Numerical Modelling and Parametric Study of Steel-Concrete Composite Slim-Floor Flexural Beam Using Dowel Shear Connectors

The use of steel-concrete composite slim-floor beams with dowel shear connectors is uncommon, and the design rules provided in Eurocode 4 for composite construction are not directly applicable to the slim-floor composite beam. In this paper, a finite element model is developed, followed by a parametric study that examines the effects of various shear connector parameters on the structural behaviour of composite beams. The comparison and analysis show that the load-bearing capacity increases with a bigger concrete dowel, as long as the shear connection degree is less than 100% and the dowel diameter is not greater than 80 mm; the load-bearing capacity goes up about 5–10% for every 10 N/mm2 increase in concrete strength and about 2% for every 4 mm increase in rebar diameter in the dowel; also, the dowel central spacing has a big impact on the structural behaviour. The composite beams showed great flexibility, with the end slip at the highest load being more than 6 mm and the maximum load declining by less than 15% when the midspan deflection reached L/30. The proposed calculation method for bending moment resistance is more than 90% accurate for composite beams that have a shear connection degree greater than 40%. The findings from this research provided more profound insights into the behaviour of this type of slim-floor composite beam.