BEHAVIOR OF COMPOSITE TIMBER-CONCRETE FLOORS

Timber-concrete floors arc widely used in the Persian Gulf region beca use of their resistance to the hot and aggressive environment of the a rea. Because no shear connector is provided, the timber joists and con crete slab work independently. In this study, it is suggested that rel atively inexpensive high-strength nails be used as shear connectors so that the timber joists and concrete slab resist the loads as a compos ite section. Experimental investigations have shown that it is possibl e to attain full composite action through the use of these high-streng th nails. The proposed composite timber-concrete floor system was subj ected to static short-term loading, repeated loading, and long-term su stained loading. It is observed that in terms of strength and servicea bility the behavior of the proposed system is within the limits set by standard building code. This behavior is also verified by a finite-el ement analysis. The experimental and numerical results clearly reveal that it is possible to achieve a stiffer floor system, longer spans, a nd a significant reduction in the number of timber joists, while attai ning the same receptivity to a hot and aggressive environment.