Study of Innovative Connector for Steel–Concrete Composite Structures

Featured Application: The proposed solution of fasteners made of corrugated steel sheet and shot nails can be used as the connector for steel–concrete composite floor beams. The sheet provides stay-in-place formwork for a monolithic reinforced concrete slab. Furthermore, the sheet in the shape of the dovetail caused the connection between the steel I-beam and the concrete slab. The connectors are easy to fabricate. Any special mounting equipment that requires high-current electrical power is not necessary. Because shot nails have very wide applications, nailing devices are available in almost every construction factory and on construction sites. The shape of a such cross-section of the metal sheet improves its stability during installation compared to a flat metal sheet. An additional advantage is the ability to easily suspend the finishing elements by using dedicated hangers fixed in the fold of sheet. The paper presents an analysis of the innovative connector for manufacturing a steel–concrete composite beam. The connector consists of a corrugated metal sheet in the shape of a dovetail and shot nails. The nails are shot through the sheet fold into the flange of the steel I-section. Experimental studies of push-out tests were carried out. The conducted tests proved that the proposed solution can be applied as the fastener for steel–concrete composite beams for the construction of ceilings in utility public buildings with small beam’s span. Considering the criteria presented in the Eurocode 4 standard and the results of the experiments, it was proven that all analyzed types of fasteners are ductile. The connector made of sheet with a thickness of 1.00 mm and 2 nails is characterized by a breaking load of 30.83 kN. The load-bearing capacity of the fastener can be adjusted by changing the corrugated sheet thickness and changing the number of nails shot in the single fold of the sheet.