J. Construct, Steel Res. Vol. 46, Nos. /-3, pp. 203-204, paper number 106, 1998 (©1998 Elsevier Science Lid. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain 3.974X(98)00126-0 0143-074X198 $19.00 + 0.00 ELSEVIER Behaviour of Composite Tee Beams Constructed with High Strength Steel B. Uy and R.J. Sloane Department of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, AUSTRALIA Paper Number 106 Full paper on enclosed CD-ROM This paper considers the behaviour of composite steel-concrete tee beams con- structed with a welded high strength steel I section and which may be applied in bridge and building construction. The potential advantages of the use of high strength steel in buildings and bridges are discussed and the potential disadvantages are also outlined. Two beams were tested using high strength steel I-sections connected by stud shear connectors to a composite slab. The degree of shear connection was varied to achieve full and partial interaction. These beams were designed based on the Australian Standard AS 2327.1 (1996) which deals with the behaviour of simply supported composite beams and is similar in nature to Eurocode 4 (1994) as they both employ the rigid plastic analysis method. A cross-sectional analysis based on that of Rotter and Ansourian (1979) is developed which considers the non-linear material properties of steel and con- crete and the slip strain between the steel and concrete is also able to be modelled. The model is augmented to include the stress-strain characteristics of high strength steel. The results of the experiments are compared with the numerical model and are shown to be in good agreement when the slip strain is modelled accurately. The beam with full shear connection is predicted to within 1% of its ultimate strength, however the beam with partial shear con- nection does not correlate as accurately with the model. Two reasons are suggested. Firstly the testing of the beam with partial shear connection was terminated prematurely as the instrumentation ran out of travel. Secondly the model assumes the shear connectors have infinite ductility which is incorrect and needs further treatment to allow the accurate modelling of beams with partial shear connection. Comparisons of the test results are then made with the methods used to determine the ultimate flexural strength for full and partial shear connection in the Australian Standard AS2327.1 (1996) and Eurocode 4 (1994). The 203204 B, Uy & RJ. Sloane methods are shown to be slightly unconservative and the reasons for this are highlighted. One reason for the method being unconservative is that the rigid plastic assumption assumes that the steel is fully yielded which relies on the outer fibres being able to strain harden. High strength steel has no inherent strain hardening effects and thus this explains that the rectangular stress block may overestimate the strength of beams constructed with high strength steel. Furthermore, testing of the partial strength beam to its full strength capacity and accurately determining the shear connector strength would have improved the calibration of this beam. Further research is suggested to enable greater elucidation of the impli cations of the use of high strength steel for composite beam construction. This. may include further experiments particularly for partial shear connection which was shown to be unconservatively predicted by existing models. Once these further tests are carried out, further parametric analyses using the numerical model developed in this paper should be undertaken. These further tests and parametric analyses should hopefully allow modification of the exist- ing rigid plastic assumption to incorporate high strength steel in composite beam construction. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved KEYWORDS Composite beams, composite construction, ductility, high strength steel, quenched and tempered steel, steel beams, steel structures, welded beams, welded sections. REFERENCES 1. Eurocode 4, ENV 1994-1-1 (1994) Design of composite steel and concrete struc- tures, Part 1.1, General Rules and Rules for Buildings, British Standards Insti- tution. 2. Rotter, J.M., and Ansourian, P, Cross-section behaviour and ductility of composite beams. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, Part 2, 1979, 67, 453-474, 3. Standards Australia (1996) AS 2327.1-1996 - Australian Standard, Composite Structures Part 1: Simply Supported Beams.