Experimental study of Perfobond shear connectors in composite construction

This paper presents an experimental programme of the Perfobond connector structural response. Two series of push-out test are discussed: the first series, consisting of three tests, was conducted using a concrete class C25/30, and was previously published in Vianna et al. (2009)[1], while in the second series, with eight different configurations, with repetition, thus in a total of sixteen tests, concrete class C50/60 was used. The other variables in the tests were the number of holes drilled in the connectors, the presence of reinforcing steel bars at the connector holes and the concrete slab thickness. All the shear connectors had 12.5 mm thickness. The experimental results are presented and discussed, focusing on the shear connector resistance, slip capacity and failure modes. The results are compared with the first series that was presented by Vianna et al. (2009) [1]. In addition, the connector resistances are compared to existing analytical formulations. Finally, an analytical formulation developed in the scope of this study for this specific shear connector type is presented and its performance compared to the test results. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.