PARTIAL SHEAR CONNECTION DESIGN OF COMPOSITE SLABS

which considers the equilibrium of a segment of a simply-supported com posite slab under any loading condition. The model incorporates shear connection performance derived from a new test called the slip block t est. This small-scale test shows that shear connection performance is affected by factors such as profile geometry, base metal thickness and concrete compressive strength. Full-scale slab tests have proved that it is a reliable physical model which can readily account for the eff ects of changes in shear connection performance, loading pattern, shee ting end support conditions, end anchorage devices, conventional reinf orcement etc., and is being developed for possible use in an Australia n Standard on the design of composite slabs. The ease with which the m odel can be used in design is demonstrated in a worked example. Anothe r new ultimate strength method of design, published by the Steel Deck Institute in America, is examined in the worked example, and shown to give erratic, sometimes overly conservative but often very unsafe pred ictions for the particular profiled sheet and design situations studie d.