Experimental study on impact behaviour of stud shear connectors in composite beams with profiled steel sheeting

Abstract This paper deals with the shear behaviour of steel stud connectors in composite beams with profiled steel sheeting under static and impact loads. An experimental program including five static and ten impact push-out tests is firstly carried out, and the failure modes, the time history of impact load and slippage displacement, as well as the shear capacity of stud connectors are presented and discussed. Based on the dynamic responses, the influence of the arrangement form of profiled steel sheeting on the shear mechanism of steel stud connectors under impact loading is examined. Moreover, a design proposal developed previously by the authors is verified to reasonably predict the shear capacity of stud connectors with profiled steel sheeting parallel to the steel beam under impact loading. However, it is unsafe to predict the dynamic shear capacity of stud connectors with profiled steel sheeting transverse to the steel beam when the strain rate effect is considered. Additionally, the failure mode of shear connectors with solid slab in this paper is different from that of the previous work, which lead to the lower dynamic shear capacity of the connectors with the solid slab, and some further discussion is also carried out. The testing results can provide an essential data for future analytical and design-oriented study of composite beam with shear stud connectors with profiled steel sheeting under extreme loading conditions.