Cyclic behaviour of shear connectors in steel-timber composite beams

Abstract

An experimental study of the cyclic behaviour of composite steel-timber panel connections using different mechanical shear connectors subjected to a low-cycle high amplitude regime is presented in this study. Twelve steel-timber composite connection specimens were designed and tested in order to investigate the cyclic behaviour of the proposed composite connections, and to characterize the structural behaviour of demountable bolt/screw shear connectors between Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels and steel beam. Six types of mechanical shear connectors including coach screws (12, 16 and 20 mm), dog screws (16 and 19 mm) and Grade 8.8 bolts (16 mm) were used to connect the CLT timber to the steel beam. In addition to the type of shear connectors, the direction of the load application with respect to panel orientation (perpendicular and parallel to the grain) is also one of the main variables in this study. The paper also outlines the preparation and construction of the specimens, the testing procedure, the test setup and the instrumentation used to measure the response during the tests. The test results indicate high ductility and energy dissipating capacity for steel-timber composite connection. © WCTE 2018 Committee.