Chapter 13

Composite Members
Book title: Steel Structures Design
Book Author: Alan Williams
Year: 2011
Publisher: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
• In accordance with American Institute of Steel Construction, Specification for
Structural Steel Buildings (AISC 360)2 Sec. I1.2, design of composite sections may
be either by the plastic stress distribution method or the strain-compatibility
method.
• For the plastic stress distribution method, the nominal strength is determined
assuming that steel components have reached a stress of Fy in either tension or
compression and concrete components in compression have reached a stress of
0.85f ′c. For round hollow structural sections filled with concrete, a stress of
0.95f ′c may be used to account for the effects of concrete confinement.
• For irregular sections and beam-columns, the strain compatibility method is
used. This assumes a linear distribution of strains across the section with the
maximum concrete compressive strain equal to 0.003 in/in. The steel
components are assumed to exhibit ideal elastic-plastic properties.
• Encased Composite Columns
Limitations
As shown in Fig. 13.1, an encased composite column consists of a concrete encased rolled
steel section reinforced with longitudinal and lateral reinforcing bars. In order to qualify
as an encased composite column, AISC 360 Secs. I1.3 and I2.1a impose the following
limitations:
The minimum compressive strength of normal weight concrete is 3 ksi and the maximum
is 10 ksi. The minimum compressive strength of lightweight concrete is 3 ksi and the
maximum is 6 ksi.
In determining the capacity of a composite column, the assumed yield stress of both the
structural steel element and the reinforcing shall not exceed 75 ksi. The cross-sectional
area of the structural steel element shall not be less than 1 percent of the total area of
the composite section.
The concrete encasement of a structural steel element shall be reinforced with
continuous longitudinal bars and lateral ties or spirals. The cross-sectional area of the
longitudinal reinforcing shall not be less than 0.4 percent of the gross area of the
composite member and at least four continuous bars shall be used.
Where lateral ties are used, a minimum of either a No. 3 bar spaced at a maximum of 12
in on center or a No. 4 bar spaced at a maximum of 16 in on center is required. To ensure
good confinement of the concrete, the maximum spacing of lateral ties must not exceed
0.5 times the least dimension of the composite section.
AISC Steel Construction
Manual, 14th Edition
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
 Chapter 7 , Composite Beam, Structural Steel Design, written by A. Aghayere and J. Vigil.

Effective slab width

Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams
Steel Structures Design by Alan Williams