I.

COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION METHOD

It refers to two load-carrying structural members that are integrally connected and
deflect as a single unit.

Composite construction exists when two different materials are bound together so
strongly that they act together as a single unit from a structural point of view. New
approaches to steel concrete composite construction include a beam and column
system

The composite construction is a modern building method that is based in the

combination of steel cross sections and reinforced concrete elements and is aimed at
the maximum possible utilization of their properties to the benefit of the structure. The
reason why composite construction is often so good can be expressed in one simple
way - concrete is good in compression and steel is good in tension. By joining the two
materials together structurally these strengths can be exploited to result in a highly
efficient and lightweight design.

The principle of Composite Action

It underpins the use of composite materials in construction. It relates to the interaction

of two or more separate elements acting together and contributing together rather than
separately. By physically connecting them, the strength of the beams and the resistance
to bending, shear and torsion are significantly increased.
How and why composite construction works

The plastic stress distribution in a typical downstand beam acting compositely with

a composite slab is shown. The relative proportions of the steel section and slab mean
that, as is commonly the case, the plastic neutral axis lies within the concrete. All the
steel is therefore in tension.

Plastic stress distribution in a composite beam

Concrete is a material that works well in compression but has negligible resistance in
tension. Hence for structural purposes it traditionally relies on steel reinforcement to
carry any tensile forces (this is the role played by the steel part of a composite cross
section, which is effectively external reinforcement), or must be pre-stressed so that
even when subject to tension, an element is in net compression.

Composite floor components – downstand edge beam,longitudinal trapezoidal decking, through deck welded shear stud,
edge trim and concrete
In exceptional circumstances through deck welding is avoided by using single span
lengths of decking (which butt up to rows of studs welded directly to the top flange in the
fabrication shop), or cutting holes in the decking so that it can be dropped over the shop
welded studs.

One of the advantages of welded studs is that they are considered to be ductile, which
means that (in the absence of any fatigue considerations) the shear connection can be
designed using plastic principles because it is assumed that force can be redistributed
between adjacent studs.

Through deck welding of shear studs(transverse re-

entrant decking)

The components of a composite beam are as described above, but the same principles
apply to composite slabs and composite columns. A slab uses profiled steel decking in
place of a steel section, and force is transferred via embossments and certain aspects
of the deck geometry (rather than discrete shear studs). A composite column may be
either a hollow section steel tube filled with concrete, or an open steel section encased
in concrete.
 Steel frame with |composite beams during construction
(Image courtesy of Structural Metal Decks Ltd.)

Advantages of Composite construction

Connecting the concrete to the steel beams can have several advantages:

 It is typical to have a reduced structural steel frame cost.

 Weight of the structural steel frame may be decreased which may reduce
foundation costs.
 Reduced live load deflections.
 Shallower beams may be used which may reduce building height.
 Increased span lengths are possible.
 Stiffer floors

Disadvantages of Composite construction

 The additional subcontractor needed for shear connector installation will increase
field costs.
 Installation of shear connectors is another operation to be included in the
schedule.
 Concrete flatwork contractor who has experience with elevated composite slabs
should be secured for the job.

Cost Impacts of Composite construction

 When used appropriately, typical overall building costs will be less for composite
construction than non-composite construction
 The U.S. national average installation cost for shear studs ranges from $1.15 to
$1.72 per connector (Means 2004)
 A cost comparison should be made between the reduced structural steel cost
and the additional shear connector cost when determining whether or not to use
composite construction.
1.1 Construction beam
A structural member composed of two or
more dissimilar materials joined together to
act as a unit in which the resulting system is
stronger than the sum of its parts

A composite beam can be structurally

described as a T-Beam, with the top flange
composed of concrete in compression and
the steel section in tension.

Forces between the two materials are

transferred by shear connectors. The principle of composite action with regards to
beams leads to increased strength and stiffness of the system whilst using a smaller
steel section.

Types of construction beam

Three general types of composite beam are considered below. The drivers that are
relevant to a particular project will affect which flooring system is the most appropriate.

 Downstand beams
The most common type of composite beam is one where a composite slab sits on top of
a downstand beam, connected by the use of through deck welded shear studs.

Long span solutions

A number of variations on the idea of downstand beams are available to meet long-

span needs. They provide the opportunity to achieve longer spans (20 m or more) than
are possible using a 'standard' solid web, rolled downstand beam.

 Shallow floor solutions

Shallow floors offer a range of benefits such as minimizing the overall height of a
building for a given number of floors, or maximising the number of floors for a given
height of building.
1.2 Composite slabs

Composite slabs comprise reinforced concrete cast on top of profiled steel decking,
which acts as formwork during construction and external reinforcement at the final
stage. The decking may be either re-entrant or trapezoidal, as shown below.
Trapezoidal decking may be over 200 mm deep, in which case it is known as deep
decking. Additional reinforcing bars may be placed in the decking troughs, particularly
for deep decking. They are sometimes required in shallow decking when heavy loads
are combined with high periods of fire resistance.

Re-entrant and trapezoidal decking

Re-entrant decking Trapezoidal decking

The figure below shows the geometry of a typical 80 mm trapezoidal deck. The steel is
galvanized and may be of varying thickness, although about 1 mm is typical. Because it
is so thin, there is a need for stiffeners to avoid local buckling when it is acting as a bare
steel section to support the wet weight of concrete and other construction loads.
1.3 Composite columns

Composite columns are a combination of two traditional structural forms: structural steel
and structural concrete. are constructed using various combinations of structural steel
and concrete in an attempt to utilize the beneficial properties of each material. The
interactive and integral behavior of concrete and the structural steel elements makes
the composite column a very stiff, more ductile, cost effective and consequently a
structurally efficient member in building and bridge constructions.

Three different types of composite columns are principally in use, see Figure 12:

• concrete encased steel columns (a)

• concrete filled steel tubes and (c and d)

• rolled section columns partly encased in concrete (b).

Concrete filled hollow section compression members need no formwork and they use

material more efficiently than an equivalent H section.
Concrete infill adds significantly to the compression resistance of the bare steel section
by sharing the load and preventing the steel from buckling locally.
Rectangular and circular hollow sections can be used. Rectangular sections have the
advantage of flat faces for end plate beam-to-column connections. Ordinary fin
plates can be employed with either shape.
1.4 Shear connectors

Shear connectors create a strong bond between the steel beam and the concrete floor
slab which is poured on top of the metal decking. This bond allows the concrete slab to
work with the steel beams to reduce live load deflection.

Type of shear connectors

 Head stud
The most commonly used type of shear
connector is the head stud. This type of
connector contributes to the shear transfer
and prevents uplift, as it is designed to
work as an arc welding electrode, and,
simultaneously, after the welding, acts as
the resisting connector with a suitable
head.

 Perfobond ribs
The fact that it not only ensures the
concrete steel bond, but also enables a
better anchorage of the internal columns
hogging moment has encouraged its
adoption. By passing these through the
perfobond web holes or simply by being
superimposed to the transverse reinforcing
bars that are generally used on them will
allow these bars to be anchored.
 T-rib connector
In order to prevent a premature loss of
stiffness in the connection, the T-rib
connector detail should minimize the prying
action effect (Ferreira, 2000). As leftover
rolled sections can be used to produce the
T-rib connectors, it could reduce cost and
minimize welding work. The four steps
involved in the fabrication process of the T-
rib connectors: (i) initial profile, (ii) web
holes, (iii) flange holes, (iv) opposite flange
saw cut are as shown in Figure 4

 T-connector
This connector is a section of a standard T-
section welded to the H or I section with two
fillet welds (Figure 7).

The behaviour of the T-connector is very

favourable. The beating stress on the front of
the T is very high, as a result of the relatively
small area. Local concrete crushing occurs,
which results in a quasi-plastic performance
(Zingoni, 2001).
 Waveform strips
The objective of the curved form is to
improve the transfer of force between the
steel and the surrounding concrete as
opposed to a straight connector. The strips
are welded to the HE-section with two fillet
welds of 5 mm waveform strip with a width
of 50 mm, a thickness of 6 mm and bend in
2 waves with amplitude 110 mm; Figure 6.

 Oscillating perfobondstrips
As compared to the headed studs and T-
shape connectors, this type of connector
has larger load capacity. However, due to
the fast drop of the load capacity after the
peak, the performance of this connector in
the case of ordinary strength and normal
weight concrete is rather disappointing

 Channel connectors
Channel connectors might not need
inspection procedures, such as bending test
of headed studs, due to strength of most
specimens is lower than their monotonic
strength by about 10 to 23%. The results
also indicated that the shear strength and
load-displacement behaviour of the
specimens is slightly affected by the use the
polypropylene fibres (FRC specimens).
1.5 Cambering

Camber in a beam can be designed to

compensate for either:

 A certain percentage of the dead

load deflection
 The full dead load deflection
 The full dead load deflection as
well as a percentage of the live
load deflection
Camber is usually designed to
compensate for deflections caused by pre-composite dead loads

Advantages of Cambering

• Supporting beams will deflect under the load of concrete being placed

• This deflection can be exaggerated in a composite floor system where the full st th
reng of the system is not achi d eve until the concrete has cured

• Cambered beams (top diagram above) should deflect to a straight line (bottom
diagram above), if load and deflection are predicted accurately and camber equals
deflection 21

• To create a flat floor in this situation the concrete will need to be thicker at the center
of the bay where the deflection is the greatest 22
Disadvantages of Cambering

• The use of cambered beams will, to a certain degree, be limited by other aspects of
the design for a structure

• Due to the complexity in detailing, fabrication, and fit-up associated with moment
connections (above left), camber should not be used in moment connected beams 23

• Beams with simple framing connections (above right) may be cambered because the
end rotational resistance of a simple connection is small in comparison to that of a
moment connection

The processes used to create camber in beams as well as the actual deflections under
load of cambered beams are not exact

• Care needs to be taken in the specification specification and fabrication fabrication of

camber to ensure that a beam, once in place and under load, will perform within
tolerances

• Levelness and consistent floor thickness can be a problem (ASCE 2002) 24

• The diagrams above show two possible results of cambered beams not deflecting as
predicted under the load of the wet (plastic) concrete

1. Stud heads are exposed

2. Top of slab elevation out of tolerance