Full scale experimental studies on double skinned steel-foam concrete composite slab panels subjected to flexural loads

Abstract

Steel-concrete composite floors are recently more popular in buildings. Double skin steel-concrete composite slabs offer high degree of flexural rigidity, strength and ductile resistance than conventional decking slabs. Double skin composite is a new method of construction consisting of thin steel plate as the outer skins connected together by shear connectors and infilled with concrete. This type of construction is an extended form of conventional composite deck floor used worldwide, which utilizes profiled steel sheet on one side topped with reinforced concrete. A Steel-Foam Concrete Composite (SFCC) slab made of corrugated light gauge steel sheeting on both sides and aerated low-density foam concrete core is developed and the details are presented. Normal and shearing forces are transferred between steel sheet and foam concrete core using through-through mild steel studs which acts as transverse shear reinforcement. The perceived novelty of the proposed SFCC slab is that the outer profiled steel sheets on both sides acts as reinforcement as well as permanent formwork which eliminates the conventional formwork and expensive detailing, bar bending and fixing of reinforcement leading to substantial economy. The low density foam concrete offers thermal comfort and reduction in the dead weight of the panel by 10% compared to conventional flooring systems. Full scale flexural tests are conducted on SFCC one-way slab to obtain its flexural strength, ductility and load-deformation behaviour. The ductility and strength aspects of SFCC one-way slab are remarkable and is recommended for use as floor/roof slabs in buildings.