Technical Practices Of Re-Usable Steel-Concrete Composite Structural Systems

Abstract

The demountable and reusable steel-concrete composite structures contribute immensely at the sustainable development in construction. The main technical practice which allows for demountability and reusability is the use of demountable shear connectors in their floor systems. These demountable shear connectors can satisfy the need for composite interaction of the steel-concrete composite floor system during its service life and in parallel the need for large nominal hole clearances during execution through oversized holes in the beam flange. These oversized holes facilitate the (dis)assembly process of the floor system. The developed demountable shear connector consists of (i) a bolt and coupler embedded in the floor, (ii) an external injection bolt through the beam flange and (iii) an injection material in the bolt-hole clearance. This injection material is a two-component epoxy resin and its benefits are focused on the increase of the stiffness and strength of the connection and the decrease of its creep deformation when compared to injected connections with conventional epoxy resin. This paper is focused on experimental of the most recent technical innovations for demountable shear connectors studied at the Delft University of Technology along with their benefits on material, connection and structural application levels.