Experimental and numerical study of large high strength bolt shear connector embedded in HFRC

To investigate the static properties of large high strength bolt shear connector in hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete (HFRC) and normal concrete (NC), eight push-out test specimens with single/double nut and HFRC/NC slabs were designed and push-out tests were conducted. A fine 3D nonlinear finite element (FE) model including HFRC constitutive model was established by using ANSYS 18.0, and the test results were used to verify FE models of the push-out test specimens. Then a total of 13 FE models were analyzed with various parameters including fiber volume fractions of HFRC, bolt diameter and thickness of steel flange. Finally, the empirical equations considering the contribution of polypropylene fiber (PF) and steel fiber (SF) obtained from the regression of the test results and FE analysis were recommended to evaluate the load-slip curve and ultimate capacity of the large high strength bolt shear connector embedded in HFRC/NC.