Reliability assessment of composite beams

Composite steel–concrete flexural members have become increasingly popular in the design and construction of floor systems, structural frames, and bridges. Constant research advances have resulted in numerous enhancements and changes to the American design practice, as embodied in the composite construction provisions of AISC Specification. This paper presents results of a comprehensive reliability study of composite beams. The study considers Specification changes since the 1976 reliability study by Galambos and Ravindra, considers a larger database of experimental data, and evaluates recent proposals for changes in the design of shear connectors. A comparison of three different design methods is presented based on 15,064 composite beam cases. A method to consider the effect of the degree of shear connection on the strength reduction factor is proposed.