Structural behaviour of hybrid composite-concrete floors: Experimental validation and analytical simulation

Hybrid composite-concrete elements are increasingly developed because of their lightweight and durable properties. This paper investigates the structural behaviour of a new hybrid composite concrete floor - based on the beam-and-block concept - analytically and experimentally. Experiments on two identical hybrid floors of 3 m span demonstrate the structural feasibility of this floor concept as the loadbearing and stiffness requirements are largely met, both in casting and permanent stage. These floors exhibit sufficient stiffness in the transverse direction and thus allow an analytical prediction based on beam calculations. These simulations predict the casting deflection as well as the overall load-deflection behaviour accurately.