Load sharing mechanism between shear studs and profiled steel sheeting in push tests

Push tests as suggested in Eurocode 4 have been widely used to determine the shear strength of stud shear connectors. In the presence of profiled steel sheeting, however, the push load is jointly resisted by both types of components, i.e., shear studs and sheeting. As a result, the exact load carried by a shear stud remains unknown. This paper intends to study the load sharing mechanism between the shear studs and sheeting in push tests through the development of a three-dimensional finite element model. It is found that the sheeting itself can carry 20–65% of the push load when the thickness of the sheeting is in the range of 0.9–1.5 mm. Accordingly, the actual load resisted by the shear studs is much lower than the prediction of Eurocode 4, which does not exclude the strength contribution from the sheeting. A parametric analysis is conducted to check the influence of a wide range of parameters including sheeting orientation, stud position and layout, diameter and height of studs, concrete grade, rib height, sheeting thickness, yield stress of sheeting, and level of transverse loading on the load sharing between studs and sheeting in composite slabs with trapezoidal steel sheeting. Finally, the ultimate push load and the actual stud strength obtained from parametric analysis are compared with the predictions from Eurocode 4. The comparison indicates that the accuracy of Eurocode 4 in predicting the ultimate push load can be improved. Meanwhile, new models are required to predict the actual shear strength of studs.