The structural behaviour of rigid connections between reinforced concrete and steel members under combined bending and axial loading

Abstract

In today's modern world, some of the buildings require the combination of steel and concrete at interfaces where the two materials meet, such as between RC cores and structural steel frames, between RC sub-structures and structural steel super-structures, or also in new extensions to existing buildings which are of different materials. Some steel-concrete mixed systems, also known as hybrid systems, have seen extensive use in the past few decades because of the benefits of merging the two construction materials. Until recently, however, the connection between these two structural materials was mainly made by the use of simple connections. In order to enhance the effectiveness of the connection in terms of interaction between the two materials, a moment connection could be developed. This study deals with the investigation of rigid connections between structural steel and reinforced concrete under a combination of typical loadings that are usually present in these kinds of structures, such as bending, compression and a combination of both. This work is based on previous research which studied the effects of these kinds of connections under the effect of bending only. In this research, four specimens were tested, each under a different type of loading, namely; bending only, compression only, and two combinations of bending and axial loading. The outcome of this study will be used to investigate the viability of making use of steel-to-concrete rigid connections within the construction industry.