Structural performance of steel angle shear connectors with different orientation

This paper presents a study of angle shear connectors with two types of orientations. Shear connectors are used to transfer shear forces through the steel–concrete. In Ecuador constructors make buildings using different types of shear connectors and most of them have not been studied. Indeed, using angles is cheaper than studs and channels. In this study, fourteen composite specimens containing steel angle shear connectors were prepared to determine the full capacity of those angles. The angles were set in 45° and 90° orientation. Monotonic, cyclic load, and push out loading tests were applied, and shear strength, ductility, failure modes and stiffness were discussed. Comparing the two groups it was concluded that Group A (45°) presents less scatter than Group B (90°). In both groups, first cracks appeared when samples reach 50 % of the expected failure load and became greater and longer about 80 %, and all samples experienced failure of the connector. Group A specimens had a better behavior in terms of the ultimate shear capacity and satisfied ductility criteria given by Eurocode. Group B specimens presented similar results to Group A, but with a larger scatter. Finally, shear capacities from tests are compared with some code formulas, using an analogy, and it is found that codes give slightly lower results.