Mechanical behavior of stud shear connector in steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC)

Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) is characterized by its considerable tensile hardening capability. It has been applied in steel concrete composite bridges for improving the mechanical behavior. Shear connector is an important member in composite bridges, whereas mechanical research on it in SFRC is rare. Therefore, push-out tests on mechanical behavior of the frequently used stud connector in SFRC were executed. The tested stud shank diameter and height were 19 and 150mm. 1.5 volume percentage of steel fibers were mixed with nominal 40MPa concrete to compose SFRC. The aspect ratio of steel fiber was 48. It was shown there was a tendency that static and fatigue behaviors of stud were both ameliorated by the steel fiber reinforced concrete. Since most of the current specification evaluations of stud behavior have not provide corresponding consideration of SFRC, engineers should notice that they may lead to underestimations when evaluating stud performance in SFRC.