Push-Out Tests on Interlocked Angles Connectors in Steel-Concrete-Steel Composite Structure

This paper reported a new interlocked angle connector (IAC) for steel-concrete-steel sandwich structures. Shear performances of IACs embedded in normal concrete were studied via a push-out testing program, and the failure mode, shear resistance, and load–slip responses of IACs in normal concrete were obtained. The influences of height, width, thickness, orientation of steel angles, and interlocking bolts on shear behaviours of IACs were experimentally studied. The experimental results indicated that the ultimate shear resistances and slip capacities of IACs were improved via increasing the height, width and thickness of steel angles, while the orientation of steel angles exhibited limited influence on the ultimate shear resistances and failure modes of IACs. In addition, the analytical models were proposed for predicting ultimate shear resistances and load–slip behaviours of IACs. The experimental results were employed to validate the analytical models, and the proposed analytical models were found to provide more accurate predictions on ultimate shear resistances and load–slip behaviours of IACs as compared to the existing design codes.