Finite element instability analysis of the steel joist of continuous composite beams with flexible shear connectors

Composite steel/concrete beams may buckle in hogging bending regions. As the top flange of I-beam in that arrangement is restricted from any translational deformation and twist, the web will distort during buckling presenting a phenomenon often described as restricted distortional buckling. There are limited studies available in the literature of restricted distortional buckling of composite steel/concrete I-beams subjected to negative or hogging bending. There is none however that includes the effect of partial shear interaction. In this paper, finite element models for in-plane analysis and out-of-plane buckling of continuous composite I-beams including the effects of partial shear interaction are presented.