Experimental tests on composite steel-concrete truss beams

This paper reports the results of an experimental campaign conducted on a set of eight composite beams made of prefabricated steel trusses encased in structural concrete. The test setup is organized in such a way to apply an evenly distributed load on the beam, so to simulate the actual loading condition in real buildings. This is also to avoid the formation of peculiar and unusual shear resisting mechanisms occurring in three or four-point bending tests. The experimental results are presented in terms of force-displacement graphs and also in terms of stress-strain diagrams in the steel members. The outcome of this study highlights that Composite Truss Beams (CTBs) have an effective performance in shear, showing a capacity higher than that estimated through the current capacity equations provided by Codes.