Effective width and rigidity of steel-concrete composite beam

In this paper the rigorous behavior of composite systems consisting of steel girders and a concrete slab connected by stud shear connectors is studied. By examining the distribution of normal stress across the slab, the concept of shear effective width and effective section of composite beams are presented. Formulae are derived for predicting the rigidity of composite beams. Finite element method is used to carry out a parametric study and the most important parameters that influence the shear effective width are analyzed. Some preliminary criteria for an reasonable design are presented.