Beam tests of composite steel-concrete members: A three-dimensional finite element model

Modern construction makes frequent use of composite steel-concrete beams for bridge and building applications. This paper describes a three-dimensional finite element model in which all components forming the composite member are modelled by means of solid elements. The proposed approach is developed using the commercial software Abaqus and is able to model the composite response without requiring information from push-out tests commonly performed to define the constitutive relationship for the shear connectors. All materials are assumed to behave in a nonlinear fashion. Contact between the elements is simulated using surface-to-surface and embedment techniques. The adequacy and accuracy of the proposed modelling approach are validated against experimental results available in the literature on simply-supported and continuous beam tests with both solid and composite slabs.