Experimental study on ferritic stainless steel decks in constructions stage according to Eurocode-3

The aesthetic appeal and thermal capacity of ferritic stainless steels, together with the combination of good mechanical properties and excellent corrosion resistance, makes them ideal for exposed composite slabs using profiled decks. Cold-formed members are very slender, with a high resistance-to-weight ratio, so they are highly sensitive to buckling phenomena and the behaviour of these elements is very complex. Although the use of composite floor slabs with carbon steel sheeting is well established, a study into the structural performance of composite slabs using ferritic stainless steel decking is required due to the complex nonlinear behaviour of stainless steels, which is very different to carbon steel. This paper presents some tests characterizing the resistance of a deck profile which is approximately 60mm in depth in the construction stage. Six simply supported tests (undergoing positive and negative bending moment) have been conducted for the determination of the flexural resistance of the decks, as part of a major European project looking at ferritic stainless steel in structural applications. These results are compared with some similar previous tests on galvanized carbon steel decks. The resistance of a continuous sheet over two or more spans under combinations of moment and shear loads at the internal supports is assessed by performing three continuous decking tests. Internal support tests have also been conducted to analyse the bending moment-support reaction for different spans and finally, some end support tests have been carried out to characterize the outer support reaction resistance of the decks. All the experimental results have been compared with the predicted ultimate loads in Standards, showing that expressions proposed in EN 1993-1-3 for carbon steel are, in general, applicable to ferritic stainless steel, although some changes may be introduced in order to get more accurate results and make ferritic stainless steel a competitive option in construction.