Experimental Study on Shear Behavior of Large Stud Connectors

Abstract:

Stud connectors are over densely arranged in steel concrete composite bridges in some cases. To address this issue, shear behavior of stud connectors with the diameters of 22mm, 25mm and 30mm were experimentally studied. Based on the test results, the failure model, shear strength, shear stiffness and slip capacity of large diameter studs (25mm and 30mm studs) were compared with those of normal diameter studs (22mm studs). In addition, the applicability of the design equations specified in existing codes to large diameter studs were evaluated. The results show that compared with 22mm studs, the average shear strength of 25mm and 30mm studs increase by about 14% and 42%, respectively, and the shear stiffness increase by about 35% and 106%, respectively. The design equations specified in Chinese Code (draw), Eurocode 4 and AASHTO LRFD give conservative predictions for the large diameter studs, and Eurocode 4 gives the most conservative values. The ratio of the measured value to the calculated value decreases as the stud diameter increases.