Experimental and computational study of the vertical shear behaviour of partially encased perforated steel beams

The comparison between the experimental and computational results leads to useful conclusions. The results for the composite beams show a significant increase in vertical shear resistance, even though mechanical shear connectors were not used. A previous design method is presented and modified to be able to be used for the load carrying capacity prediction of this new composite structural system. The results compare very well and the shear enhancement demonstrated in this study is now used in design practice.