Structural Performance of Shear Connectors

The top flange of steel composite bridge girders are furnished with a shear connector, which is a steel projection that facilitates the necessary shear transfer between the steel girder and concrete slab to permit composite action. Shear connectors are essential for building solid connection points that withstand shear loading. The shear connectors are placed at the interface between steel beam and concrete slab, and they are responsible for transferring the horizontal shear forces that are formed due to flexural action. The steel concrete composite structures can be characterized as integration of two different elements which deform as a single entity under loading conditions. The advantage of these types of structures is the combination of material advantages making them structurally economical, efficient and sustainable. Shear connectors are the fundamental components of composite structures since it acts as an intermediate between the two entities and ensuring that the whole component acts as a single structural entity under loading conditions. With non-composite girders, the concrete slab and steel girders function independently in flexure. Hence, the load-carrying capacity of the girders might be raised by more than 50% compared to that of non-composite girders by employing shear connectors to connect the two structural components. This seminar also deals with importance of shear connectors in structural performance, types, applications, tests, design and performance of shear connectors.