design configurations.
An important possible issue related to the embedded composite
connections is their actual degree of fixity. In the global models [20]
shown in Fig. 1, the RC wall as well as the shear links were modelled as
equivalent frame elements connected to each other via rigid links,
hence assuming that the shear link to RC wall connection is perfectly
rigid (Fig. 23a). The actual connection presented in this study does
however exhibit some flexibility (Fig. 23b). In order to assess the dif-
ference between the ideal global assumptions (perfectly rigid connec-
tion between the shear link and the RC wall) and the actual embedded
connection, the total elastic stiffness of the “node + link” system is
evaluated from the global model and the detailed non-linear model
developed in this study. The comparison yields the following values: for
the global model, values for Configuration 1 and Configuration 2 are
R. Das, et al.
Fig. 13. (a) Principal compressive stresses obtained from the FE models below the bottom flange for a combination of le = 350 mm and M/V = 1.5 (right face of the
RC wall corresponding to Fig. 3b) (b) Schematic diagram of the steel profile embedded in the RC wall.
Fig. 14. Principal compressive stresses (a) below bottom flange (right face of the RC wall corresponding to Fig. 4b) (b) above top flange (left face of the RC wall
corresponding to Fig. 4b).
Fig. 15. Configuration 2: Principal compressive stress (σc3) distribution below
the bottom flange to validate c.
obtained as 201.92 kN/mm and 221.56kN/mm respectively, while the
detailed analysis of the embedded connections yields 84.54kN/mm and
94.4kN/mm for Configuration 1 and 2 respectively. So, the stiffness
values obtained from the detailed local models ranged between 41%
and 43% of the global models’ stiffness. Nevertheless, an additional
check was done as per the joint classification guidelines proposed in EN
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Structures 23 (2020) 111–125
1993-1-8, Clause 5.2.2 [34]. The rotational stiffness Si,ini obtained from
the detail model for both configurations is found to remain anyway
greater than (kbEIb/Lb), as illustrated in Fig. 24, where kb = 8 as the RC
wall acts as a bracing system, E is the young’s modulus, Ib is the second
moment of area of the link and Lb is the span of the link. This validates
the aforementioned global assumption, since the evaluated deform-
ability remains limited enough for the connection to be considered as
rigid according to EN 1993-1-8 definition.
6.4. Influence of the variability of steel properties
The efficiency of the material overstrength factor γov for the capa-
city design of the embedment with respect to the shear link has also
been verified by additional FE simulations. A critical scenario for both
the design models, Configuration 1 and Configuration 2, was defined
assuming a shear link stronger than its nominal yield strength. All the
sections and material properties were kept constant (S355) except the
yield strength of the shear link, which was increased to 450 N/mm2,
supposed to be an upper bound of the actual yield strength of an S355
steel. The moment-rotation curves for these modified models are
plotted in Fig. 25 along with the reference models which again verifies
the analytical plastic shear and moment resistances of the links as
considered in the design procedure. As obviously expected from the
application of the overstrength factor γov, the failure still occurred in
the shear link, with the embedded part remaining elastic. However, the
damage in the concrete material slightly increased compared to the
reference situation, with a wider crack in the concrete at the point of
link yielding for Configuration 1 (about 27% wider) as shown in
Fig. 26a. Moreover, as the link was stronger in this latter case, they
pulled on the embedded profiles with a larger force. This induced some
R. Das, et al. Structures 23 (2020) 111–125

Fig. 18. Moment-Rotation of the shear links.

Fig. 16. Configuration 2: Principal compressive stress (σc3) distribution above

the top flange to validate a.

cracks wider than 0.1 mm in the longitudinal direction, as shown in

Fig. 27a. Nevertheless, the failure mode remained governed by the
shear link as the embedded profile and the concrete wall were safe.
Similarly, when the reference design model was compared with the
overstrengthened situation for Configuration 2, although slightly wider
cracks were noticed in the vertical direction, no change was observed
for the longitudinal crack widths, as shown in Figs. 26b and 27b re-
spectively.

7. Behavior of deficient embedded connections

In order to further assess the efficiency of the proposed design

procedure and enlarge the scope of the conclusive remarks, some ad-
ditional case studies were investigated in which deficient configura-
tions were defined in order to activate purposely an undesired. These
additional cases are described in Table 4 (with the deficiencies high- Fig. 19. Moment-Rotation behavior of the embedded profiles.
lighted in light grey) and covers the following possible deficiencies: (i)
failure due to a too short embedment length (C1_FM1), (ii) failure in the
moment at the face of the RC wall (corresponding to M0 in Fig. 5). The
embedded steel profile prior to yielding of the shear link due to a too
results are shown in Table 4. The numerical values are always observed
weak embedded part (C1_FM2 for Configuration 1 and C2_FM2 for
to be higher than the analytical ones, thus validating again the safety of
Configuration 2) and (iii) failure of the embedment due to a too low
the proposed design procedure.
concrete strength (C1_FM3). The flexural capacity of each deficient
In Configuration 1, as the vertical load at the end of the steel link
model was determined from the analytical design equations (M0, Analy-
increases, the moment increases at the face of the embedded profile,
tical) as well as from the numerical simulations (M0, Numerical) in terms of

Fig. 17. Von Mises equivalent stresses: (a) Configuration 1 (b) Configuration 2.

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R. Das, et al. Structures 23 (2020) 111–125

Fig. 20. Vertically cracked concrete elements at link rupture for (a) Configuration 1 and (b) Configuration 2.

thus forcing it to rotate inside the RC wall. This is resisted by the couple Table 3
of vertical bearing forces provided by the concrete as shown in Fig. 3b. Maximum crack widths at certain load levels for Configurations 1 and 2.
However, the lever arm corresponding to the couple of concrete bearing Load Step = Yielding of Shear Load Step = Failure of Shear
forces decreases with a decrease in the embedment length, thus re- Link Link
quiring an larger bearing resistance to be provided by the concrete. As
the concrete strength was not increased for C1_FM1 and the embedment Ecw(XX) Ecw(ZZ) Ecw(XX) Ecw(ZZ)
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
length was further shortened compared to the design Configuration 1,
the concrete was unable to withstand the design loads. As a con- Configuration 1 0.051 0.170 0.190 0.260
sequence, C1_FM1 failed due to an excessive cracking of the concrete in Configuration 2 0.035 0.110 0.055 0.180
the bearing zones, with a maximum observed vertical crack width be-
yond the acceptable limit of 0.3 mm recommended for serviceability by
EN 1992-1-1. Larger longitudinal cracks also originated at the em- method to accommodate steel-to-concrete composite connections in the
bedded end of the steel profile compared to the other failure models as innovative HCW systems discussed in previous researches. The final
well as to the reference design model corresponding to Configuration 1 design hypothesis was also implemented on two different configura-
even before yielding of the steel link. Maximum longitudinal crack tions: 1) partly embedded Configuration 1 and 2) passing through
widths observed in the concrete for all failure models at the moment of Configuration 2, to validate the desired outcome, i.e. failure of shear
link yielding are listed in Table 4. links prior to any or minimal damage in the embedded connection and
As expected, definite yielding was observed in the embedded steel the RC wall. This newly proposed design procedure has thus been dis-
profile for C1_FM2 and C2_FM2 before yielding of the steel shear link, tinguished as a continuation of the previous methodology [20,27,28],
as shown in the maximum Von Mises stresses in Table 4. This yielding specifically for the connection aspects, as important conclusions were
occurred in both the flanges of the embedded profile as well as in the drawn based on encouraging results.
lower part of the web as shown in Fig. 28. Additionally, larger vertical
cracks developed in both cases, as the concrete experienced more strain • As the assumption of c = l /3, exhibited significantly higher safety
e

due to a lower resistance of the embedded steel profile. The maximum
vertical crack widths were also observed to go beyond the limit of
0.3 mm, recommended for serviceability by the Eurocode2 guidelines.
Therefore, using a suitable steel embedment profile with adequate
length might be highlighted to be the most important part for such a
composite connection. However, the embedded profiles remained in the
elastic range for C1_FM1 and C1_FM3 as desired.
Although all the deficient models behaved globally in a rather
predictable manner, no significant failure was noticed for C1_FM3. The
vertical and longitudinal crack widths increased only by a small
amount, as shown in Table 4. This is justified by the presence of the
transverse reinforcements of the RC wall that can be activated to
compensate the lower concrete strength.
8. Discussions and remarks
margins between the analytical and numerical calculations thus
leading to a conservative approach, a detailed parametric study was
conducted to further optimize the design guidelines corresponding
to such partly embedded/passing through composite connections. A
value of c = 0.55le was found to be an optimized yet safe choice to
design a connection corresponding to Configuration 1, whereas
c = 0.2lw or 0.4le was deemed to be a suitable choice for
Configuration 2. The assumption of beff was also studied in detail for
both configurations. Although this assumption was suitably justified
for Configuration 1 (based on the parametric analyses), different set
of results revealed it to be a rather optimistic choice for
Configuration 2.
• The design procedure proposed in this study served as an appro-
priate tool to design such composite connections as the steel link
failed in shear prior to minimal damage in the RC wall and the
embedded/passing through steel profile.

This study aids in the assessment of a safe and refined design

• Although the embedded steel profile stayed within the elastic limit,

Fig. 21. Longitudinally cracked concrete elements at link rupture for (a) Configuration 1 and (b) Configuration 2.

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R. Das, et al.
Fig. 22. Von Mises equivalent stresses on the embedded profile and stiffeners at ultimate step: (a) Configuration 1 (b) Configuration 2.
few vertical cracks were noticed in the flange-concrete interface at
the face of the RC wall at the point of link yielding for both con-
figurations. Upon exploring this behavior in further depth, these
initial vertical cracks were detected to originate even prior to link
yielding and could not be avoided with any overstrength designs
due to obvious local crushing and spalling of the concrete. They
were thus considered as inevitable minimal damage. However, a
face bearing plate, if used according to the DCH rules of Eurocode 8,
might prove to be effective in reducing these initial cracks.
• The design case study for Configuration 2, (passing-through con-
nections), performed better than that of Configuration 1 in terms of
strength and stiffness due to a double curvature of the embedded
steel part. Cracked elements in Configuration 1 were noticed to be 5
times greater than Configuration 2. The maximum vertical crack
width for Configuration 1 was almost 44% larger than that of
Configuration 2. Furthermore, no cracks were detected to be wider
than 0.1 mm in the longitudinal direction for Configuration 2 even at
the final rupture of the steel link.
• The incorporated safety margin due to the material overstrength
factor, γov, was validated through each configuration type with the
shear links having nominal S450 material properties. Although
wider cracks were noticed in the RC wall, both configurations be-
haved in an expected manner as the steel profile embedded in the
RC wall remained safe.
• Four additional models were discussed with deliberate weaknesses
to examine the proposed design procedure. Although C1_FM1,
C1_FM2 and C2_FM2 failed in the predicted manners, C1_FM3 did
not show any significant failure as the transverse reinforcement
detailing of the RC wall was kept identical to the design case study.
• The investigations presented in the present paper are essentially
based on pushover analyses. Questions may therefore rise about the
cyclic behavior of the proposed system. The authors are of the
opinion that it should not alter the conclusions. Indeed, the design is
targeting a failure of the steel profile, which is well-known as
Fig. 23. Boundary conditions between the Shear link and the RC wall: (a) Global Model, (b) Embedded Connection Model.
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Structures 23 (2020) 111–125
characterized by a stable cyclic behavior. The cracks in the concrete
are normally limited to a maximum opening of 0.3 mm and no
significant cyclic progression of the failure is thus expected. Only
the concrete at the face of the RC wall in the zone just above the
embedded profile is likely to be damaged by spalling. This zone is
however not influencing the global strength of the system and re-
mains easily accessible for possible post-earthquake repair.
Moreover, spalling can be prevented by placing a facing plate, if
necessary.
• Although being a promising solution, the suggested connection
configurations should however be further validated regarding their
practical execution and actual behavior through physical proto-
typing and full-scale testing in the frame of future research activ-
ities.
9. Conclusions
The seismic design and behavior of a steel embedded connection
was investigated in view of its use in the context of a recently proposed
innovative hybrid coupled shear wall structure. The design procedure
was developed based upon equilibrium equations and Eurocode
guidelines and was implemented for two different possible configura-
tions, partly embedded and passing-through configurations. Several
nonlinear parametric analyses were carried out in order to optimize and
validate the proposed design method.
The design procedure suggested in this study can be used reliably to
determine the required embedment lengths and profile cross-sections in
proportion to a given demand. Even though a perfect accuracy could
not be reached for all cases in comparison with the FE results, due to the
necessity to simplify a rather complicated behavior inside the concrete
wall, the choices made in this method such as the rectangular stress
distribution coupled with recalibrated values of the bearing length re-
spectively to c = 0.55le for the one-sided configuration and c = 0.2lw
for the passing-through configuration offer a simple and safe, yet
R. Das, et al. Structures 23 (2020) 111–125

Fig. 24. Joint classification for Configuration 1 and Configuration 2 according to Eurocode 3-1-8.

Fig. 25. Moment-Rotation behavior comparison: (a) Shear Links (b) Embedded Profiles.

Fig. 26. Vertical cracked concrete elements at link yield for: (a) C1_LinkS450 (b) C2_LinkS450.

optimized solution to design such composite connections. Residual
safety margins are observed, associated to the observation of some ar-
bitrary stresses in the FE models beyond the nominal bearing length.
Relevant conclusions are also drawn regarding the evaluation of the
bearing width. The safety margins increased with increasing moment-to-
shear ratio for both configurations. They also showed an inverse trend
with respect to increasing embedment lengths for a given moment-to-
shear ratio. A detailed numerical investigation of the resulting designed
configurations showed that they can successfully meet the targeted
design objective, namely shear failure in the steel links prior to minimal

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R. Das, et al. Structures 23 (2020) 111–125

Fig. 27. Longitudinal cracked concrete elements at link yield for: (a) C1_LinkS450 (b) C2_LinkS450.

Table 4
Failure models for both configurations.
Embedded Profile Passing through Profile

Config. 1 C1_FM1 C1_FM2 C1_FM3 Config. 2 C2_FM2

Descriptions of the Deficient Models

Grade of Concrete C30 C30 C30 C20 C30 C30
Shear Link Section BuIP_8 BuIP_8 BuIP_8 BuIP_8 BuIP_8 BuIP_8
Link length, llink (mm) 400.00 400.00 400.00 400.00 400.00 400.00
Embedded Profile HEB220 HEB220 HEB160 HEB220 HEM220 HEB160
Vpl,Rd,profile (kN) 572.25 572.25 360.52 572.25 928.67 360.52
Mpl,Rd,profile (kNm) 293.58 293.58 125.67 293.58 503.74 125.67
Embedded length, le (mm) 390.00 300.00 390.00 390.00 1050.00 1050.00
M0, Analytical (kNm) 105.20 66.20 76.16 70.11 105.20 76.16
Expected Failure Mode Link Yielding Concrete cracking due to Yielding in embedded Concrete cracking in Link Yielding Yielding in Embedded
in Shear inadequate embedment profile due to insufficient embedded zone in Shear profile due to insufficient
length strength strength
Results from Numerical Simulations
Obtained Failure Mode None Concrete cracking Embedded profile Concrete None Embedded profile
M0, Numerical (kNm) 133.29 101.85 107.51 136.50 136.74 102.90
Maximum von mises stresses in 230 230 360 (> 355) 230 150 360 (> 355)
Embedded profile (MPa)
Maximum Longitudinal crack 0.051 0.260 0.130 0.095 0.035 0.100
width at link yielding (mm)
Maximum Vertical crack width 0.170 0.200 0.330 0.200 0.110 0.320
at link yielding (mm)

Fig. 28. Von mises equivalent stresses on the embedded profile at the step of link yielding: (a) C1_FM2 (b) C2_FM2.

damage in the RC wall and the embedded connection.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
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