Chapter 4- Composite Beams

4.1 Introduction
 Composite beams in buildings are usually supported
by joints to steel or composite columns.
 Typical composite beam x-sections are shown in the
following figures.

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams

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Some of the advantages of simply supported beams over beams
designed as continuous at supports are:
 very little of the steel web is in compression, and the steel top
flange is restrained by the slab, so the resistance of the beam is
not limited by buckling of steel;
 webs are less highly stressed, so it is easier to provide holes in
them for the passage of services;
 bending moments and vertical shear forces are statically
determinate, and are not influenced by cracking, creep, or
shrinkage of concrete;
 there is no interaction between the behaviour of adjacent spans;
bending moments in columns are lower, provided that the frame
is braced against sidesway;
 no concrete at the top of the slab is in tension, except over
supports;
 global analyses are simpler and design is quicker.

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 The disadvantages are that deflection at mid-span or
crack width at supports may be excessive, and
structural depth is greater than for a continuous beam.

Effective cross-section of a composite beam

 The presence of profiled steel sheeting in a slab is
normally ignored when the slab is considered as part
of the top flange of a composite beam.

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Class of x-sections
The classification system defined in Sections 4.3.2 of
EBCS 3 applies to cross-sections of composite beams.

 The performance of a steel compression element in

Class 2,3, or 4 can be improved by attaching it to a
reinforced concrete element.

Table 4.1 (EBCS 4)Maximum Width-to-thickness

Ratios for Steel Outstand Flanges in Compression

Table 4.2 (EBCS 4) Maximum Width-to-Thickness

Ratios for Steel Web

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Con’d

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
Methods of analysis
Section (1) Plastic (2) (3) Semi- (4)
class Compact compact Slender
Method of Plastic Elastic (E) Elastic (E) Elastic (E)
global (P)(E)
analysis
Analysis of Plastic (P) Plastic (P) Elastic (E) Elastic (E)
cross-
sections

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 Critical sections for design of composite beams in the
ULS
 I-I flexure in positive moment region
 II-II vertical shear
 III-III flexure in negative moment region taking into
account the M/V interaction
 IV-IV longitudinal shear (checking adequacy of shear
dowels)

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 V-V checking the surface area along the
perimeter around the dowels  if not
sufficient provide transverse reinforcement
 VI-VI longitudinal shear capacity of
concrete flange  if not sufficient provide
transverse
 VII-VII LTB for compressed bottom flange
 Critical sections could also be areas with high concentrated
forces or significant changes in cross-sections (eg. holes in
webs)

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 For simple spans with constant cross-section and udl,
the interaction b/n bending and shear need not be
considered
4.2 Cross-section capacity
4.2.1 Effective width of the concrete flange
 Section capacities are determined based on effective
widths of concrete flange

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 The effective width is assumed to have a width equal to
Lo/8 on each side of the steel web, but not greater than
half the distance up to the next beam.
 The reference length Lo is:
 Equal to the span in simple beams
 Equal to the approximate distance b/n inflection points
in continuous beams
 Observe different beff for +ve and –ve moment regions
effect on analysis results

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
4.2.2 Cross-section classes
 Composite beams are classified into the
following 4 classes depending on the
stability conditions (local buckling) of the
elements of the steel component under
compression
 Class 1: Plastic cross-sections can develop
the full plastic strength and demonstrate
sufficient rotation capacity, so that the plastic
method of analysis can be used

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 Class 2: Compact sections can develop the full plastic
capacity, however they have limited rotation capacity
so that elastic analysis with limited amount of moment
redistribution must be used.
 Class 3: Semi-compact sections could be stressed only
up to the proportional limit in the extreme fibers,
because local buckling prevent the mobilization of full
plastic section capacity

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 Class 4: Slender cross-sections buckle locally
preventing the exploitation of even the yield limit.
Their capacity is governed by local buckling.
 Cross-section classes 3 and 4 are not generally used in
high-rise buildings
 Maximum c/t or d/t ratios for the different classes are
given in EC4 and EBCS-4.

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 Cross-sections under positive bending moment, and
with plastic NA within concrete flange or top flange of
the steel component are classified as class 1,
irrespective of the width to thickness relations of the
flange or the webs.
 In some cases, x-sections could be raised to higher
classes (composite beams with encased concrete)

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
4.2.3 Plastic moment capacity
 The moment capacity must actually be determined on
the basis of strain distribution in the ULS (e.g. design
moment resistances in reinforced concrete sections)
 The limit strains may be c,max in concrete, or max
compression strain in the steel elements to avoid
excessive local buckling

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 With sufficiently thick walled steel sections however
(classes 1 and 2), it is possible to use rigid-plastic
approximations, which simplifies the analysis
significantly.
 Stress distribution at the ULS for sections in positive
and negative moment regions are shown in the
following figure.

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
 (i) PNA in concrete flange (see figure in the next
slide)
 Under the assumption of full shear connection:
  Ncf = beff  xpl  fcd = Npa;
Npa = Aa  f yd
  xpl = Npa/ (beff  fcd);
xpl  d-hR; xb= xpl /2
  Mpl,Rd = Npa(xa+d-xb); where hR= rib height of
profiled sheeting

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
(ii) PNA in the steel flange
at (xpl-d) from the interface
Ncf = beff  (d-hR)fcd;
Npa = Aa  f yd
Na = 2  bf f ya (xpl-d);
also Na = Npa- Ncf; xb= (d-hR)/2
Moment about Ncf
 Mp,Rd = Npa(xa+d-xb) – Na(xpl-(Npa- Ncf )/(4bf  f ya) - xb)
Simplification gives
Mpl,Rd = Npa(xa+(d+hR)/2) – Na(xpl+hR)/2

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
(iii) PNA in the web
xpl = d+t+(Npa-Ncf-Nfa)/(2sf yd)
Mpl,Rd = Npa(xa+(d+hR)/2) – Naf(d+t+hR)/2- Nas(xpl+t+hR)/2

Where: s is the thickness of the web

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams
(iv)Concrete flange in the tension zone
 Fs = Asfsk/s; h = Fs/(s f y/a)
 h < hweb
 Mpl,Rd = - Fs  a(1-(h/4a))-Mpl,a

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Chapter 4- Composite Beams

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