Slim-floor beam bending moment resistance considering partial shear connection

Having the advantage of flat lower surface, high stiffness and integrated fire resistance,
slim-floor composite beams are widely used and favoured in many design solutions. The
current bending design methods are mainly derived from plastic design methods for classical
composite beam with consideration of the special features for slim-floor beams such as the transverse
bending of bottom flange when used as support for slabs. Alternatively, more advanced
strain-limited design method or FE-method can be used. In the case of full shear connection,
with deep position of neutral axis and great compression zone height, there is a risk that plastic
design method may overestimate the bending resistance of the cross section compared to the
strain-limited design method. In the case of the partial shear connection, shear design diagram
for slim-floor beams obtained by means of the strain-limited design can also differ significantly
from the one obtained by plastic design method, thus further research on slim-floor beams is still
necessary.