Investigations in the static shear capacity of small-scaled pin shear connectors

The development of high-strength steel as well as high-strength (HSC) and ultra-height strength (UHPC) concrete with a favorable ratio of strength to weight enables an essential reduction of the cross-sectional dimensions compared to normal strength materials. Hereby, slender and wide spanning steel-concrete composite construction with high load capacity can be realized. In some application area, the theoretical required concrete depth can be reduced to a few centimeter. In such composite constructions with thin concrete slabs, the use of e.g. headed studs or composite dowels as shear connector is not possible. To connect the partial sections of concrete and steel as well as to realize the composite load effect new small-scaled shear connectors are required. Through the further development of gas-shielded metal-arc welding based on the short arc effect the pin welding is possible. The pins with a height of only few millimeters can be molded directly from the welding wire. The pin structures can be used as shear connectors in steel-concrete composite constructions. This article presents the investigations in the applicability of the pin structures by means of static shear tests for the load and slip capacity.