Shallow Floor Integrated Beams and Their Components: Comparison of Behavior

Shallow floors in which the main part of the steel section resides within the concrete slab depth have increased in popularity in many European countries, Scandinavia included, and there are a variety of components available for these, depending on what part of Europe is concerned. Independent of the type of steel member employed, three main types of structural system may be recognized: (1) a steel member supporting hollow core decking units, (2) a steel member supporting composite slabs with deep or shallow profiled sheeting and (3) a steel member supporting concrete composite slabs with prefabricated concrete planks which are reinforced or prestressed. This paper discusses the experimental and theoretical behavior of the three classes as observed in the tests and as analyzed by the non-linear finite element method. Design resistance models based on the idea of partial strength shear connection behavior for the ultimate limit state and stiffness models for the serviceability limit state are proposed and compared with experimental and theoretical behavior data.