Design and experimental investigation of partially isolated shear connectors for cold-formed steel-concrete composite beams

In steel-concrete composite beams, shear connectors play a critical role in effectively utilizing the tensile strength of the steel profile and the compressive strength of the concrete. Traditionally, shear connectors are attached to the beam flange. However, while this method is suitable for heavy steel profiles, it leads to damage concentration in the beam flange rather than the shear connector due to the very thin web in cold formed steel beams. In this thesis, for the first time in the literature, an innovative shear connector was designed where the connection element is attached to the beam web instead of the beam flange, and its performance was experimentally evaluated. Additionally, the shear connector has been partially isolated from the concrete, allowing it to bend freely. Experimental studies included push-out and bending tests on full-scale specimens, and the results were compared with commonly used bolted shear connectors in practice. The push-out test results revealed that all the damage concentrated in the proposed shear connector, with no damage occurring in the cold formed steel beam. The bending tests showed that the proposed shear connector positively contributed to the flexural capacity of the composite beam.