Fatigue Strength of Angle Shape Shear Connector used in Steel-Concrete Composite Slab

Fatigue strength of welded joint between angle shape shear connector and bottom plate in steel-concrete composite slab was investigated by fatigue tests. Fatigue tests were performed on push-out shear specimens. Local stress around the welded joint was also investigated by FEA. In fatigue tests, fatigue cracks initiated and propagated at the welded toe. The fatigue cracks were caused by stress concentration at the welded joints due to the local bending deformation of bottom plate. This local bending deformation was analytically simulated by FEA carried out on slab members in practice. After these investigations, it was confirmed the stress level at the welded joint was small and much less than the fatigue limit even when the design truck loads were applied. KCI Citation Count: 15