• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.255-274
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• 2009

This paper presents an experimental study of a newly developed composite floor system, built up from thin-walled C-profiles and upper concrete deck. Trapezoidal sheeting provides the formwork and the fastening of the sheet transmits the shear forces between the C-profiles and the deck. The modified formation of the standard self-drilling screw in the beam-to-sheet connection is applied as shear connector. Push-out tests are completed to study the composite behaviour of the different connection arrangements. On the basis of the test results the behaviour is characterized by the observed failure modes. The design values of the connection stiffness and strength are calculated by the recommendation of Eurocode 4. In the next phase of the experimental study six full-scale composite beams are tested. The global geometry is based on the proposed geometry of the developed floor system. The applied shear connections are selected as the most efficient arrangements obtained from the push-out tests. The experimental behaviour of the composite beams are discussed and evaluated. As a conclusion of the experimental study the Eurocode 4 plastic design method is validated for the developed composite floor.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2013

The use of light-gauge steel framing in low-rise commercial and industrial building construction has experienced a significant increase in recent years. In such construction, the wall framing is an assembly of cold-formed steel (CFS) studs held between top and bottom CFS tracks. Current construction methods utilize heavy hot-rolled steel sections, such as steel angles or hollow structural section tubes, to transfer the load from the end seats of the floor joist and/or from the load-bearing wall studs of the stories above to the supporting load-bearing wall below. The use of hot rolled steel elements results in significant increase in construction cost and time. Such heavy steel elements would be unnecessary if the concrete slab thickening on top of the CFS wall can be made to act compositely with the CFS track. Composite action can be achieved by attaching stand-off screws to the track and encapsulating the screw shank in the deck concrete. A series of experimental studies were performed on full-scale test specimens representing concrete/CFS flexural elements under gravity loads. The studies were designed to investigate the structural performance of concrete/CFS simple beams and concrete/CFS continuous headers. The results indicate that concrete/CFS composite flexural elements are feasible and their structural behavior can be modeled with reasonable accuracy.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.483-500
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• 2022

Cold-formed steel wall panels sheathed with gypsum plasterboard have shown superior thermal and structural performance in fire. Recent damage caused by fire events in Australia has increased the need for accurate fire resistance ratings of wall systems used in low- and mid-rise construction. Past fire research has mostly focused on light gauge steel framed (LSF) walls under uniform axial compression and LSF floors under pure bending. However, in reality, LSF wall studs may be subject to both compression and bending actions due to eccentric loading at the wall to-roof or wall-to-floor connections. In order to investigate the fire resistance of LSF walls under the effects of these loading eccentricities, four full-scale standard fire tests were conducted on 3 m × 3 m LSF wall specimens lined with two 16 mm gypsum plasterboards under different combinations of axial compression and lateral load ratios. The findings show that the loading eccentricity can adversely affect the fire resistance level of the LSF wall depending on the magnitude of the eccentricity, the resultant compressive stresses in the hot and cold flanges of the wall studs caused by combined loading and the temperatures of the hot and cold flanges of the studs. Structural fire designers should consider the effects of loading eccentricity in the design of LSF walls to eliminate their potential failures in fire.