Push-out tests on demountable shear connectors of steel concrete composite structures

Circular Economy refers to a move from linear business models, in which products are manufactured from raw
materials, used and then discarded, to circular business models where products or parts are re-used, remanufactured
or recycled. Structural steel is highly compatible with this concept; however, when steel-concrete
composite structures are used, recycling becomes difficult and the potential for reuse is lost. In order to make
steel-concrete composite structures reusable, bolted connections should replace the commonly used welded
headed studs. Furthermore, the reusable parts should be designed to withstand repeated use.
This paper presents a desktop study and the corresponding laboratory experiments on demountable shear
connectors that facilitate recyclability and even provide the potential for reusing complete structural elements.
In the Laboratory of Steel and Composite Structures of the University of Luxembourg 15 push-out tests have been
carried out using different bolted connection systems suitable for multiple use. The shear connectors have been
evaluated based on their shear strength, stiffness, slip capacity, ductility and ability of demounting. The investigated
systems included pre-stressed and epoxy resin injection bolts, solid slabs and solid slabs in combination
with profiled steel sheeting. The results showed that the tested demountable shear connections could
provide higher shear resistance than conventional shear connections. The critical failure mode was the shear
failure of the bolts, which is a brittle failure. There was no visible damage observed on the connected members.
The application of epoxy resin in the hole clearance resulted in lower slip capacity. The outcome provides an
important basis for the justification of the forthcoming enhancement and validation of numerical models of the
demountable shear connections. The failure behaviour, the observed damages and the resulting ability of the
elements for re-use are discussed in detail.