Numerical Study on Minimum Shear Connection Ratio of Tie‐Bars in Steel Plate–Concrete Composite Beams Subjected to Out‐of‐Plane Cyclic Loading

The failure modes of tie‐bars under monotonic loading and cyclic loading are ductility and brittleness, respectively. They can significantly affect the design for tie‐bars in a steel plate– concrete (SC) composite structure. A 3D finite element model of a SC composite beam was developed and verified through a quasi‐static test. Two rules on the interfacial shear distribution were deduced and verified. Then, a total of 188 finite element models were developed to investigate the minimum shear connection ratio of tie‐bars in SC composite beams, which can ensure the sufficient energy dissipation capacity of a SC composite beam under out‐of‐plane cyclic loading. The influences of the shear connection ratio, shear span versus depth ratio, stiffness, and number of tie‐bars on the seismic behavior of a SC composite beam were investigated. Finally, a design method for tiebars in the SC composite beam under out‐of‐plane cyclic loading was proposed.