Experimental and numerical investigations of steel-polymer hybrid floor panels subjected to three-point bending

A new floor system for steel buildings was developed that can replace conventional concrete deck slab systems. The floor system is designed with a new type of composite panel with a polymeric material filling between the top and bottom steel plates. Its salient features are its light weight and simple installation that reduce structural materials and shorten the construction period. Experiments with various independent variables were performed to evaluate the flexural capacity of the proposed composite panel, and a finite element analysis was also conducted to examine the state of the stresses generated between the steel plate and the polymeric core. The test results showed that the proposed panel exhibited very ductile behavior and maintained its structural integrity even after a maximum load. No other failure mode than the face yielding of the top and bottom steel plates was observed. The bond strength between the polymeric material and the steel plates was confirmed to be sufficient, even without any special surface treatment or any additional shear connectors, to maintain the stability of the proposed panel and to resist the forces generated at the interface between the two materials. Design equations for predicting the flexural strength and stiffness of the proposed panel were proposed, and its suitability was verified. Additionally, the experimentally tested efficient methods for field applications of the proposed panel regarding cutting and joining were presented in this paper.