Experimental study on shear splitting failure of full-scale composite concrete encased steel beams

Presented herein is an experimental study that focuses on the shear splitting failure of composite concrete encased steel beams. Nine full-scale specimens were constructed and tested in this study. Significant horizontal cracks along the interface of steel flange and concrete, referred to as the shear splitting failure, appeared in five tested specimens. Observations from the experiments indicate that the steel flange width ratio, defined as the ratio of steel flange width to gross section width, has a dominant effect on the shear splitting failure of composite beams. The test results reveal that the shear splitting failure occurs when the steel flange width ratio of a composite beam reaches 0.67. The test results also show that the application of shear studs has a positive effect on preventing this type of failure for beams with large steel flange ratio. In addition to the experimental study, a new method for predicting the failure mode of composite beams is proposed. The proposed method gives satisfactory predictions as compared to the test results. Finally, a new equation is derived for the design of the stirrups to prevent shear splitting failure of naturally bonded composite beams.