Modeling composite beams with partial interaction

This paper presents a finite element model for the analysis of composite beams with partial interaction. In this model, the elements of the composite beams are modeled by six different types of frame elements. Compared with other methods presented in the literature, the main advantages of the proposed method are as follows: (1) intuitiveness, as the different elements of the model present a close and easy to understand relation with the structural behavior of the composite beam; (2) applicability as the method directly provides useful information for the design work; (3) versatility and generalization in dealing with any combination of loading and boundary conditions (Furthermore, the proposed model enables the analysis of statically indeterminate structures, tapered beams as well as structures with non-uniform shear connector distributions.); (4) easy elaboration of models; and (5) possible widespread use of the model, as the proposed method can be implemented in any structural software. To validate the accuracy and the efficiency of the proposed model, a set of FEMs are verified against those results obtained by analytical equations available in the literature for different boundary and loading conditions. Furthermore, a set of parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects of the size of the FEMs along with the influence of the connection stiffness on the behavior of composite beams with different I beams.