Flexural Test for Steel-Concrete Composite Members Using Prefabricated Steel Angles

Abstract

In the proposed composite [prefabricated steel-reinforced concrete (PSRC)] column, steel angles located at the corners of the cross section are weld connected with tie bars to provide a bond for the steel angles, shear resistance, and lateral confinement. In this paper, simply supported PSRC specimens were tested to investigate their flexural strength and ductility. For comparison, a conventional concrete-encased H-section specimen was also tested. The test parameters were the steel ratio of the angle section and the spacing of the tie bars. The flexural, shear, and bond strengths of the test specimens correlated well with predictions. The flexural strength and stiffness of the PSRC specimens were significantly greater than those of the conventional composite specimen with the same steel area. However, at large inelastic deformations, the PSRC specimens were vulnerable to the bond failure between the steel angle and concrete and the tensile fracture of the angle at the weld-connection to the tie bars. When the bond strength between the steel angles and concrete was greater than the demand, the PSRC specimens exhibited ductile behavior after flexural yielding.