FATIGUE OF WELDED STUD SHEAR CONNECTORS IN STEEL - CONCRETE-STEEL SANDWICH BEAMS

A series of tests to investigate the fatigue strength of welded stud s hear connectors, attached to the tension plates of steel-concrete-stee l sandwich beams, is described. Results of the beam tests are compared with the results of a series of push shear tests and also with the S- N curve for welded stud connectors given in Eurocode 3. The fatigue st rength of the stud connectors, determined from the beam rests, was sig nificantly higher than the fatigue strengths determined from both the push shear tests and the EC3 S-N curve. It is concluded therefore that the EC3 S-N curve provides a satisfactory basis for fatigue assessmen t of welded stud connectors in steel-concrete-steel sandwich beams. (C ) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.