STRENGTH AND RIGIDITY OF STEEL GRADE BEAMS COVERED WITH PLAIN CONCRETE

This paper proposes grade beams made of H-shaped steel covered with plain concrete (SC) for superstructure made of steel. The SC grade beams have three merits over conventional reinforced concrete beams: improved construction accuracy, easier connection between grade beam and steel superstructure, and shorter construction period. Full-scale tests of SC and bare steel beams were conducted with different sections and spans. The initial stiffnesses of SC beams were two to three times of those of bare steel beam. The strengths of SC beams were three to seven times of those of bare steel beam, because torsional deformations were prevented.